Dr. Amy Henderson Riley joined the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) as a Postdoctoral Fellow in June of 2017 to work with Univision/CMSI’s Rise Up Media & Social Change Project. Amy is a mixed methods social and behavior change communication researcher and practitioner, who specializes in entertainment-education (EE) as a strategy for individual and social change. Early in her career, Amy worked on the production and distribution side of media (working for companies including Women Make Movies, Magnolia Pictures, and MTV), and eventually transitioned into research (conducting research for Hollywood, Health & Society, PCI Media Impact, and others).

Amy has conducted EE research in multiple countries and on several continents covering a range of topics, including maternal and child health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, child protection, and violence. Her research aims to connect theory to practice and has been published in journals including Journal of Creative Communications, Journal of Health Communication, and Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing.

Amy received her doctorate (DrPH) from the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health in June 2017. She also holds an MA in Health Education from Columbia University and a BFA in Theater with a Film Studies Concentration from The New School. Her first media job was as a page at The Late Show with David Letterman, where she met a fellow page who is now her husband. Amy works remotely from New Jersey, where she also serves as an adjunct at Temple University and Jefferson University.