Calli Cain, Ph.D.

 

Dr. Calli M. Cain joined Florida Atlantic University as an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2018. Her primary research interests include human trafficking, victimization, juvenile delinquency, corrections, and public opinion of criminal justice policy. Dr. Cain has published more than a dozen journal articles, technical reports, and book entries related to these topics. Her work has appeared in top journals in the field, including Violence & Victims, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Criminal Justice & Behavior, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Criminal Justice Policy Review. She has also worked on several projects with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, the Douglas County Juvenile Justice System (in Omaha, NE), and the National Institute of Justice, among others. Her work with correctional and juvenile justice agencies focuses on improving evidence-based practices through the development and/or use of data, and the dissemination of evaluation findings to relevant stakeholders.

Before getting her doctorate, Dr. Cain worked in a foster home for youth with extreme victimization, mental health, substance abuse and delinquency problems. She also worked for a statewide non-profit organization in Nebraska as a human trafficking educator and lobbied to get Nebraska to pass a bill against human trafficking. Additionally, Dr. Cain spent time abroad in Cambodia and Uganda volunteering with local non-profits that were combating human trafficking. She pursued her Ph.D. after realizing how few resources were available to help victims of human trafficking and how little the general public knew about this human rights issue.  Since joining FAU, Dr. Cain has become an active member of the Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Broward Human Trafficking Coalition, and the Ark of Freedom Alliance Human Trafficking Collective Impact Initiative (where she serves as co-chair of the data group).

Dr. Cain developed face-to-face and online courses on human trafficking for undergraduate and graduate students at FAU. She actively mentors and supports students impassioned about human trafficking, victimization, and corrections and seeks other opportunities for community engagement. Dr. Cain also teaches courses in Corrections, Sex Offender Research and Policy, Research Methods, and Victimology.