Amy Meli is a postdoctoral research associate at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, working with the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Her research centers around interest groups and the way they influence the political system. Research projects include an examination of the way involvement in interest groups influences interest group member political efficacy and affective polarization, the relationship between interest groups and the political parties, and corporate reactions to the January 6 insurrection.

Amy holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Maryland, an M.A. from the Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University, and a B.A. in Political Science and Communication Studies from Virginia Tech. She comes to academia after a career as a practitioner of politics, including work in the U.S. House of Representatives, corporate public affairs, grassroots organizations, and political action committees.