National Policy Advocate/Senior Staff Attorney, Children's Advocacy Institute
- JD, 2001, City University of New York School of Law
- BA, 1994, University of Michigan
Amy Harfeld has served as the National Policy Director and Senior Staff Attorney for the Children's Advocacy Institute since 2010. During this time, she has also spent time leading the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths, the Children’s Leadership Council, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth at Risk, and served as pro-bono government affairs liaison for the National Association of Council for Children. Prior to working with CAI, Amy served as the Executive Director of First Star in Washington DC.
Amy has been a dedicated and passionate advocate, educator, and public interest attorney for 25 years. She obtained her BA in 1994 from the University of Michigan, summa cum laude. While serving as a Teach For America corps member, Amy obtained her secondary teaching credential from Cal State LA. After getting a front-line view into the myriad inequities faced by her students, Amy obtained her JD from the City University of New York School of Law (CUNY) in 2001. While at CUNY, she clerked at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and received public interest fellowships to work with the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and with an NGO at the United Nations.
Amy brings a uniquely balanced perspective in her work in federal child welfare policy, having represented the state, dependent children, and formerly incarcerated parents seeking reunification with their children. She has published multiple law review articles
and op-eds, has appeared on several TV news outlets, and provided testimony to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. She is a member of the New York State Bar and the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counsel for Children.
Amy lives in the Washington DC area and is the proud mother of two peppy children.