Mary Burke

Dr. Burke is a Professor at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she is faculty in the Doctoral Program in Counseling Psychology, the Master of Psychology Program and Undergraduate Criminology. Her scholarly interests include minority mental health in the context of oppressive systems, gender-based violence, trauma and human trafficking. In 2004 she founded the Social Impact Institute (formerly the Project to End Human Trafficking) through which she collaborated regionally, nationally, and internationally to raise awareness about the enslavement and economic exploitation of people. In this role, Dr. Burke lectured extensively and facilitated trainings about human trafficking both in the United States and abroad. She began anti-trafficking coalitions in Pennsylvania and Virginia and consulted on the development of coalitions in other regions. In addition, she has spoken at the United Nations and to various state and regional elected officials in Pennsylvania and Virginia regarding this issue. She has worked on legislation in these states in support of strengthening human trafficking laws.

Current international efforts are focused in Uganda where she and her team work collaboratively with citizens to prevent gender-based violence and trafficking through school and community based programming. Access to education and therapeutic services for women and child sex trafficking survivors is also part of the efforts in the Soroti and Lira areas of northern Uganda, a region traumatically impacted by armed conflict for over twenty years.

Dr. Burke was a member of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Trafficking of Women and Girls and is working to advance knowledge about current best practices regarding therapeutic work with survivors. She is often called upon to assist news media outlets on the issue of trafficking.