Amy O’Neill Richard is the Senior Advisor to the Director in the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP). She serves as Co-Chair of the USG interagency Committee on Human Trafficking Research and Data.
Previously, Ms. Richard worked as the Senior Coordinator for Reports where she oversaw the Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Her own research has earned her several honor awards, including the State Department’s Swanee Hunt Award for Advancing Women’s Role in Policy Formulation and the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs for her report “International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime.” This study, which was carried by the New York Times, was used to support the drafting of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and its findings became an initial baseline for assessing early U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts.
Formerly, Ms. Richard worked in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where she received the Analyst of the Year Award, for shedding new light on transnational organized crime.
Ms. Richard received her Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University where she received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. She graduated from the University of Richmond Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
