Ioanna Paraskevopoulos

Ioanna is the Development Specialist for the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. She also consults on public policy and fundraising for other local nonprofits. Prior to this, she co-founded Action Tank, a nonprofit think tank, as a way to provide free policy research and technical assistance to Cincinnatians, especially community and neighborhood groups, advocating on behalf of their neighbors. She observed the need for an organization like Action Tank while serving as Chief of Staff to Cincinnati City Council Member David Mann for three and a half years. Under her leadership, the Council Member’s office introduced and passed signature legislation to help re-frame conversations surrounding development in Cincinnati, including calling for a community benefits agreement in connection with the FC Cincinnati MLS soccer stadium; an ordinance to regulate short term rentals like Airbnb in the city; an ordinance creating an affordable housing trust fund; and a motion to create an energy efficiency bench marking program in Cincinnati to reduce utility and housing costs. From 2010 – 2016, she worked at the U.S. Department of State, where she was the Senior Human Rights and Congressional Affairs Officer for the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. In that role, she prepared principals to testify before Congress on critical issues such as the U.S. response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Iran’s influence in the region, embassy security, and the Department budget. She also served as bureau coordinator for the UN General Assembly, and served as the bureau lead on LGBT issues, trafficking in persons, human rights reports, international religious freedom reports, child soldiers, and the atrocity prevention board. She has a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University and a J.D. from Northern Kentucky University.