Amy Hurd

Recipient of the 2023 Milestone Achievement Award

The School’s Milestone Achievement Award honors “unsung” colleagues who strive for social justice, advocate for vulnerable individuals, and personify outstanding social work values. This year’s winner, Amy Hurd, AM ’03, DSW, said one nominator, is one such unsung hero who “deserves a little singing.”

She is “someone who often subtly and nearly always without recognition effects change daily.” In her role as a mitigation specialist in the Office of the Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Virginia, Amy wears many hats as a social worker and team member. She is assigned to all mental health cases, and serves as the point person in the office for coordinating with outside mental health experts, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurologists. She serves as the office’s resident expert in death penalty mitigation. Although her work pulls her in many different directions, “she manages her work with a rare combination of discipline and judgment that makes her invaluable.”

According to one nominator, Amy holds her own as the sole social worker in the law office. She can read a room and, while never pushy or disrespectful, doesn’t hesitate to speak up to ensure that co-workers are treated fairly, or when policies could be affected by implicit bias or practices that perpetuate stereotypes or inequality.

Amy is “deeply compassionate and doggedly tough, which speaks to her pride as a social worker and commitment to excellence on behalf of her clients.” Another nominator seconded that description, stating that “Amy leads by example. She is tenacious, nonjudgmental, and trustworthy.” A new generation of social students benefits from her work as she coordinates office-wide trainings on mental health issues and client-interview skills. Other first-year MSW students have strengthened their skills through a social work internship program that Amy has developed and oversees.

As an alumna, Amy has brought energy and commitment to promote the Crown Family School. When she lived in Pittsburgh, she opened her home for an alumni gathering. Today, she is co-chair of her 20-year reunion committee, putting in many hours to boost interest and attendance, and serving as a remarkable ambassador for the Crown Family School.

Amy’s work has had profound impact, best expressed by one grateful colleague. “When I joined the federal public defender office, I thought I knew a lot about the issues that affect our clients. Amy changed how I think about poverty, race, mental illness, systems of oppression, and trauma. I’m no social worker, but Amy has helped me think more like one. I learn from her every day – even though she is playing six-dimensional chess and I checkers…. If you are not fortunate enough to work with Amy, perhaps you can be inspired in your own work by what she does and who she is.”