Amy S. Hess
Executive Assistant Director
FBI Science and Technology Branch
BSAAE 1989
"Throughout my career, I've found that an engineering degree from Purdue automatically engenders credibility and respect. My education gave me both the foundation and the confidence to succeed."
Ms. Amy S. Hess graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 1989. In January 2014, she was named Executive Assistant Director of the FBI's Science and Technology Branch. Ms. Hess has executive oversight of the Criminal Justice Information Services, Laboratory, and Operational Technology Divisions, which provide vital support to law enforcement and national security investigations throughout the world.
Ms. Hess began her career as a Special Agent with the FBI in January 1991. She was first assigned to the Kansas City office where she investigated violent crimes, gangs, and drug trafficking organizations. She was an applicant assessor, a firearms instructor, and a charter member of the Evidence Response Team.
In 1999, Ms. Hess transferred to the Louisville office where she investigated domestic terrorism. She also served as the division's principal firearms instructor and its first Joint Terrorism Task Force coordinator before being promoted to supervisor of the counterterrorism and counterintelligence squad. In 2005, she reported to FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as an Assistant Inspector/Team Leader in the Inspection Division, where she led reviews of 23 different field offices, headquarters divisions, and overseas offices.
Ms. Hess was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office in 2007, assigned to the Tucson Resident Agency where she oversaw operational and administrative matters in southern Arizona. During this assignment, she was temporarily deployed as the On-Scene Commander of the FBI's counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
Ms. Hess returned to FBI Headquarters in 2008, as chief of the Executive Staff in the National Security Branch. She was subsequently named Section Chief in the International Operations Division where she was responsible for supporting Legal Attache offices in 61 countries. In 2010, she was named Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis office, overseeing all FBI personnel and operations in the Middle and Western Federal Judicial Districts of Tennessee. In 2011, Ms. Hess was named Assistant Director of the Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia.
Originally from Jeffersonville, Indiana, Ms. Hess is married to Robert Novotny who retired from the FBI in 2004, after nearly 33 years of service.