Office of Racial Equity Team

Dr. Amber A. Hewitt, is the Chief Equity Officer for the Government of the District of Columbia. In this role, she works in collaboration with District leadership and agencies to apply a racial equity lens across government operations. In 2018, she was appointed by Mayor Bowser to the Commission on Fathers, Men, and Boys. Amber was the Director of Health Equity at Families USA, a national, nonpartisan consumer health advocacy organization. She also previously worked as a health care lobbyist for an integrated, children’s health system. Amber’s background also includes serving as an American Psychological Association/ American Association for the Advancement of Science health policy fellow in the Office of U.S. 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. Her research on adolescent identity development and well-being, with a special focus on Black boys and young men, has been published in several top-tier academic journals. A counseling psychologist by training, Amber has provided psychotherapy and psychoeducational testing for children and families. She received her B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Southern California, M.A. in psychology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Simmons University.

Carmen Berry has extensive experience and a proven commitment to program development and implementation for local government and private sector operations. As a Special Assistant to the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity, Ms. Berry is responsible for supporting the office’s day-to-day operations and establishing and cultivating relationships with residents, community stakeholders, and community-based organizations. Before joining the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity, Carmen served as Program Manager of the District’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. In this role, she wore many hats, including manager of the Family and Survivor Support team, tasked with providing direct support to families of homicide victims and survivors of shootings and stabbings. Carmen also served as a Community Outreach Coordinator under the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services’ Safer, Stronger DC Community Partnerships Office. In that role, Ms. Berry provided direct support to communities impacted by high rates of gun violence.

Before joining the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services’ office, Ms. Berry’s passion led her to the field of Public and Community Health. She managed a hypertension and diabetes screening and education program for MedStar Health by operating directly from African American barbershops across the District. She also served as a Senior Research Supervisor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, examining how environmental exposure during pregnancy and early life might play a part in the development of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Carmen is a native Washingtonian and resides in her childhood home located in Ward 5. She holds a Master of Science in Health Education from Howard University and a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from Morgan State University.

Allyson Criner Brown (she/her) is a seasoned equity and community engagement practitioner, trainer, and scholar who has served as the Training Specialist for the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity since 2023. Her recent accomplishments include expanding the offerings and impact of ORE's trainings and producing the equity framework, related trainings, and the first agency-wide racial equity impact assessment (REIA) tools for the DC Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). In 2026, Allyson was named an individual finalist for the Calvin Cafritz Awards for Distinguished DC Government Employees, recognizing the impact of her career in District Government.

For more than a decade, Allyson led teacher training, curriculum development, anti-bias children’s book reviews, and parent organizing with DC Public Schools as the associate director of Teaching for Change. She became a noted voice for equity in public education, appearing in interviews, publications, and as a presenter in places such as Education Week, NPR, The Atlantic, U.S. Department of Education, National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and more. Allyson is co-author of Engagement for Equitable Outcomes: A Practitioner’s Playbook (Rowman & Littlefield/Bloomsbury, 2022), and her previous publications include the essay “Engaging and Embracing Black Parents” in Teaching When the World is on Fire (The New Press, 2019), edited by MacArthur “genius” fellow Lisa Delpit. Additionally, she is the editor of three Teaching for Change publications: Parent-Principal Chats Manual (2019), Parent Organization Equity & Inclusion Tool (2017), and the second edition of Between Families and Schools: Creating Meaningful Relationships (2016).

Allyson holds a Master of Public Administration from GWU’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, and a Bachelor’s in US History from the University of North Carolina.

Naomi Fassil is dedicated to improving policy administration for marginalized communities, bringing a range of experience in legislative affairs, data analysis and humanitarian assistance. As the Policy and Data Analyst for the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity, she conducts policy research and data analysis to support the development of equitable outcomes across District agencies.

Prior to joining District Government, Naomi worked as an Employment Specialist for the International Rescue Committee and later the Ethiopian Community Development Council, where she supported refugee and immigrant economic integration through workforce programming and policy implementation. She also served as a Congressional Legislative Intern in the Office of former Representative Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick, conducting research and preparing policy analyses on issues including public health, education and social services. Earlier in her career, Naomi worked in both qualitative and quantitative research at PSB Global Insights, contributing to research initiatives for federal Government agencies, healthcare organizations and Fortune 500 clients. Passionate about combatting racial and ethnic disparities in education, Naomi serves as a volunteer, mentoring first-generation high school students pursuing higher education.

Naomi is a Master of Public Administration candidate at American University and earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Service, with a thematic concentration on justice, ethics and human rights from American University as well..