Meet Amaad

Amaad was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts.  He has spent his life personally and professionally battling tough challenges, and he has succeeded by continually finding opportunities to make positive change for himself, his family, and his community.

Born in 1981 to a teenage mother whose hard work and determination helped his family rise from poverty and homelessness, Amaad learned that strong beliefs are worth fighting for.

While Springfield is the City of Homes, Amaad grew up homeless.  After living in a car because his family could not afford any other shelter, Amaad’s family lived in a building so neglected by an absentee landlord that it was condemned.

Amaad and his family worked to overcome these obstacles. Amaad’s mother, Kim Rivera, worked three jobs and was active in the school booster’s club. Both hard work and investing in their community helped the Rivera’s improve their lives. Amaad studied hard and excelled in school. As a teenager he began writing for the Springfield Union News’s Unlisted, a journalistic initiative to give voice to young people and teenagers.  Amaad also spoke at the Massachusetts State House with the National Urban League about the restoration of funding and support for community-based programs in Springfield.

Amaad was a student in the first fully matriculated class of the High School of Science and Technology, where he played football, participated in a theatre group, and became a captain of the wrestling team.

Upon graduation, Amaad attended Bentley University.  Working himself through college, Amaad graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with minors in Psychology and Information Technology.

While at Bentley, Amaad continued creating opportunities for positive change by fighting for a strong democracy, civic participation, and addressing inequality.

After graduating from Bentley, Amaad completed a year of service with AmeriCorps, where he developed civic engagement initiatives for young people in the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts.  While serving in AmeriCorps, Amaad founded the KidsVote initiative, engaging over 2,200 young people, aged 18 and under, in the voting process in its first year.

Amaad was selected to direct the YouthBridge AmeriCorps program at Solutions Community Development Corporation. Under his direction, this program created some of the most innovative practices in the state including increasing doubling the education scholarship through local programs.

By his early 20s Amaad was an AmeriCorps Program Officer for the Massachusetts Service Alliance.  At the Massachusetts Service Alliance, Amaad managed an 11 million dollar portfolio of grants to organizations dedicated to closing the achievement gap is schools, ensuring access to quality health care for all, protecting the environment, and promoting community and civic engagement. In addition, he acted as the liaison between the federal and state government to service programs all over Massachusetts.

Amaad completed his Master of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in May 2009.

Currently, Amaad leads the National Racial Wealth Divide Program at United for a Fair Economy. In this position, Amaad works with policy makers and organizations to implement policies that ensure that economic prosperity reaches everyone.  He publishes research reports and presents on economic disparities across the country.

Amaad was the lead author of “The Silent Depression: State of the Dream 2009” and “Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008.” His articles and publications have been featured in major media outlets including The Washington Post, The Nation, Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, Democracy Now, Too Much, BET.com, CSPAN, Boston Neighborhood Network News, and numerous local radio stations.

Amaad has served on numerous boards and community initiatives including the Racial Imbalance committee advising the Department of Education and the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN).

Amaad’s life experiences, both personal and professional, have taught him that the toughest obstacles can be overcome by working together as a community to bring about positive long lasting change.

As Springfield continues to face economic and social challenges ranging from foreclosures to crime, we need elected officials who will face these challenges head on, and use them as opportunities for innovation and creativity to solve our problems.

Amaad has spent his entire life seeing opportunities for advancement in the midst of difficult situations. As our city councilor, Amaad will help us face Springfield’s challenges and find new opportunities to improve our city and our community.