Barbara is graduating with a major in Public Policy, and a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is very passionate about female empowerment and the intersection between current events and the financial markets. Barbara is an active member of Duke Association for Business Oriented Women and she has held several Wall Street internships throughout her time at Duke. In December, she is publishing her first book, “Brains, Beauty, Boss,” a book about female empowerment in the workplace. After graduation, Barbara is working at Citi in Sales and Trading in New York City.

Honors Thesis:

Analysis of Human Trafficking in North Carolina: Examining partnerships amongst anti-human trafficking stakeholders in North Carolina

Faculty Advisor: Professor Kristin A. Goss

Abstract: This thesis will examine the range of partnerships that anti-human trafficking organizations in North Carolina have, and what the best practices are for these partnerships. Through conducting semi-structured interviews with key anti-human trafficking stakeholders in North Carolina, I analyze the best and worst practices for these partnerships, and where they can improve. Some of the key stakeholders interviewed include Nancy Hagan from the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, Paul Phelan from the North Carolina Justice Academy, Robin Colbert from the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Tammy Harris from The Ursus Institute, Betsy Wiest from Sisters of Saint Joseph, Jennifer Robinson from Legal Aid of NC, and Molly Overholt from the NC Council For Women and Youth Involvement. The interviews provide insight towards the main relationships each stakeholder maintains, in addition to the strengths and weaknesses of each stakeholder. Some of the key strengths amongst NC stakeholders include clear communication with national stakeholders, effective use of the “empowerment model,” the prioritization of the education of youth, and collaboration with organizations outside of human trafficking. Some of the key weaknesses amongst NC stakeholders include lack of a direct service model, lack of a focus on prevention, the use of self-reporting statistics, and lack of a connection with lawmakers. At the end of the thesis, I provide two policy recommendations. The first policy recommendation entails the implementation of a model similar to the anti-domestic violence model. The second policy recommendation is the implementation of uniform cross training amongst the different stakeholders.