Faculty & Staff

Faculty

s-wagers

Shelly Wagers, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Phone: (727) 873-4439
Office: USFSP - HWH 202
Send email
Curriculum Vitae                                 

Dr. Shelly M. Wagers is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of South 91社区, Associate Director of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Research Lab, and Director of the BRIGHT Project. Her research focuses on interpersonal violence, with particular emphasis on power, control, and how criminal justice and related institutional responses shape outcomes for victims and survivors.


An applied criminologist with more than 25 years of professional experience as an advocate, law enforcement officer, and scholar, Dr. Wagers has developed theoretical and empirical work on the role of power in intimate partner violence, alongside applied research to improve criminal justice responses to domestic violence. This work reflects a broader research trajectory advancing evidence-based approaches to violence and exploitation across systems. Her current research extends this trajectory to human trafficking, examining how individuals move through鈥攁nd are often missed by鈥攃riminal justice, healthcare, and community systems. She is regularly invited to present her work to national and state audiences, including criminal justice, policy, and multidisciplinary practitioner communities.


Dr. Wagers is the founder and Director of the BRIGHT Project, a research-driven framework and data infrastructure designed to build evidence in anti-trafficking systems. Developed through extensive field research and participatory, community-engaged methods, BRIGHT integrates real-world practice with structured, longitudinal data collection to generate credible evidence on system effectiveness and outcomes. By embedding data capture within routine practice across agencies, the framework supports system-level learning, strengthens coordination, and enables more rigorous evaluation of interventions. This work is supported through competitive state and federal funding and is being expanded statewide as a replicable model.


Her scholarship has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including, , and , and advances the development of evidence-producing systems for addressing interpersonal violence.

External Research Links: