This dedicated community worker helps shape a culture rooted in care and collaboration.

By City Bureau

Portrait taken by Caroline Olsen

We are excited to highlight City Bureau team member Amira, who’s been supporting us as our People and Operations Manager for almost a year. With roots on the South Side of Chicago, she brings years of experience supporting community programs and participants across the nonprofit and consulting fields. 

We asked Amira to share a little bit about her experiences, her background, and what she appreciates about her role. Here are some of the highlights, edited for length and clarity.


What is your connection to place and where you call home?  

I’m originally from Naperville, IL, but my family is from the South Side of Chicago. When I first moved to Chicago, I was living in Pilsen and now I live in Bridgeport. These have been my main haunts. 

Chicago is just such a great city, and I’ve done a lot of work on the South Side, especially in Inglewood. That’s a neighborhood that’s always resonated with me. My family has done a bunch of volunteering with the Inner-City Muslim Network, and I later became a fellow and staff member there. The experience of giving back to the community, whether it’s during farmer’s markets or youth programming, left an impression on me. Of all the places that I've traveled to and seen, other cities have only a few aspects of all the things that I appreciate about Chicago. 


What drew you to City Bureau?

I’ve been working in the community engagement area for a while, since 2018. I’ve floated between nonprofits and consulting. When I learned about City Bureau through a friend, I connected to the idea of journalism rooted in community. The specific administrative work that was expected for the role also excited me and aligned with my skills. I’ve done a lot of work in different community spaces and organizations, but never in a journalism capacity before. City Bureau is unique in balancing our local city model with a national model

You can't serve a community without knowing a community. To have a space that wants that to be true for all people is really important. The idea of voice and being able to tell your story is really important. 


How do you approach your work?

I try to stay connected to and think of the people I work with at the organization and serve in the community. Even though my work isn’t always on the frontlines with program participants, my work still serves them. If I'm doing my job to the best of my ability, then they can do their job better too. That's my main attitude I go into work with. I appreciate all the different things that I get to do to support our staff and community, from planning events to smoothing operations. There’s an openness to the creativity and new ideas I bring here. 

There's not a lot of organizations out there doing the breadth of work that CB is and at the level that we are. I think it's great to work in a place like this, one that’s so deeply building for the future.

To connect with Amira, feel free to reach out at amira@citybureau.org.