Shelly M. Wagers, Ph.D.
Project Director, Co-PI
Kailey Pate Carter, M.A.
Project Manager
Joan A. Reid, Ph.D., LMHC
TIP Lab Director, PI
Dr. Shelly Wagers is an Associate Professor of Criminology at USF’s St. Pete Campus and is the director of the BRIGHT Project. Dr. Wagers has a B.A. in Public Health Education and graduate degrees in Criminology. Prior to her work in academia, Dr. Wagers was a victim advocate and law enforcement officer.
Kailey Carter has B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Criminology from USF. Kailey has been with the BRIGHT Project from the very beginning, conducting a needs assessment of stakeholders in the anti-trafficking movement in 2020. Kailey has a passion for serving others.
Dr. Joan Reid, one of the world’s leading experts on human trafficking, founded the TiP Lab in 2020. Dr. Reid is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida’s St. Pete Campus. Prior to her work at USF, Dr. Reid was a licensed mental health counselor an worked for over 15 years serving survivors of sexual trauma.
Meghan Scott, M.A.
Program Planner Analyst
Ashley Pietri Baker, M.S.
Program Planner Analyst
Soriyah A. Khan, B.S.
Graduate Research Assistant
Meghan Scott earned her B.A. and M.A. in Criminology from USF. Meghan comes to BRIGHT from a trauma-informed background, having worked with survivors of gun violence in a previous role before joining BRIGHT. She works to onboard and vet new organizations and agencies into the BRIGHT Network.
Ashley Pietri Baker has over 13 years of experience in the victim services field, specializing in domestic and sexual violence. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.
Soriyah Khan earned her B.S in Criminology from the University of Tampa and has experience in working within the child welfare system and research on interpersonal violence and human trafficking.