Amy Correia
She’s made a career of helping her community
Some people are happy to help their neighbors in their spare time. Amy Correia has made it her career.
She came to town to study social work at the University of Iowa. She’s now the Johnson County Social Services Coordinator and has spent the last year as a member of the Iowa City Council.
Service to her community began while she was an undergraduate student.
“It was a requirement in classes. You have to have volunteer experience,” Correia said. “It’s just continued to be a value to me.”
Her work on the council has included serving as liason to the Youth Advisory Commission and working on affordable housing issues.
Correia is compensated for her current positions in local government, but it’s still a labor of love.
“It feels like I’m getting paid for volunteer work,” she said.
Correia, a mother of two, also continues to volunteer time with a disabled neighbor, helping him with chores such as grocery shopping and doing taxes.
“He was nervous about having somebody that he didn’t know help him,” she said. “He lives near me, and it was something different from being on the council. I wanted to do something that felt like a true volunteer thing.”
Correia has enjoyed her first year on the City Council and remains excited about the possibilities of serving her community.
“I had been doing a lot of advocacy before I was on the council,” she said. “I had a kind of a sense of what the council can do and what they can’t do.
“One of the reasons I wanted to be on the council is that I have my perspective of working in social work, and I wanted to bring that experience to the council. It feels like I’m able to help in a different capacity.”
With another two years left in her term, Correia isn’t sure what her future holds.
“No matter what I do, it’s going to be useful,” she said.
— Jon Klinkowitz
