VCU news

By Office of Development and Alumni Relations staff

Dhara Minesh Amin, Ph.D., learned early on the economic challenges working families can face. Her grandmother cared for her and her brother in suburban Chicago while her parents both worked long hours. Despite two incomes and access to free child care, the family still sometimes had to choose between paying utility bills and purchasing essentials, such as food and diapers. 

Amin’s family consistently reinforced the importance of education and encouraged her independence and determination. A first-generation Indian American, she overcame limited resources to pursue higher education. 

Amin graduated with a B.S. in human development and a minor in leadership and social change from Virginia Tech. She then earned a master’s in criminal justice and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration with a concentration in criminal justice policy from VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. In graduate school, Amin discovered her path. “VCU and the Wilder School completely changed my trajectory,” Amin says. Student networking opportunities led her to the public safety sector.

While working toward her degree, Amin joined the Virginia Department of Corrections in 2013 as a graduate fellow through the Wilder School’s Graduate Scholars Fellowship and then as a Prison Rape Elimination Act hotline coordinator. That role led to Amin’s dissertation research about students’ awareness, knowledge and perceptions of mandatory reporting of sexual victimization on college campuses. 

“I never thought I’d go for my Ph.D., let alone collect my own data,” Amin says. “To take data and apply it to helping someone, whether improving mandatory reporting on college campuses or collecting audit documentation for sexual victimization allegations in the prison system, has a lifelong impact.”  

Several years later, Amin moved to the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, where she examined data to evaluate ongoing programs and initiatives. “We tried to figure out what was working and what was not working and how we could better some outcomes and make policy, procedural, and operational suggestions,” she says. 

Amin recently switched to the private sector and works at Guidehouse as a managing consultant in the state and local government division. She combines her public service experience with private sector tools and expertise to help state and local governments optimize solutions and outcomes.

On Oct. 29, Amin will be one of 10 individuals honored by VCU Alumni at its 10 Under 10 awards event, which will be held in person (invitation only). The program celebrates notable alumni who have earned a VCU degree within the past 10 years. This year’s honorees represent eight schools and colleges and six graduation years; five of the honorees represent minority populations, and nine are advanced degree holders. 

Throughout her adult life, Amin has volunteered for the causes she cares most about. In 2014, she collaborated with the organization Drish-ti to collect more than 400 pounds of T-shirts from local organizations as well as VCU and Virginia Tech and their alumni networks. She then drove more than 2,800 miles across India to deliver the shirts to their new owners. 

Amin also volunteered with One Book, One Facility, which provides youth in the juvenile justice system with a thought-provoking book and the chance to discuss important topics with mentors and peers. 

In addition to her formal volunteer roles, Amin supports younger relatives who hope to attend college, largely because of her gratitude for the mentors who helped her along her journey. 

“It could have been very easy for me to end up on the other side of the system like the youth DJJ works with,” Amin says. “Instead, I made it!”

A glance at the 2022 10 Under 10 honorees: 

Henry Agyeman, Pharm.D. 

2017 Bachelor of Science, College of Humanities and Sciences

Amma Agyemang, Ph.D.

2012 Master of Science, College of Humanities and Sciences

2016 Doctor of Philosophy, College of Humanities and Sciences

Dhara Minesh Amin, Ph.D.

2014 Master of Science, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

2019 Doctor of Philosophy, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Laura Colagrande

2013 Bachelor of Fine Arts, School of the Arts

Darrion R. Holloway, Esq.

2013 Bachelor of Science, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Allyson Kennedy, Ph.D.

2012 Master of Science, College of Humanities and Sciences

2016 Doctor of Philosophy, VCU Life Sciences

Alex Ratti

2013 Bachelor of Science, College of Engineering

2018 Master of Science, College of Engineering

Amanda Berkley Seibert

2012 Bachelor of Science, Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture

Aditi Annu Sharma, M.D.

2017 Doctor of Medicine, School of Medicine

Tara Talbott

2016 Bachelor of Science, School of Nursing

2019 Master of Science, School of Nursing