Our Featured Speaker: Kiricka Yarbough Smith

Kiricka Yarbough Smith has over 18 years of combined experience working in the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking. Kiricka has provided outreach, direct services, resources, and referrals to survivors of violence.  She currently serves as the  Project Administrator for the NC Council for Women and Youth Involvement Office under the North Carolina Department of Administration. Kiricka is also a consultant on human trafficking and taskforce development for the Office for Victims of Crime(OVC).   Kiricka has also provided training to law enforcement, prosecutors, and service providers through her work with the NC Conference of District Attorneys, US Attorney’s Office, International Chiefs of Police Institute, and the Children Advocacy Centers of North Carolina.　Kiricka also managed the human trafficking program for the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault on their (OVC) grant for over 6 years.  Active in her community, she currently serves as the Chair of The NC Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NCCAHT). 　Kiricka is an investigator on the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Administration for Children and Families grant to address child trafficking in the child welfare system and is also a member of the Partners Against the Trafficking of Humans(PATHNC).　 As a faculty member of the Futures Without Violence project since 2010, she fosters collaboration to address human trafficking within DV and SA cases.  Kiricka also serves a consultant for the DHHS’s Administration for Children, Youth and Families newly created Trafficking in Person Office.