Donna Sabella, M.Ed., MSN, PhD, PMHNP-BC

Affiliation: UMass Amherst & PA College of Health Sciences

Donna Sabella is a psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner working in corrections. She holds a BA from Indiana University, a BSN from Thomas Jefferson University, an M.Ed. from Temple University, an MSN from Widener University and both a post master’s certificate and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the founder and contributing editor for the American Journal of Nursing’s Mental Health Matters column, and co-founder and associate editor for the Journal of Human Trafficking. A former Program Director and a founding member of Dawn’s Place, a residential recovery program for trafficked and prostituted women in Philadelphia, she is also the former Seedworks Endowed Associate Professor of Nursing and Social Justice at UMass Amherst's College of Nursing. Aside from her expertise in mental health, she is recognized as an expert in human trafficking and has numerous presentations and publications on the topic. While at Drexel University she developed a certificate in Human Trafficking and taught human trafficking courses in other universities. She has experience working in crisis intervention, substance abuse, domestic violence, and forensic nursing. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), and the American Correctional Association (ACA).

Research Interests:

• Mental health implications of human trafficking

• Mental health treatment needs of human trafficking victims

• Incarceration and human trafficking victims

• Human trafficking inside correctional facilities

• Master discourse and the public perception of sex trafficking