L2ED Welcomes Summer Fellow

Learn to Earn Dayton is thrilled to welcome Amara Payne as its Policy and Advocacy Summer Fellow, serving on the Strategic Initiatives Team.

Amara brings a strong background in policy research, community advocacy, and culturally responsive education to her work. During the academic year, Amara serves as a 10th-grade English Language Arts Teacher and grade-level chair with Teach For America in Houston, Texas, where she empowers students through literacy, leadership, and service. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Amara is a graduate of The George Washington University, where she earned a B.A. in Latin American & Hemispheric Studies and Africana Studies. She is deeply committed to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and uplifting communities of color through education, advocacy, and policy transformation. Amara plans to attend law school in the near future and pursue a career as a civil rights attorney, focusing on education justice and criminal legal reform.

This summer, Amara will collaborate with the Strategic Initiatives team and community partners to develop recommendations for advancing the mission of Learn to Earn's Access to Counsel program. Her work will involve crafting data-driven and research-backed strategies to ensure the program's scalability and long-term sustainability.