Laura Murphy

Laura T. Murphy, PhD, is Associate Professor of English and the Director of the Modern Slavery Research Project at Loyola University New Orleans, where she and a team of researchers work to provide data-informed, community-based, survivor-centered, trauma-informed research and trainings that improve community response to modern slavery in the U.S. and internationally.  She is the author of Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives (Columbia University Press, 2014) and her new book The New Slave Narrative will be published in summer 2019.  Her research on the intersection of homeless youth and human trafficking provided a four-pronged victim-centered community blueprint for how service providers can best assist youth at risk of trafficking.  She serves as a subject matter expert in the field of human trafficking for the U.S. Office of Victims of Crime and the Administration of Children and Families. She is a sought-after trainer and public speaker who has educated and motivated thousands of community activists, students, law enforcement officers, service providers, and medical professionals to employ a trauma-informed response to serve the needs of survivors of trafficking.  As a consultant, she provides stakeholders assistance with community-based research, curriculum design, evaluations, and awareness projects in the field of modern slavery, human trafficking, and other social justice issues.  She serves as the evaluator for several anti-trafficking task forces across the United States.