Jeanne L. Allert, PhD

Professional Bio

Scholar-practitioner and organizational leader specializing in survivor care, domestic sexual exploitation, human trafficking, trauma-informed practice, and the development of evidence-informed service systems. Founder and executive director with extensive experience in research translation, program design, professional training, interagency collaboration, and the advancement of survivor-centered practice.

Professional Experience

Founder and Executive Director, Institute for Survivor Care | 2018–Present

• Founded and lead a national research, training, and capacity-building initiative addressing service gaps for survivors of domestic sexual exploitation and trafficking, including the limited evidence base in this emerging field.
• Provide training, consultation, and mentoring to national and international shelters and organizations serving trafficking survivors.
• Developed and maintain a comprehensive national database of trafficking shelter programs in the United States.
• Convene shelter leaders from across the country to strengthen professional collaboration, articulate a shared field-wide voice, and advance survivor-care practice.
• Designed and implemented a standardized case-management system for trafficking shelter agencies to improve data capture and reporting; the system also contributes data to a national warehouse through partners at Southern Methodist University.
• Developed an online learning platform for staff and volunteers working in survivor care; the platform is currently used by 49% of trafficking shelters, as well as by organizations in the homelessness, addiction-recovery, and child-welfare sectors.
• Developed the first professional peer-support credential for survivors of sex trafficking.

Founder and Executive Director, The Samaritan Women | 2007–2018

• Founded the first long-term shelter program in the Mid-Atlantic region serving minor and adult women who survived domestic sex trafficking.
• Designed the program’s therapeutic model and authored policies integrating clinical and complementary approaches, addiction recovery, trauma-informed care, spiritual healing, and positive psychology.
• Oversaw client intake and discharge processes, interim progress reporting, disciplinary matters, and the collection of client and program-performance data for organizational reporting.
• Established collaborative relationships with the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local law-enforcement agencies to support victim identification and referral.

Education

Ph.D., Counseling and Psychological Studies—Trauma | Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA | 2021

M.A., Church Ministries | St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute, Baltimore, MD | 2019

M.Ed., Curriculum and Development | Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH | 1987

Certifications and Professional Training

• Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviewing (2015)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation Citizens’ Academy (2012)

Selected Publications and Scholarly Contributions

Wyatt, S., & Allert, J. L. (in press). Engaging men in the anti-sex-trafficking movement: Survey findings on participation and pathways to involvement. Journal of Human Trafficking.

Wyatt, S., & Allert, J. (2026). The past maps the road to revictimization: Childhood sexual abuse and coercion as predictors of adult sexual exploitation. Journal of Crime and Criminal Behavior, 6(1).

Allert, J. L., & Wyatt, S. L. (2025). Exiting commercial sexual exploitation. Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence, 10(4), Article 6.

Allert, J. L. (2025). Spiritual practices in survivor care: A qualitative analysis of Christian faith-based shelters and survivor well-being. Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence, 10(3), Article 7.

Allert, J. (2023). Survivors’ perceptions of faith practices. Institute for Survivor Care.

Allert, J. L. (2022). Justice professionals’ lens on familial trafficking cases. Criminal Justice Review, 47(2), 208–224.

Allert, J. L. (2021). A mixed-methods descriptive study of domestic minor familial sex trafficking through the lens of justice professionals [Doctoral dissertation, Regent University].

Allert, J. (Ed.). (2017). PRACTICES: A national survey report of residential service providers. Institute for Survivor Care.

Allert, J. (2016). Funding landscape for residential agencies for victims of domestic sex trafficking.

Co-authored Guide for Residential Service Providers for Human Trafficking Survivors with the U.S. Department of Justice (2015).

Reviewer, American Psychological Association’s first white paper on domestic sex trafficking (2014).

Professional Contributions and Public Engagement

• Dissertation reviewer for trafficking studies, Regent University (2023–Present).
• Peer reviewer for journal article submissions, Human Trafficking Journal (2023–Present).
• Featured in the national documentary Sex Nation (2022).
• Served on the National Advisory Council for the Conference on Crimes Against Women as a human-trafficking expert (2019–2021).
• Featured in a 2015 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) feature.
• Featured in the national documentary In Plain Sight (2015).
• Featured in FACES: Imprisoned Women and Their Struggle with the Criminal Justice System by Betty May.
• Featured in Heroes of Hope: Intimate Conversations with Six Abolitionists and the Sex Trafficking Survivors They Serve by David Trotter.
• Coordinated state lobbying efforts and provided testimony concerning anti-trafficking legislation.

Honors and Awards

• Champion of Courage, WBFF Fox 45 (2019).
• Top 100 Women in Maryland, The Daily Record (2019).
• Most Innovative Woman of the Year—Government and Nonprofits, Stevie American Business Awards (2018).
• Woman of Distinction, Junior League of Baltimore (2018).
• Service to Survivors Award, Las Vegas Metro Police Foundation (2015).
• Outstanding Nonprofit Service, Maryland Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration (2013).
• Women Making a Difference in the Lives of Women and Girls, Soroptimists International, Howard County Chapter and Southeast Region (2012).
• Maryland Governor’s Volunteer Service Award (2009 and 2015).
• Entrepreneur of the Year, Women’s Entrepreneurial Network, George Washington University.
• Named one of the Top 100 Women in Computing by McGraw-Hill Publishers.
• Outstanding Woman of Technology, Open Computing and Business Week magazines.