One of the greatest party tricks of all time is to approach a small group of people and tell each of them the month of their birth and their mother’s maiden name. Amelia Colwell can’t do that, but if you asked her “Where is Eastern European History in the Dewey Decimal System?” she might ask you whether it may regard religion, war, or some other subject, and then tell you exactly where to find it. Now that’s a party trick that requires a good brain and excellent memory.
She learned that party trick while working at the Iowa City Public Library. Colwell graduated from The University of Iowa with a B.A. degree in Social Work as well as a B.A. in psychology. And while in school, Amelia was selected to be a part of the Iowa Writes Project by the Iowa Review. Along the way, she also found time to travel and teach English in the Czech Republic for a time and in her senior year interned as a researcher and policy advocate to the Iowa Legislature for the Brain Injury Association of Iowa.
Originally from Waterloo, Amelia decided to move farther north after graduation and took a program coordinator position in Bloomington, Minnesota, working directly with people with disabilities. While in Minnesota, she learned to speak American Sign Language. In 2007 she joined SPPG as a Program Manager. “SPPG gives me an opportunity to work hard and use my skills in public policy with an emphasis on people with disabilities. SPPG’s years of experience and their reputation in disabilities policy goes well beyond the typical efforts for change.”
Colwell is involved in projects relating to people with disabilities, but as is typical at SPPG, she enjoys the diversity of many kinds of research and policy projects. And while the Internet is a wonderful venue for researching information, if she spends time at the library, Amelia knows immediately where to find Michelangelo’s birthday and his mother’s maiden name.
