Equis Senior Fellowship Program

Amanda Perez is the Senior Fellow for Economic Policy. She has spent her career shaping federal economic and social policy. Most recently, Amanda served as Associate Director at the Office of Management and Budget in the Biden White House, where she led budget formulation and execution for major federal programs spanning Social Security, nutrition assistance, unemployment insurance, education, and workforce development. Before OMB, she served as Labor Policy Director for the Senate HELP Committee, where she advised on economic and labor issues and helped drive bipartisan to passage. Amanda has also held previous roles with the Biden campaign, the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Amanda holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University's SIPA and a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio State University.

Felicia Escobar Carrillo is the Senior Fellow for Immigration. She has spent her career advocating for Latino and immigrant families. Most recently, Felicia was Chief of Staff at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Under Felicia’s leadership, USCIS restored its fiscal health, reduced historic backlogs, improved customer experience, and implemented numerous regulatory and policy reforms designed to make the immigration system more accessible to families, businesses, workers, and aspiring new Americans. From 2009-2017, she served at the White House where she advanced President Obama’s immigration agenda, including its efforts to enact bipartisan immigration reform and implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. She has worked in the U.S. Senate on immigration reform and advocated for Texas Latino communities at the state and local levels. Felicia has also advised several philanthropic institutions on their immigration grantmaking strategies.