919-590-5772

aryan@townofchapelhill.org
Twitter: @amy4chapelhill

Term of Service

2023-2027 (2019-2023)

Bio

Amy Ryan was elected to Council in 2019.  She has served on Chapel Hill advisory boards and commissions since the early 2000s, including the Morgan Creek Greenway Committee, the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force, the Central West Focus Area Steering Committee, and the Community Design Commission. Most recently, she served for eight years on the town’s Planning Commission, with two years as chair. Her advocacy has focused on land planning issues, sustainable development, and finding ways to create vibrant new places and opportunities in town while fostering the community character we value.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from the university down the road, Amy has spent her working career as a writer and book editor. Her interest in land planning and design was fostered during her graduate work at the NC State College of Design, where she earned a master's degree in landscape architecture and did advanced work on the history of design, with an emphasis on public spaces.

Amy and her husband, Morgan, have lived in Chapel Hill for more than twenty years, raising their children, Ben and Bailey, in the southern part of the southern part of heaven.  When not editing or working on town issues, Amy likes to garden, eat the great food of our local chefs, and kayak on University Lake.

Membership

• Historic District Commission
• Parks, Greenways, and Recreation Commission
• Stormwater Management Utility Advisory Board

Duties

The primary mission of the Mayor and Council, as the governing body of the Town is to adopt and provide for the execution of ordinances, rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to protect health, life or property, or to promote the comfort, convenience, security, good order, better government, or the general welfare of the Town and its citizens.

The Mayor and eight Council Members constitute the governing body of the Town. In accordance with the Town’s Charter, the voters elect a Mayor every two years. Council Members are elected to four-year, staggered terms on an at-large basis. Town Council duties include:

• Amendment of previously adopted policies through changes in the Town Code of Ordinances and the Development Ordinance, and by revision of policies and documents.
• Appointment of advisory boards, commissions, task forces and committees.
• Appointment of the Town Manager and Town Attorney.
• Establishment of agreements with other governments.