Jennifer Middleton, PhD, LCSW

Affiliation: University of Louisville

Dr. Jennifer Middleton is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work and is the Director of the UofL Human Trafficking Research Initiative.  She has considerable expertise in leading and co-leading child welfare research and evaluation projects.  Her substantive area of research is trauma-informed child welfare and forensic social work, with special emphasis placed on organizational health and transformational leadership as it relates to vicarious trauma and job retention. Dr. Middleton is an active member of numerous local, state, national, and international human trafficking initiatives and is fully trained in the Sanctuary Model®.  Prior to making the move to academia, Dr. Middleton worked as a child protection caseworker and team leader, as well as a forensic social worker with sexually exploited and trafficked children and youth for over 10 years in Colorado.  She also serves as the Senior Director of Research at the Center for Trauma Resilient Communities.

Research Interests:

• Utilizing trauma-informed organizational change interventions to disrupt systems of oppression

• Investigating the scope and complexity of child trafficking across the United States, with a focus on family-controlled trafficking