Amelia Wallace, Senior Associate

Amelia, Senior Associate, is an experienced project manager with demonstrated success working throughout the state across JS’s diverse service areas. Joining the team in 2020, Amelia has developed expertise in project leadership, facilitation, City Manager and department head recruitments, and community engagement, particularly for small organizations and rural communities. Through this work she has developed a strong reputation as an effective, collaborative, positive, and consensus building facilitator with a nuanced understanding of local government dynamics, public management best practices, change management, and equitable stakeholder engagement.  

 Amelia has established an extensive project resume, ranging from leading 15 and supporting a total of 34 executive recruitments for over two dozen organizations, facilitating retreats and planning processes for City Councils and nonprofit boards, producing policy direction informing research, as well as leading large-scale collaborative decision-making and inclusive community engagement processes. Notable projects she has served as project manager for include the City of Lake Oswego City Council Goal Setting (2026), City of John Day Community Vision and Strategic Plan (2025-26), City of Umatilla Rock the Locks Community Engagement (2024-25), Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation Strategic Plan (2025), City of Troutdale Police Department Start-up Cost Assessment (2024), and numerous City Manager, Public Works Director, and other department head recruitments. She also gained meaningful experience serving as assistant project manager for the Higher Education Consortia Industry Consortia Workforce Development Focus Groups (2024), City of Portland Human Resources Work Group Salary and Pay Equity Work Group (2024), and the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District Strategic Plan (2023).   

Amelia received her MPA from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance with a focus on local government and public financial management. She earned her Bachelor’s in Politics with Honors with a minor in Environmental Science from Oberlin College in Ohio. Throughout her professional, academic, and personal life, Amelia has immersed herself in public service and policy for the common good. She started her career with three cycles of campaign organizing for local and statewide elections and with service as an AmeriCorps member for a small nonprofit, Bike Walk Knoxville. While pursuing her MPA, she served as the graduate intern for the Seattle Department of Transportation Curbside Management and completed her capstone project working with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights. In Portland, Amelia stays active in the community, including serving on the CISV Portland Board, an international children’s peace education nonprofit.

In her free time, Amelia loves being outside, whether that is hiking, doing yardwork, or learning about trees and plants. As a longtime craft “beertender,” Amelia loves living in the Pacific Northwest and exploring new brews while enjoying her newfound love of Sounders soccer.