Ama Anane
Governance Co-Chair
Good Influence Consulting
Ama partners with organizations looking to set or refine strategy, expand a team or coalition’s potential, and communicate more strategically and creatively. She has led stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, or project management for nonprofits and foundations, including UCLA Bunche Center for African American Studies and the Office of Mayor Karen Bass, CA Working Families Party, CA Grassroots Democracy Coalition, James Irvine Leadership Awards Program, United Way of Greater LA, Community Partners, CA Reparations Taskforce, and the CA Black Census and Redistricting Hub (now CA Black Power Network).
Prior to starting Good Influence Consulting, Ama spent eight years at the helm of Educators for Excellence LA, an education advocacy organization, where she led local policy and advocacy programming, external relations, communications, fundraising, and operations. During her tenure, Ama built the organization’s membership to 6,000 educators and also tripled her staff, budget, and fundraising.
Before leading a nonprofit, Ama worked as an educator and organizer serving youth and adults in our prison and public school systems. A graduate of Emerson College and Columbia University, Ama has written blogs, published poetry, and been a featured commentator on various radio and television segments. She was named one of Education Week’s Next-Generation Education Leaders and was the recipient of the 2019 United Way EmpowerHer award. That same year, Ama was honored by LAUSD’s board of education for her leadership and commitment to education equity in Los Angeles. She currently serves on the governing board of Communities in Schools Los Angeles, where she chairs the board’s governance committee. Ama also writes poetry, scripts, and occasionally performs standup.
Q&A
What aspects of CISLA's mission resonate most with your personal values?
~As a former public-school teacher, the idea of wrapping our students in holistic community support, love, and opportunities to thrive really resonates with my values.
What is the most compelling reason you believe in the importance of our organization?
~CISLA is good for everyone--we are partners for our educators, mentors and case managers for our students, and fierce advocates for parents and caregivers who are trying to ensure their children don't get lost in the nation's second largest school district.
How do you see CISLA making a positive difference in the lives of students and families in the Los Angeles community?
~I see it most when I get to talk to our students, hear their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs, going off to college, becoming artists and activists. I also see and know the power of students having more adults in their life whose job is to ensure they can thrive. That's something all students deserve, especially those who have not had the level of investment and opportunity that their more affluent peers have enjoyed. The opportunity gap is real and is at the source of the achievement gap so when we concentrate resources and opportunity for CISLA students, we are addressing historic and current inequities and building a more sustainable and humane world.
What sets CISLA apart from others working in this field, and why is that important?
~Our relationship-based approach, how our staff uses these relationships to shape the types of programming we offer students and families. We are adaptive to the needs of our community and blend a programmatic approach with advocacy needed to scale our impact by improving the systems and policies that govern our schools.
Have you attended an event or met a student who has significantly impacted you and motivated you to continue supporting CISLA's mission?
~Yes, so many!
