Beverly, Alaina

Alaina Beverly is an expert in urban policy, politics, civil rights, and community mobilization with over 15 years of experience in strategic planning, government relations, civic engagement, and program management. In her role as Assistant Vice President for Urban Affairs at the University of Chicago Office of Federal Relations, Alaina shares the University's research, scholarship, and models of urban investment with federal policymakers and national partners. She is the founding director of the Urban America Forward program, an annual interdisciplinary, knowledge-sharing convening of national thought-leaders committed to equity-based approaches to urban policy. Prior to joining the University of Chicago in September 2013, Alaina served as the Associate Director for the first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs for the Obama Administration. In that role, Alaina laid the foundation for President Obama’s urban office by building a constituency for the office and identifying scalable models of urban innovation to inform the White House-interagency policy efforts. Alaina also served as Principal at The Raben Group, a prestigious public policy and advocacy firm in Washington DC. She carried out litigation and advocacy strategies as a voting rights attorney for Advancement Project and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Alaina graduated from Stanford University and the University of Michigan Law School.