Amalia Zepou holds a first degree in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (BA 1987), and a Master’s degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research, New York (MA 1991). She was Vice Mayor of Athens, responsible for Civil Society and Innovation (2014-2019).
During her mandate, she created synAthina, the digital platform on which community groups interact with city authorities, private entities, and each other (2014); she supervised the renovation of Kypseli Municipal Market, a focus for social enterprises, non-profits, and community activities involving residents, immigrants and refugees (2015-2018); and she planned and coordinated Curing The Limbo, an innovative local policy for the social integration of refugees, in collaboration with International Rescue Committee, Catholic Relief Services, and the University of Athens (2016-2018). For these projects she won the 2014 European Mayors Challenge award from Bloomberg Philanthropies (€1 million), the 2018 The European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) award (€1 million), nominating Athens the European Capital of Innovation for that year, and the European Commission grant Urban Innovative Actions (€5 million).