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. She has provided child and family
counseling services to the Southeastern Virginia community for more than 35 years. Following her
Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in 1987, she worked for eight years as a psychotherapist in
Norfolk at The Barry Robinson residential treatment center for youth with mental health challenges.
Next, 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.
Since 2002, she has been in private practice in Hampton Roads offering mental health and forensic
services to trauma victims and their families. In 2003, she completed her dissertation on parenting
sexually abused children, earning a PhD in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University.
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 MSW students, psychology interns, medical residents, physicians, social 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: California, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and three branches of U.S. Military Court. To enhance 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.
As a result of being an expert witness in family courts for more than 30 years, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was active in establishing Collaborative Divorce Solutions in the Hampton Roads community. Collaborative practice is a non-adversarial process in which couples select a team of professionals to assist them through their divorce. Collaborative Divorce Solutions helps non-violent families resolve co-parenting issues without court involvement. By serving as a child specialist and a divorce coach, she helps couples and families get through a difficult process while supporting their sense of self-determination. She found that litigated divorces are often emotionally destructive to families, especially children, therefore she uses collaborative practice as a constructive way to make the transition.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden serves on several national boards and committees, including the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment, as well as the child welfare advisor to the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University. She is President Emerita 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 Past-President of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW).
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, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forensic Social Work, former Editorial Advisor for the Journal of Social Work Education, serves on the Council of Publications for CSWE, as well as the editorial boards and/or as a reviewer for several other national research journals.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden has lectured on issues related to child maltreatment and forensic social work to multidisciplinary group of professionals throughout the United States and abroad including Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. In 2016, she was an invited panelist at a Congressional Briefing entitled Protecting Child Safety in Family Court sponsored by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) with former Congressman Greg Laughlin, Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), Advocates for Child Empowerment and Safety (ACES), and the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV). In 2015, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was invited by U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV) to speak at the Congressional Briefing Spare the Rod, Protect the Child: A Reconsideration of Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools. She taught for several years as an adjunct professor in the MSW program at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2011, she participated in the First Russian-American Child Welfare Forum, a historic event in Russia as part of Obama-Medvedev's Bilateral Presidential Commission's Civil Society Working Group and was co-chair of the Second (2012) and Third (2013) Forums. She also was an invited participant of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Round-Table 2011: Child Sexual Abuse, a Review of Practical Interventions from an International Perspective.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is the recipient of numerous awards and honors: the 2011 National Children's Advocacy Center's Outstanding Service Award in Mental Health, the 2012 National Association of Social Workers - Virginia Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2013 recognized by the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation for Excellence in Child Advocacy. In 2014, she was honored in her local community by Champions for Children: Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads and in 2015 in her state, by Family and Children's Trust Fund of Virginia (and the former Governor's Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect). In 2018, she was given the APSAC Outstanding Service Award. In 2019, she was selected as a Council of Social Work Education Leadership Scholar. In 2020, she received the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Individual in Academia from the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP), which was featured by her alma maters Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and Norfolk State University. Also, in 2023, she received the Donald R. Fridley Memorial Award for Excellence in Training and Mentoring. In 2024, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was distinguished by her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University as an Alumni Star. For all of which, she is extremely grateful.
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 MSW students, psychology interns, medical residents, physicians, social 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: California, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and three branches of U.S. Military Court. To enhance 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.
As a result of being an expert witness in family courts for more than 30 years, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was active in establishing Collaborative Divorce Solutions in the Hampton Roads community. Collaborative practice is a non-adversarial process in which couples select a team of professionals to assist them through their divorce. Collaborative Divorce Solutions helps non-violent families resolve co-parenting issues without court involvement. By serving as a child specialist and a divorce coach, she helps couples and families get through a difficult process while supporting their sense of self-determination. She found that litigated divorces are often emotionally destructive to families, especially children, therefore she uses collaborative practice as a constructive way to make the transition.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden serves on several national boards and committees, including the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment, as well as the child welfare advisor to the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University. She is President Emerita 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 Past-President of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW).
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, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forensic Social Work, former Editorial Advisor for the Journal of Social Work Education, serves on the Council of Publications for CSWE, as well as the editorial boards and/or as a reviewer for several other national research journals.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden has lectured on issues related to child maltreatment and forensic social work to multidisciplinary group of professionals throughout the United States and abroad including Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. In 2016, she was an invited panelist at a Congressional Briefing entitled Protecting Child Safety in Family Court sponsored by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) with former Congressman Greg Laughlin, Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), Advocates for Child Empowerment and Safety (ACES), and the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV). In 2015, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was invited by U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV) to speak at the Congressional Briefing Spare the Rod, Protect the Child: A Reconsideration of Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools. She taught for several years as an adjunct professor in the MSW program at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2011, she participated in the First Russian-American Child Welfare Forum, a historic event in Russia as part of Obama-Medvedev's Bilateral Presidential Commission's Civil Society Working Group and was co-chair of the Second (2012) and Third (2013) Forums. She also was an invited participant of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Round-Table 2011: Child Sexual Abuse, a Review of Practical Interventions from an International Perspective.
Dr. Vaughan-Eden is the recipient of numerous awards and honors: the 2011 National Children's Advocacy Center's Outstanding Service Award in Mental Health, the 2012 National Association of Social Workers - Virginia Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2013 recognized by the Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation for Excellence in Child Advocacy. In 2014, she was honored in her local community by Champions for Children: Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads and in 2015 in her state, by Family and Children's Trust Fund of Virginia (and the former Governor's Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect). In 2018, she was given the APSAC Outstanding Service Award. In 2019, she was selected as a Council of Social Work Education Leadership Scholar. In 2020, she received the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Individual in Academia from the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP), which was featured by her alma maters Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and Norfolk State University. Also, in 2023, she received the Donald R. Fridley Memorial Award for Excellence in Training and Mentoring. In 2024, Dr. Vaughan-Eden was distinguished by her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University as an Alumni Star. For all of which, she is extremely grateful.