Heidi Kar is EDC’s principal advisor for mental health, trauma, and violence. A licensed clinical psychologist and global mental health expert, she provides leadership to domestic and international work focused on mental health, trauma, and violence.
Kar is the architect and leader of interventions that promote health equity and address the needs of marginalized and disenfranchised communities. Previously, she worked with the International Rescue Committee, International Center for Research on Women, and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her work serves domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, underserved youth, tribal communities, law enforcement officers, veterans, and other at-risk populations.
Kar is an invited member of the United Nations (UN) team that represents the American Psychological Association, the World Health Organization’s Violence Prevention Alliance, and NASEM’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention. A media spokesperson, Kar’s insights appear in the Washington Post, Huff Post, Salon, Forbes Health, Fortune, and BBC Family Tree.
Kar holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Stony Brook University and an MHS in International Health from the JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health.