About Amanda Marko
Photo credit: @jennifer.haywood.co
Amanda Marko believes cities rise or fall based on the courage and clarity of their local leadership.
She is running for Roanoke City Council because our leaders aren’t guiding us to the prosperity we deserve. Amanda knows that our safety, economic vitality, infrastructure, and quality of life are the direct result of thoughtful and strategic governance and a healthy dose of common sense.
Before landing in Roanoke, Amanda spent more than two decades working at the intersection of public policy, business, and community development. She served as staff on Capitol Hill, working with communities securing federal support for catalytic projects and first responders. She later led public affairs for the nation’s largest metropolitan chamber of commerce, advocating for transformational regional infrastructure. In the private sector, including global corporate leadership roles, she built coalitions, guided organizations through change, and strengthened connections between business and community. She also served as a commissioned public affairs officer in the United States Navy Reserve.
Today, Amanda is a small business owner and community leader who works with organizations navigating growth and transition. Her expertise spans economic development, regional collaboration, business attraction and retention, workforce strategy, infrastructure investment, and community engagement. She understands how to align stakeholders, manage budgets, pursue state and federal funding, and turn long-term vision into practical execution.
As soon as Amanda and her husband Nicholas chose to live in Roanoke, she jumped into the community in large and small ways. By appointment of Roanoke City Council, Amanda serves on the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission and the Mill Mountain Advisory Board. By appointment of the Governor, she serves on the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority. She volunteers with Junior Achievement, Wellington Homeowners Association, Habitat for Humanity, House of Bread, Military Officers Association of American, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia, Roanoke Valley Garden Club and Mid-Atlantic Italian Greyhound Rescue.
Amanda is running for City Council because Roanoke deserves leadership that listens carefully, plans thoughtfully, and acts decisively so that all of us can find good jobs, feel safe in our homes and on the streets, and take pride in Roanoke’s future.