Episode 251 | Just Trauma-Informed Research Methods

Episode Citation

Houston-Kolnik, J., Feeney, H., & Pfeffer, R. (2023, July 7). Just Science. Just Trauma-Informed Research Methods. [Audio podcast episode]. RTI International. https://forensicrti.org/just-science-episode-251 

Guest Biography

Jaclyn Houston-Kolnik is a community research psychologist within RTI’s Center for Community Safety and Crime Prevention, where she currently works on a variety of projects focused on exploring the impact of practices and programming on victims’ help-seeking and healing. Dr. Houston-Kolnik has led multiple projects and tasks, including evaluation design, cognitive interviewing, training and technical assistance, and quantitative and qualitative design, data collection, and analyses. Informed by her professional training and experience as a former victim advocate, she has extensive experience translating and disseminating findings to multiple audiences, including practitioners, researchers, and state officials. Dr. Houston-Kolnik also consults on victim-centered, trauma-informed practices in research design and implementation with vulnerable populations. She is the author of numerous articles and technical reports on a range of topics including gender-based violence, childhood exposure to violence, victim service delivery, and community context and victimization.

Hannah Feeney is a Community Psychologist in the Victimization and Resilience Research Program in RTI’s Division of Applied Justice Research. Dr. Feeney currently works on a variety of projects related to sexual victimization, human trafficking, and victims service provision. This work includes training and technical assistance to practitioners. She currently serves as the co-Principal Investigator for an Evaluation of the New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Division. She also serves as the co-Principal Investigator for a study exploring the impact of COVID-19 on victim service providers, a mixed-methods study funded by the National Institute of Justice. Dr. Feeney also serves as the Principal Investigator for the Evaluation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline Project, a mixed-methods study funded by the Administration for Children and Families. She currently serves in leadership roles for multiple projects that focus on varying stakeholders (law enforcement, SAFES, victims’ services) and crime types (sexual assault, human trafficking, FGM/C). In addition, Dr. Feeney supports the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, and various dissemination activities on projects related to sexual victimization. Dr. Feeney has a decade of experience conducting research on the violence and victimization of marginalized communities. Her areas of expertise include community and systems’ response to victimization, help-seeking behavior in survivors, and untested sexual assault kits. She has extensive experience with quantitative and qualitative methods, evaluation theory and implementation, data management, and policy development. Dr. Feeney is well-versed in developing and supporting research partnerships with key stakeholders, including law enforcement personnel, victims service providers, policy makers, and other nonprofit organizations. 

Rebecca Pfeffer is a research criminologist in the Victimization and Resilience Research Program in RTI International’s Division of Applied Justice Research. Her research interests include better understanding and addressing the victimization of vulnerable populations, ranging from survivors of human trafficking to people with disabilities. Additionally, her work focuses on the law enforcement response to human trafficking and the collaborative efforts of law enforcement and victim service providers. Her work, ranging from program evaluations to exploratory research, often relies upon mixed methodologies. Dr. Pfeffer is an expert on human trafficking and has participated in expert working groups on trafficking research with the Office of Violence Against Women, the McCain Foundation, the Cook County Anti-Trafficking Task Force, and the Human Trafficking Research and Data Advisory Roundtable, among others. Before joining RTI in 2020, Dr. Pfeffer was a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work at the University of Houston–Downtown from 2013 to 2020.