CV
Academic Appointments
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Center for Effective Lawmaking
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
July 2024 - June 2025
Education
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
Ph.D., Political Science, 2024
Fields: American Politics, Methods
GPA: 4.0
Dissertation: Mobilized Interests: How Interest Groups Influence Group Member Perceptions of Politics
Committee: Kristina Miler (chair), Antoine Banks, Michael Hanmer, David Karol, Arie Kruglanski
The George Washington University
Washington, DC
M.A., Political Management, 2002
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA
B.A., Political Science and Communication Studies, 1998
Summa cum laude
Publications
Meli, Amy D. "Who is the Blame? Partisans' Use of Blame Spreading in Reaction to Unfair and Dishonest Behavior." American Politics Research. December 7, 2023.
Meli, Amy D. "Party People? Measuring Interest Group Affiliation with Political Parties" Interest Groups and Advocacy. September 19, 2023.
Gawehns, Florian and Meli, Amy. "Are U.S. companies punishing Republicans for Jan. 6? Here's what our research finds." The Washington Post Monkey Cage. Janaury 5, 2022.
Working Papers
"Guardians of Democracy? Big Business and Campaign Contributions After January 6" with Florian Gawehns (Revise and Resubmit)
"Take Action Now! How Group Type Influences Member Mobilization Strategies"
"Realignment or Pragmatic Shifting? Corporate Partisanship in Response to Changes in Party Control in Congress" (Previously titled "Firm Partisanship")
"Pragmatic Partners: Legislative Effectiveness and Interest Group Contributions" with Kris Miler
Presentations
Pragmatic Partners: Legislative Effectiveness and Interest Group Contributions" with Kris Miler, American Political Science Association Conference, September 2024
"Firm Partisanship: How Internal Stakeholders Influence Party Proximity Among Politically Active Companies," American Political Science Association Conference, September 2024
"Firm Partisanship: How Internal Stakeholders Influence Party Proximity Among Politically Active Companies," Midwest Political Science Association Conference, April 2024
"Take Action Now! How Group Type Influences Member Mobilization Strategies," Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Conference, Tallahassee, FL, March 2024
"Take Action Now! How Group Type Influences Member Mobilization Strategies," Junior Americanist Workshop Series, September 2023
"Take Action Now! How Group Type Influences Member Mobilization Strategies," American Political Science Association, August 2023
"Take Action Now! How Group Type Influences Member Mobilization Strategies," University of Maryland American Politics Workshop, University, April 2023
"Principled Pragmatism: Access-Oriented Interest Groups and Campaign Contributions after January 6" with Florian Gawehns, Midwest Political Science Association, April 2023
"Party People? Measuring Interest Group Affiliation with Political Parties," American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, September 2022
"Who is the Blame? Partisans' Use of Blame Spreading in Reaction to Unfair and Dishonest Behavior," Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, April 2022
"Who is to Blame? Partisans' Use of Blame Spreading in Reaction to Unfair and Dishonest Behavior," University of Maryland American Politics Workshop, September 2021
Invited Talks
"Joining the Chorus: How Your Advocacy Work Actually Makes the World a Better Place." Buzz Advocacy Summit. Annapolis, MD. July 2024.
"Mobilized Interests: A Preliminary Look." Plenary Session. Public Affairs Institute. Huntington Beach, CA. January 2024.
Book Chapters and Reports
Meli, Amy. 2022. "Action Planning in Academic Literature." Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. College Park, MD.
Meli, Amy. 2021. Lobbying for Good. Foundation for Public Affairs. Washington, DC. 2021.
Meli, Amy and Grefe, Edward. 2017. "Public Affairs and Information Science/Systems." In The Sage Handbook of International Corporate and Public Affairs, eds. Harris, Phil and Fleischer, Craig S. Sage Publications, Inc. Thousand Oaks, CA. 165-183
Grants and Awards
James F. Hoobler Award, Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, Spring 2024
Roger H. Davidson Award in American Politics, Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland (with Florian Gawehns), Spring 2024
American Political Science Association Travel Grant, Fall 2023
Dean's Research Initiative Doctoral Dissertation Grant, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, Spring 2023
Virginia Gray Graduate Research Grant, Political Organizations and Parties section, American Political Science Association, Fall 2022
American Political Science Association Travel Grant, Fall 2022
Summer Research Fellowship, The Graduate School, University of Maryland, Summer 2022
Susan Elizabeth Spencer Award for Excellence in American Politics, 2021
Dean's Fellowship, The Graduate School, University of Maryland, 2019-2022
Graduate Assistantship, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, 2019-2022
Phi Beta Kappa, 1998
Research Experience
Research Assistant, Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, supervised by Mike Hanmer, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Summer 2023, Spring 2024, Summer 2024
Teaching Experience
Instructor of Record
Seminar in American Politics: Grassroots Engagement for Political Change, Fall 2023, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
American Government, Fall 2021, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Grassroots Engagement, Fall 2016 - Fall 2022, The George Washington University, Graduate School of Political Management, Washington, DC
Lecturer
Grassroots Workshop, Seminar on Leadership Development, The George Washington University, Spring 2021
Management of Successful Political Change, The George Washington University, Visiting Scholars Program, Summer 2017 - 2019
Lecturer, Grassroots Workshop, The George Washington University and Universidad Navarra, Spring 2017 - 2022
Lecturer, Issues Management Workshop, The George Washington University and Universidad Navarra, Spring 2017 - 2019
Teaching Assistant
American Government, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, Spring 2020, Fall 2020
Racial and Ethnic Politics in the Obama Era, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, Fall 2019
Relevant Work Experience
Senior Director, Public Affairs Council and Executive Director, Foundation for Public Affairs, Washington, DC, January 2022 - May 2024
Vice President, Grassroots Consulting, Aristotle International, Washington, DC, 2002 - 2021
Legislative Assistant, Representative Richard Burr (R-NC), U.S. House of Representatives, 2000 - 2002
Legislative Clerk, Committee on Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, 1998 - 2000