Davina P. Durgana, PhD
Davina P. Durgana, PhD is an award-winning international human rights statistician who has developed leading global models to assess risk and vulnerability to modern slavery. Dr. Durgana is a Report Co-Author and Senior Statistician on the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index. She is the American Statistical Association's 2016 Statistical Advocate of the Year and a Forbes Top 30 Under 30 in Science for 2017 for her work on statistical modeling, human security theory, and human trafficking. Dr. Durgana is Assistant Professor and Senior Practitioner Faculty at SIT Graduate Institute in D.C.
Dr. Durgana was selected as a Google Fellow for Technology and Social Change for her work in Human Trafficking and Technology. She was also awarded with the Trafficking in America Task Force Award for Service for her contributions to the Anti-Trafficking Field in the United States. She serves on several expert groups for the United Nations, the Department of Justice, and the National Science Foundation. In 2015 she received the University Award for Outstanding Scholarship at the Graduate Level from American University where she received her PhD in International Relations with Distinction.
She received her Masters degrees in Paris, France while studying human trafficking at the Sorbonne and the American University of Paris, and her Bachelor’s degree at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She has also recently been recognized as the American University School of International Service Alumna of the Year for 2016, the Recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Alumna Award for the American University of Paris, and the 2017 George Washington University Recent Alumni Achievement Award Recipient for 2017.
Dr. Durgana also grounds her academic and practitioner background in human trafficking issues with her volunteer activities. She has served as a sex trafficking specialist with the National Court-Appointed Special Advocates in Washington, D.C., she has used her knowledge as a member of Volunteer Fire Departments and an EMT to develop human trafficking-specific protocols for training and continuing education requirements, and she has served in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. She is also a mentor with FabFems, working to encourage young women in STEM around the world and the United States by talking about her work and journey to become more involved with statistics and modern slavery.