Allyson M. Blackburn

Allyson Blackburn (she & they) is a doctoral student interested in recovery from sexual violence, the role of social networks in recovery, and the sexual violence experiences of sexual and gender minority people. As a graduate student at the University of Illinois, Allyson has worked with Dr. Nicole Allen on a state-wide evaluation of the Rape Prevention and Education program and serves as the editorial assistant for the American Journal of Community Psychology.

Allyson graduated from Tufts University in 2017 with a B.A. in Clinical Psychology. As an undergraduate, Allyson was the student co-chair of the Resource Working group on the Tufts University President's Task Force for Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Education, working to implement resources and effective pathways for referrals for survivors of sexual assault. Allyson worked as a Research Assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Community Psychiatry Program for Research in Implementation and Dissemination of Evidence-Based Therapies (PRIDE) under Dr. Luana Marques, where Allyson completed a senior honors thesis on the specific barriers to care faced by Latinos seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Upon graduation, Allyson worked as a post-baccalaureate research assistant within the MGH Department of Psychiatry at the studying the treatment and treatment engagement of people with PTSD, working at both the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and Complicated Grief Program (CATSD) as well as the Home Base Program, which serves veterans and family members struggling with the invisible wounds of war. Allyson also served as a Rape Crisis Counselor at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center on the 24-hour Hotline.