Annemarie Amefia is a transformative strategist with more than two decades of experience leading and advising mission-driven organizations through moments of growth, change, and reinvention. As Founder and Principal of Catalyzed Impact, she partners with nonprofits, education institutions, and philanthropic ventures to build systems, structure, and strategy that drive lasting impact.

Annemarie is sought after for her expertise in organizational turnaround, executive transition, fund development, and strategic planning. Her current portfolio includes guiding a national health-based nonprofit through a founder-to-infrastructure leadership transition; leading a full-scale revitalization of a youth-serving organization focused on trauma-informed care; and helping a STEM-focused research institute build a statewide education and workforce development arm that addresses gender and access inequities. She is also designing leadership development programs for adolescent girls and supporting the expansion of a grief and mental health center through mission clarity and board development.

Prior to founding Catalyzed Impact, Annemarie served as President and COO of a regional education nonprofit, where she rebuilt operations, quadrupled the budget, secured over $1.4M in new funding, and led the organization through a full strategic, financial, and branding transformation. She is best known for her 17-year tenure as the Founding President & CEO of Open Doors Academy, which she grew from a grassroots program into a statewide model for out-of-school learning and wraparound youth development. She later launched the Center for Out-of-School Advancement to scale capacity, policy alignment, and programmatic innovation for youth organizations across Ohio.

Annemarie holds a PhD in Urban Education from Cleveland State University, a Master’s in Child and Adolescent Development from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Psychology from Ohio University. Her leadership has been recognized through numerous regional and national awards, and she frequently speaks on nonprofit resilience, education equity, and women’s leadership. A mother of two, she writes candidly about the intersection of motherhood, identity, and ambition—centering the often-unspoken experiences of women in leadership.