Viola Vaughan-Eden is a Professor and the PhD Program Director with
The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work at Norfolk State University in Southeastern Virginia.
She is also the President and CEO of UP For Champions, a non-profit in partnership with
The UP Institute,
a think tank for upstream child abuse solutions, which she co-founded. Dr. Vaughan-Eden has provided mental health and forensic
services to trauma victims and their families for more than 35 years. She was a founding staff member of a groundbreaking Child Abuse Program that eventually became a nationally accredited Children's Advocacy Center at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.
Throughout her career, Dr. Vaughan-Eden has evaluated and/or consulted on more than 3,000 cases of maltreatment and provided expert testimony more than 700 times. She has trained PhD and MSW students, psychology interns, medical residents, physicians, child protection workers, guardians ad litem, judges, and law enforcement to enhance their awareness of child development, assessment, and treatment. She has served as an expert witness in more than 22 jurisdictions within Virginia as well as 10 other states and three branches of U.S. Military Court. To strengthen her understanding of the judicial system, she attended Loyola University Chicago Law School obtaining a Master of Jurisprudence in Children's Law and Policy in 2013.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is a nationally recognized leader committed to advancing the fields of child maltreatment prevention and forensic social work. She serves on several national boards and committees, including the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment, and as the child welfare advisor to the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University. She is President Emerita and Fellow of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), President Emerita of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV), and President Emerita of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW). Beyond her work and speaking engagements across the United States, she has shared her expertise globally delivering lectures and providing consultation to multidisciplinary teams in countries such as Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, Dr. Vaughan-Eden has authored numerous articles and book chapters on child maltreatment and violence prevention. She is one of the editors-in-chief of the six-volume 2022 NPEIV Handbook on Interpersonal Violence, a founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forensic Social Work, and former Editorial Advisor for the Journal of Social Work Education. She serves on the Council of Publications for CSWE, as well as the editorial boards of several research journals.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is also a prominent voice in child protection policy. As recently as 2025, she was consultant to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank Group (WBG), and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). In 2016, she was invited to Capitol Hill as a distinguished panelist for the Congressional Briefing entitled Protecting Child Safety in Family Court sponsored by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) with former Congressman Greg Laughlin. A year earlier, in 2015, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was honored to be invited by U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) to speak at the Congressional Briefing Spare the Rod, Protect the Child: A Reconsideration of Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools. These invitations reflect her ongoing commitment to shaping national conversations on child safety and violence prevention.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden has been distinguished for her contributions to child advocacy, mental health, and social work. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2011 Outstanding Service Award in Mental Health from the National Children's Advocacy Center and the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers - Virginia Chapter. In 2013, she was acknowledged for Excellence in Child Advocacy by the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation.
Her leadership and dedication have also been celebrated closer to home. In 2014, she was recognized by Champions for Children: Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads, and in 2015, by the Family and Children's Trust Fund of Virginia (formerly the Governor's Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect).
In 2018, Dr. Vaughan-Eden received the APSAC Outstanding Service Award, and in 2019, she was named a Leadership Scholar by the Council on Social Work Education. The National Organization of Forensic Social Work presented her with the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Most recently, in 2023, she was recognized as the Outstanding Individual in Academia by the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP), an honor highlighted by both Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and Norfolk State University. That same year, she was awarded the Donald R. Fridley Memorial Award for Excellence in Training and Mentoring.
In 2024, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was humbled to be named an Alumni Star by Virginia Commonwealth University. She remains deeply grateful for these recognitions and for the opportunity to continue her lifelong work in advancing child welfare and social justice.
Throughout her career, Dr. Vaughan-Eden has evaluated and/or consulted on more than 3,000 cases of maltreatment and provided expert testimony more than 700 times. She has trained PhD and MSW students, psychology interns, medical residents, physicians, child protection workers, guardians ad litem, judges, and law enforcement to enhance their awareness of child development, assessment, and treatment. She has served as an expert witness in more than 22 jurisdictions within Virginia as well as 10 other states and three branches of U.S. Military Court. To strengthen her understanding of the judicial system, she attended Loyola University Chicago Law School obtaining a Master of Jurisprudence in Children's Law and Policy in 2013.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is a nationally recognized leader committed to advancing the fields of child maltreatment prevention and forensic social work. She serves on several national boards and committees, including the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment, and as the child welfare advisor to the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University. She is President Emerita and Fellow of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), President Emerita of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV), and President Emerita of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW). Beyond her work and speaking engagements across the United States, she has shared her expertise globally delivering lectures and providing consultation to multidisciplinary teams in countries such as Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, Dr. Vaughan-Eden has authored numerous articles and book chapters on child maltreatment and violence prevention. She is one of the editors-in-chief of the six-volume 2022 NPEIV Handbook on Interpersonal Violence, a founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forensic Social Work, and former Editorial Advisor for the Journal of Social Work Education. She serves on the Council of Publications for CSWE, as well as the editorial boards of several research journals.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is also a prominent voice in child protection policy. As recently as 2025, she was consultant to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank Group (WBG), and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). In 2016, she was invited to Capitol Hill as a distinguished panelist for the Congressional Briefing entitled Protecting Child Safety in Family Court sponsored by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) with former Congressman Greg Laughlin. A year earlier, in 2015, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was honored to be invited by U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) to speak at the Congressional Briefing Spare the Rod, Protect the Child: A Reconsideration of Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools. These invitations reflect her ongoing commitment to shaping national conversations on child safety and violence prevention.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden has been distinguished for her contributions to child advocacy, mental health, and social work. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2011 Outstanding Service Award in Mental Health from the National Children's Advocacy Center and the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers - Virginia Chapter. In 2013, she was acknowledged for Excellence in Child Advocacy by the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation.
Her leadership and dedication have also been celebrated closer to home. In 2014, she was recognized by Champions for Children: Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads, and in 2015, by the Family and Children's Trust Fund of Virginia (formerly the Governor's Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect).
In 2018, Dr. Vaughan-Eden received the APSAC Outstanding Service Award, and in 2019, she was named a Leadership Scholar by the Council on Social Work Education. The National Organization of Forensic Social Work presented her with the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Most recently, in 2023, she was recognized as the Outstanding Individual in Academia by the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP), an honor highlighted by both Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and Norfolk State University. That same year, she was awarded the Donald R. Fridley Memorial Award for Excellence in Training and Mentoring.
In 2024, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was humbled to be named an Alumni Star by Virginia Commonwealth University. She remains deeply grateful for these recognitions and for the opportunity to continue her lifelong work in advancing child welfare and social justice.