Elisabeth Ann Leamy is an American journalist, author and speaker. Currently, she writes a column for The Washington Post. Leamy also hosts a podcast called "Easy Money," produced by District Productive in Washington, D.C. Leamy has been the investigative correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show since 2013. From 2005 to 2013, she was the consumer correspondent for Good Morning America and other ABC News programs. Leamy wrote an ABC News Business column from 2006 to 2015. In 2014, she was the host of the YouTube show "Free For All," about free products and services available to consumers. Leamy is the author of two books, Save BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands and The Savvy Consumer: How to Avoid Scams and Rip-Offs That Cost You Time and Money and is the recipient of 13 Emmy awards. Leamy is also a professional speaker with membership in the National Speakers Association. She gives speeches about financial literacy, career success, pitching stories to the media, and saving money.
Leamy began her television news career in Bakersfield, California at KERO-TV 23. She then worked at WFLA-TV in Tampa from 1994-1997. Leamy was the consumer and investigative reporter at Fox 5 WTTG in Washington, DC from 1997 to 2005.
Current career
Currently, Elisabeth Leamy writes a Washington Post consumer column about topics such as how to avoid robocalls, whether expensive paint brands are worth it, and ways to save money on organic groceries. Leamy launched a podcast in June 2006 called "Easy Money" about ways to make more money, save more money, and find your unclaimed money. The podcast has an accompanying blog where Leamy posts detailed show notes for her listeners. Leamy continues to work as the investigative correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show. She frequently discusses her consumer and medical reports as a guest on Washington, D.C. radio stations and television stations. From 2005 to 2013, she was the consumer correspondent for Good Morning America and other ABC News programs. Leamy continues to write an ABC News Business column. She was host of the YouTube show "Free For All," about free products and services available to consumers. Leamy is the author of two books, Save BIG: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands and The Savvy Consumer: How to Avoid Scams and Rip-Offs That Cost You Time and Money.
Notable news reports
In 1999, while at WTTG, Leamy broadcast an investigative story about a Washington, D.C. rave party called "Buzz." The story alleged that D.C. police officers working off-duty security for the party ignored drug use by patrons. The Washington City Paper criticized the story. Buzz was temporarily shut down and the owners later sued WTTG. In 2006, Leamy investigated the herbal remedy "Airborne" for Good Morning America, questioning the company's clinical trial evidence and marketing claims. Two years later, Airborne settled a class action lawsuit and FTC charges, not admitting fault, but agreeing to refund consumers up to $30 million. In 2010, Leamy conducted an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama about the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. From 2011 to 2012, Leamy did a series of reports for Good Morning America called "Show Me the Money" which reunited people with unclaimed money held by the government totaling nearly $2 million. Leamy's story about a West Virginia Woman who was trying to collect a $10 million judgment from an abusive debt collector was ABC's most-trafficked web feature of 2012. In 2013, Leamy reported for The Dr. Oz Show that epidural steroid injections for back pain are not FDA approved and have caused injuries and deaths. Later that year, she reported that LASIKeye surgery had more serious side effects than first reported. In 2015, Leamy reported for The Dr. Oz Show that ten doctors who had called upon Columbia University to fire Dr. Oz had ties to the Genetically Modified Food industry. Dr. Oz has said that genetically modified food should be labeled as such.
Personal life
Leamy is married to Kris Persinger, a financial planner, and they have a daughter, Kelsea Adair Leamy Persinger, born in 2006. Her father is Patrick MacLeamy, Chairman of HOK, an architectural firm. Her mother is Jeanne MacLeamy, city council member for Novato, California. John Leamy, the drummer for Masters of Reality, and Elisabeth are cousins.
Awards
Leamy is the recipient of 13 Emmy awards and 4 Edward R. Murrow Awards. In 2001, she was a finalist for the Livingston Award for young journalists.
