Senator John Liu Recognizes Amy Tam-Liao As 2025 Woman Of Distinction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 16, 2025
Contact: Soojin Choi |347-556-6335| press@johnliusenate.com 

Bayside, NY - Senator John Liu today recognized traffic safety advocate Amy Tam-Liao as his 2025 New York State Senate Women of Distinction Honoree. Amy is a founding member of Families for Safe Streets who turned a personal tragedy into powerful activism for traffic safety and legislative change after her 3-year-old daughter, Allison Hope Liao, was struck and killed by a distracted driver in 2013 while she and her grandmother were crossing the street, hand-in-hand.

Although Allison and her grandmother had the walk signal, the driver failed to yield and faced minimal consequences. In response, Amy and her husband, along with a group of families affected by traffic violence, became founding members of the traffic safety advocacy organization, Families for Safe Streets.

For more than a decade, Amy has played a pivotal role in making streets safer for pedestrians by sharing her family’s story and working to change the behaviour of driving in a large, crowded city where pedestrians outnumber drivers on a daily basis. Her work has helped lower the citywide speed limit and establish the largest speed safety program in the nation. 

State Senator John Liu stated, “Amy Tam-Liao took unimaginable grief and turned it into a life-saving purpose. Her activism has not only saved lives but forced change to New York’s traffic safety laws, raised awareness about driver responsibility, and brought needed justice to our streets. Her work continues to embody the spirit of activism and community service, making her truly deserving of being named a New York State Woman of Distinction.” 

Amy Tam-Liao stated, “It’s a tremendous honor to be named a Woman of Distinction. This award belongs to every family that has turned the pain and suffering of losing a loved one into activism and change for the betterment of their community. All children deserve to grow up safely, and I’ll continue to fight for a world where no other family has to endure the heartbreak of preventable traffic violence.”