Amy Silverman

Amy Silverman is a journalist, writer and teacher based in her hometown, Phoenix, Arizona. She is currently executive producer for The Show, an original production of KJZZ, the Phoenix NPR member station. She also writes a regular column for PHOENIX magazine; curates Bar Flies, a storytelling show; and teaches memoir writing workshops. She has reported on people with serious mental illness and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities for many years — including with support from the Carter Center. In spring 2021 Amy was a Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where she developed WORDSLAW, a storytelling workshop for people with intellectual disabilities designed to better center people with ID in stories. In 2026, she’s working with the Reynolds Journalism Institute to develop a guide that will allow newsrooms to do the same.

Amy’s work has appeared on the radio shows Here & Now, The Pulse and This American Life, and she’s been published by ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, STAT, Slate, The Forward, Literary Hub, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, Lenny Letter, Motherwell, and Brain, Child. Amy worked for 25 years as a staff writer and managing editor at New Times, the alternative weekly in Phoenix. She’s a member of the advisory board of the National Center on Disability and Journalism, where she has updated two editions of NCDJ’s disability language style guide. Amy’s first book,  My Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love and Down Syndrome, was published by Woodbine House in 2016. Amy is a graduate of Scripps College (B.A., American Studies) and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism (M.S.). She lives with her husband, Ray Stern. They have two daughters. Learn more at amy-silverman.com.

Amy can coach on :

• intellectual disability & serious mental illness
• juvenile justice & serious mental illness
• audience engagement

Amy can be reached at amysilvermanaz@gmail.com.