Audrey Hertzberg

Audrey J. Hertzberg is an attorney at the EMPOWER Center and Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Sanctuary for Families. Founded in 2020, EMPOWER is the first medical-legal partnership in New York serving survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to Audrey, the multi-disciplinary EMPOWER staff includes a program director, a program coordinator, a peer navigator, an economic empowerment specialist, a case manager, an OB/GYN, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a nurse practitioner, and social work interns. The full EMPOWER team meets on a weekly basis to coordinate holistic services and support for clients.

Audrey is a courtroom litigator across the five boroughs providing direct representation to survivors in matters including custody, divorce (contested and uncontested), child support, orders of protection, and Administration of Children’s Services (“ACS”). Audrey also provides criminal legal advocacy for open charges, vacaturs of crimes related to being trafficked, victim-witness support, and maintains an immigration caseload of T Visa and Asylum applications. Audrey has been with EMPOWER since September 2022. Prior to joining SFF, Audrey graduated from The University of Michigan Law School where she was a Director of the Gender Violence Project for three years and provided legal services to survivors of domestic violence and trafficking experiencing homelessness in the Detroit-Metro area. Prior to law school, Audrey worked as a social work client advocate in The SAFE Alliance Family Shelter, a 105-bed shelter for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking in Austin, TX.