Elyssa Schroeder
PhD Student
ABD
Elyssa Schroeder (she/her) is a licensed social worker whose research focuses on gender-based violence survivors and critical trafficking studies. Her past experience centers on shelter-based domestic violence and human trafficking programs in the US and internationally. Currently, she uses historical materialism to explore the systemic oppressions at the heart of human trafficking for intersectional analysis. Community-based participatory research allows her to join with service providers and survivors in creating and evaluating interventions that are survivor-centered, adaptable, culturally-rooted, and sustainable.
Elyssa utilizes a mixed methods approach in her current international human trafficking research in West Africa which has been funded by the International Labour Organization and through a Fulbright Student Research Grant. She has worked as a Pre-doctoral Research Fellow at the Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach since 2019 where she has used expertise in research and trauma-informed consulting with the Center’s implementation partners.
Elyssa has worked as a domestic violence advocate, victim services coordinator, policy analyst, and trauma therapist, all experiences that inform her research and emphasis on community collaboration. In addition to her academic and professional pursuits, Elyssa works as a dance teacher and serves as the Board Secretary of DIVAS Who Win, a local non-profit addressing substance use and sex trafficking.
