Karen Countryman-Roswurm

Karen Irene Countryman-Roswurm (born June 5, 1980) is a Native American (Blackfoot) social worker, professor, and academic administrator who specializes in the field of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. She is an associate professor in the school of social work at Wichita State University and the founder and executive director of the Wichita State University Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT).

Early life and education When she was 13, Countryman-Roswurm's mother died and she subsequently spent her adolescence on the run, on the streets, and in and out of foster homes, and a children's home. Despite this, Countryman-Roswurm completed her GED and successfully became an emancipated minor from state custody at age 16. She is the only Kansas child to do so to this date. Following her emancipation, she was hired to be a street outreach peer counselor through the same children's home she had previously received services from.

Honors and awards 2014: Inaugural Pat Ayars Mentoring Award given by the Wichita Business Journal 2015: The National Convening on Trafficking and Child Welfare in the White House