UMB's First Executive Director of the Center for Violence Prevention

Finigan-Carr is the inaugural executive director of UMB's Center for Violence Prevention, bringing with her 13 years at Johns Hopkins University where she led summer school initiatives and managed a National Institutes of Health-funded program to reduce aggressive behavior among middle schoolers.

Finigan-Carr is a Baltimore native

Nadine Finigan-Carr, the inaugural executive director of UMB's Center for Violence Prevention and a native New Yorker who has lived in Baltimore for more than 30 years, holds a doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins University as well as a bachelor's degree in African American studies from Wesleyan University. She earned her undergraduate degree in 1976.

She is a social worker and researcher with an expertise in the intersection of social policy, health care, and community-based health initiatives that disproportionately impact people of color. She has authored numerous articles on topics such as adolescent risk behaviors, sexual violence, and racial/ethnic equity in healthcare delivery systems.

Her work has been supported by numerous national organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Most recently, she conducted a multi-disciplinary, multi-site study to determine effective methods to reduce sex violence.

Other projects she has spearheaded include a statewide initiative to reduce violent behavior classes among high school students, an online tool to improve emergency room treatment quality, and research to identify methods for decreasing homicide rates in the city. She has collaborated with researchers on creating a digital dashboard that provides real-time data on crimes committed within the city so law enforcement and criminal justice professionals can respond accordingly.

At her core, she is a social worker with a passion for helping young people overcome challenges. As an experienced teacher, she says successful teaching involves more than simply imparting information; it must also address students' physical and emotional wellbeing needs.

As executive director of the Center for Violence Prevention, she will lead a team in researching and implementing programs designed to reduce homicides in Chicago, prevent child abuse and enhance lives affected by crime. She will report directly to Roger Ward - University provost and executive vice president.

She is a social worker

Finigan-Carr is a social worker dedicated to improving the lives of individuals, families and communities. Her areas of specialization include domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, mental health services and violence prevention initiatives. With over ten years of experience in this field under her belt, Finigan-Carr has developed an affinity for working with survivors of violence and abuse.

Her work involves conducting research and implementing community-based programs that address social issues such as poverty, discrimination and trauma. Furthermore, she acts as an educator and mentor.

She has extensive expertise working with children and youth, particularly teen victims of sexual assault and gang violence. Her passion lies in creating school-, peer-, family- and community-based intervention models to address these issues.

Her work has been recognized with awards and fellowships from organizations such as the Maryland Association of Social Workers, National Association of School Psychologists, and the United States Department of Justice. Additionally, she has presented at conferences, seminars, and meetings.

Finigan-Carr has extensive clinical practice as well as academic credentials from the University of Maryland in Baltimore. There, she taught classes and conducted research on topics ranging from intimate partner violence to domestic abuse.

Her research interests focus on developing and implementing evidence-based interventions for juvenile justice and child protective service (CPS) system-involved youth and their families, with an emphasis on dropout/expulsion prevention; deviant peer relationships; low parenting skills; family conflict/violence prevention. She is especially fascinated with reengineering multisystemic therapy (MST), an ecologically based family-based intervention originally designed for juvenile offenders that has now been proven effective.

She is currently the associate director of the Center for Violence Against Women and Children at Rutgers University School of Social Work. Her research focusses on sexual violence, interpersonal violence, as well as assessing the effectiveness of prevention education campaigns.

Social workers are essential professionals in the human services field and play an essential role in ensuring people receive fair treatment and dignity. They provide individuals and families with support, organize social activities, make recommendations or referrals, and maintain detailed records.

She is a researcher

Research is an intricate process that involves collecting, analyzing and interpreting data. It necessitates a range of skills such as an unwavering attention to detail and the capacity for performing advanced digital and physical searches. Additionally, researchers must possess excellent written and verbal communication abilities; sometimes even interviewing people in order to gather information or assemble databases.

Finigan-Carr has extensive expertise in evaluating social justice issues related to education, particularly within the context of African American students' success. Her research interests include school policies and disproportionate discipline practices which perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline; additionally, she studies how schools respond to trauma and how that impacts learning.

Finigan-Carr has conducted a wide range of research throughout her career and served as principal investigator on multiple studies. Her focus has been on adolescence, an often under-appreciated period when youth are especially vulnerable to negative outcomes like substance use disorder, violence against themselves and suicide.

In addition to her academic and community research, Finigan-Carr serves as a consultant on various initiatives. She serves as advisor for the Maryland State Board of Education's Campus Sexual Assault Law, which requires all higher education institutions within the state to conduct sexual misconduct climate surveys at least every four years.

Researcher Finigan-Carr has spearheaded numerous initiatives that address the needs of systemically affected youth, such as those in foster care or involved with juvenile justice proceedings. She is particularly passionate about advocating for adolescent females and youth of color who have been removed from their families.

She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and served as guest editor for several publications. Furthermore, she frequently speaks at professional conferences about school climate, diversity, and violence prevention.

Finigan-Carr will serve as UMB's inaugural executive director of the Center for Violence Prevention, reporting directly to Roger J. Ward (EDD, JD, MSL, MPA - Provost and Executive Vice President). She will collaborate with faculty across campus to promote campus safety, deliver creative and impactful education, and advocate for policy that builds communities while preventing violence and trauma.

She is a leader

Nadine Finigan-Carr, a Baltimore native who holds a bachelor's degree in African American studies and psychology from Wesleyan University, a master's in applied psychology counseling from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and a doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins University, has taken on the challenge of being the first executive director of UMB's Center for Violence Prevention. She has done so with a deep commitment to violence reduction.

As a social worker and researcher, she has focused her work on issues that disproportionately affect people of color. Her work is grounded in theories and methods found in the fields of behavioral and social science. She is a nationally recognized expert on domestic minor human trafficking and sexual exploitation, among other topics.

She also has experience in education, having served as a first and second grade teacher. In that capacity, she developed an appreciation for how a child's ability to concentrate on academics can be affected by what is going on around them.

At UMB, she has worked with the school's law school and social work to address violence. She has been involved with programs such as the Rebuild, Overcome and Rise Center, which assists low-income residents; the Justice for Victims of Crime Clinic, in which student attorneys provide legal representation to victims of violence; and the Center for Dispute Resolution, which operates a Mediation Clinic and a School Conflict Resolution Education Program that provides training and services for K-12 students, administrators, and teachers.

Her work has been based on the belief that if the people of a community are empowered to advocate for themselves and their families, they can help make changes in their own lives. She says this is especially important for people of color.

In addition, she has a passion for working with youth, especially those who are system involved. This includes those who have been in the foster care system, are in the juvenile justice system or have been removed from their family of origin. She believes these kids have a double vulnerability – adolescence and being separated from their families.