Amanda Dewey

Dr. Amanda Dewey is a Local Policy Research Manager at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. As a sociologist, her research interests include environmental attitudes and values, environmental movements, environmental organizations, and human-wildlife issues. Amanda began her career as a mid-Atlantic field organizer and special projects coordinator for the Endangered Species Coalition, where she later served as Chair. Amanda has been involved in a variety of other wildlife-related campaigns and organizations, including the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s iWorry campaign around ivory trafficking. She served as Mayor of the Town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland from 2020 to 2022 after serving two years as a Councilmember, where she focused on community engagement and sustainability.

Amanda has been involved in wildlife conservation for 10 years and is always looking for new ways to support community-oriented conservation approaches. She ran into some Dazzle folks in Annapolis, MD and joined the organization almost as soon as she learned more about the organization’s mission, approach, and exciting projects. Amanda believes that efforts to protect ecosystems will never be successful if they aren’t guided by local knowledge and priorities. She knows that Dazzle undertakes its work in partnership with organizations on the ground in Zambia, amplifying their impact and providing the resources they need to put their expertise to work.

Amanda grew up outside of St. Louis, Missouri, and received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Theatre from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Sociology from the University of Maryland in College Park. Amanda lives in Maryland with her husband, Blake, and two rescue hounds, Remy and Ebby. Her superpower is being in the right place at the right time in strange animal situations - from rescuing stranded turtles at her local lake to finding lost dogs and cats on her front porch.