[5] He was a candidate for the Democratic primary for Governor of Illinois for the 2018 election, but dropped out on October 12, 2017, citing a prohibitive lack of campaign funds.

In addition, Ameya is a senior adviser to The Academy Group, a Chicago-based social enterprise working to break the racial wealth gap, and is a lecturer at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.He is also a special adviser to the University of Chicago's Poverty Lab.

To this end, Ameya led most all labor policy and worker rights legislation passed in Chicago over the last eight years, including raising the minimum wage to $13/hr., guaranteeing paid sick leave, combating wage theft, and preserving housing for Chicago's most vulnerable.

Ameya is a US State Department Critical Language Program alum, a 2012 University of Illinois Edgar Fellow, and was named to Crain's Chicago 40 under 40 in 2011.

Prior to leaving office, Ameya chaired the Chicago Resilient Families Task Force.

In 2014, Ameya co-wrote the textbook, “Emergency Management and Social Intelligence: A Comprehensive All-Hazards Approach.” The book was published by Taylor & Francis.

[10] The 47th Ward encompassed the residence of then-mayor Rahm Emanuel, making the mayor a constituent represented by Pawar.