Dr. Finigan-Carr

Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, Ph.D., is a prevention research scientist focused on the application of behavioral and social science perspectives to research on contemporary health problems, especially those that disproportionately affect people of color. Her scholarship is grounded in theories and methods found primarily in the field of health behavior change among individuals and the environments that support or impede chronic disease prevention or management, injury, and violence. She is an internationally recognized expert on minor human trafficking and sexual exploitation having collaborated with colleagues in the UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. In 2018, she presented a TedX talk titled, Child Prostitutes Don’t Exist. She holds dual appointments at the University of Maryland, Baltimore – Research Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Associate Professor in the School of Medicine. Recently, she was named the inaugural Executive Director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Center for Violence Prevention. The center’s mission is to build resilient and equitable communities for all through the prevention and intervention of all forms of violence and trauma.  She is the Principal Investigator of research projects at both the state and federal levels designed to intervene with system involved youth – those in foster care or the juvenile justice system. These youth have a double vulnerability – adolescence, a critical stage marked by increased risk for negative social and behavioral outcomes including aggression and sexual risk behaviors; and, being removed from their families of origin. Dr Finigan-Carr is the author of Linking Health and Education for African American Students’ Success (Routledge Press). She has served as special guest editor for the Journal of Negro Education (2015), the Journal of Violence and Victims (2020), and Children and Youth Services Review (2022). She also serves as a Commissioner of Community Relations in the Baltimore City Office of Civil Rights, Equity and Wage Enforcement.