Kimberly Hogan, PhD, LMSW, MA
Affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work
Dr. Kimberly Hogan is a social work scholar whose research, teaching, and practice focus on human trafficking prevention, identification, and survivor-centered response. Her work sits at the intersection of health, behavioral health, and justice systems, with a particular emphasis on translating research into practice and strengthening trauma-informed, multidisciplinary systems of care.
Dr. Hogan has led and contributed to federally funded and community-based initiatives aimed at improving responses to human trafficking across diverse settings. Most notably, she served as Principal Investigator for SOARing in Mississippi (2022–2025), a $2.5 million initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Trafficking in Persons, which advanced screening, training, and protocol development across healthcare and behavioral health systems in high-risk and underserved regions. Her program evaluation work includes partnerships with family justice centers and residential programs serving both youth and adult survivors, contributing to the evidence base on coordinated, survivor-centered service delivery.
Her scholarship has been published in journals such as Public Health Reports, Journal of Social Service Research, Social Sciences, and Journal of Human Trafficking. She is a certified expert witness and subject-matter expert for the U.S. Department of Justice and has collaborated with national and federal partners including the Office on Trafficking in Persons, the National Criminal Justice Training Center, and multidisciplinary task forces across the United States.
Dr. Hogan’s contributions to the field have been widely recognized. She is the recipient of the 2025 Influential Scholar Award from the International Human Trafficking & Social Justice Conference, and was named a 2025 national finalist for the Linda Saltzman New Investigator Award (CDC Foundation, RALIANCE, and Futures Without Violence). Her teaching and community-engaged work have also been recognized through multiple faculty and community engagement awards.
Prior to her academic career, Dr. Hogan was a high school educator and played a key role in launching Phoenix Starfish Place, one of the first HUD-supported residential programs for survivors of human trafficking and their children. She continues to integrate practice, policy, and research through her work with community partners and national initiatives. Dr. Hogan earned both her MSW and PhD from Arizona State University.
Research Interests:
Human Trafficking (Sex and Labor Trafficking)
Survivor-Centered and Trauma-Informed Practice
Health and Behavioral Health System Responses
Program Evaluation and Evidence-Informed Practice
Gender-Based Violence (including Domestic Violence and IPV)
Forensic Social Work
LGBTQ+ Issues
Crime Mapping and Data-Informed Decision Making