Amy Herdy is an award-winning documentary film producer and journalist whose work has directly impacted American politics and culture, resulting in real-world change.
Ms. Herdy began her career in television news in Kentucky and Florida, where she also worked as a crime reporter at The St. Petersburg Times for seven years. In 2002, she came to The Denver Post as an investigative criminal justice reporter. An investigative series she co-authored in 2003 at The Post, “Betrayal in the Ranks,” outlined how the military mishandles cases of sexual assault and domestic violence. The series was a top-ten Pulitzer finalist in 2004 and spurred Congressional reforms, including for the first time the creation of confidentiality protections for service members who report being sexually assaulted, allowing them to have private conversations with medical personnel, counselors and victim advocates. In addition, Congress passed sweeping reform legislation that ordered the Pentagon to standardize policies and improve victim services, including faster response times for processing forensic evidence.
After the Post, Ms. Herdy worked as an investigative producer at KUSA-TV, where her interview with former Evangelical leader Ted Haggard created a firestorm when he unexpectedly confessed to buying meth from a gay male escort.
Ms. Herdy continued her reporting and impact on military sexual assault as an expert subject and researcher for the Oscar-nominated, Peabody-winning documentary THE INVISIBLE WAR (2012).
As a producer for Jane Doe Films, Ms. Herdy’s second film, THE HUNTING GROUND, about campus sexual assaults, aired on CNN, ignited the national discussion on campus sexual assault and led to changes in school policies throughout our country.
Ms. Herdy’s third film, THE BLEEDING EDGE (2018) unearthed the fast-growing medical device industry’s corruption and malfeasance, catalyzing the removal of devices from the market, and won a DuPont award and also a George Polk award, the first time a documentary won in the medical reporting category.
Her fourth documentary, ON THE RECORD (2020), a searing expose at the intersection of Black Lives Matter & #MeToo, presents the story of music executive Drew Dixon as she struggles with her decision to be one of the first women of color to come forward within the #MeToo movement.
In 2021, Ms. Herdy was co-creator of ALLEN v FARROW, a 4-part HBO series about Dylan Farrow naming her famous father Woody Allen as her perpetrator. The series was nominated for 7 Emmys. That same year, she was Executive Producer of BRITNEY v SPEARS for Netflix.
In addition to the DuPont and Polk awards, other awards Ms. Herdy has received include a National Institute for Healthcare Management Finalist for Television and Radio Journalism Award 2019; an Emmy for an investigative television series she produced on the misconduct of public officials; Society of Professional Journalists awards; a Radio, Television News Directors Association award; an Associated Press award; two American Society of Newspaper Editors awards and a Military Reporters & Editors award.
Her professional engagements include, “Covering Campus Sexual Assault” in New York City in March 2017 and February 2016 for the College Media Association and also in Washington, D.C. in October 2016 for the National Collegiate Press; “Investigative Journalism” in Dhaka, Bangladesh in September 2011 for the U.S. State Department; “The Art of the Interview” for Investigative Reporters and Editors, Denver, July 2010; “The Art of the Interview” and “Journalism and Trauma” in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan in May 2009 for the U.S. State Department; “The Art of the Interview” and “Journalism & Trauma” at Bahria University and the National University of Foreign Languages in Islamabad, Pakistan in November, 2008; “Covering Violence and Teaching Emotional Injury” in March 2007 at the University of Oklahoma, Norman for the Dart Center; a 2005 plenary for the National Center for Victims of Crime conference in Washington, D.C.; a panel for the 2005 Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Denver, Colo.; and a 2004 plenary for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in New Orleans.
A 2015 TEDx talk by Ms. Herdy entitled, “Have You Ever Met a Monster?” that was based on her coverage of the Brent Brents’ case and how it affected her life has garnered more than 1.4 million views.
Ms. Herdy lives with a variety of animals on a farm on an island off the coast of Washington state.
Diary of a Predator 