(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the appointment of Amber Hewitt as the District’s first Chief Equity Officer. Through her appointment, Acting Director Hewitt will join the Office of the City Administrator and lead the District’s newly established Office of Racial Equity, which is charged with advancing the Administration’s commitment to ongoing equity initiatives and achieving racial equity.
Dr. Hewitt is a passionate and committed public servant who most recently served as the Director of Health Equity at Families USA, a national, nonpartisan consumer health advocacy organization. As Director of Health Equity, she was responsible for developing strategic policy priorities to advance health equity and reduce disparities in health outcomes, health care access, and health care quality. Prior to her work at Families USA, Dr. Hewitt served as an American Psychological Association / American Association for the Advancement of Science health policy fellow in the Office of US Senator Cory Booker. She began her career as a tenure-track professor teaching undergraduate and doctorate-level courses in psychology, social justice, multicultural counseling, and diversity issues at the University of Akron and Loyola University Chicago.
The Office of Racial Equity will focus on developing an infrastructure to ensure policy decisions and District programs are evaluated through an equity lens. The Chief Equity Officer will collaborate with District agencies, residents, and external stakeholders to make meaningful progress toward a more equitable city. Among her first responsibilities as the Chief Equity Officer will be to conduct an equity analysis of the District to establish government-wide priorities and to build a team to support the implementation of these priorities.
Learn more about the Office of Racial Equity and the District’s continued commitment to this work.