Rebecca J. Macy, MSW, PhD, is the L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families at the UNC at Chapel Hill School of Social Work where she has taught courses in mental health, trauma and violence, social work practice, and statistics. She joined the UNC faculty in 2002, after receiving her doctoral degree in social welfare from the University of Washington in Seattle.

She is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Family Violence. She has 15 years of experience conducting community-based studies that focus on intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking. She has dedicated her research efforts to violence prevention and to improving services for violence survivors.

To find the most effective and feasible strategies, she conducts investigations in various community settings in collaboration with survivors, service providers, and policymakers. Her completed research includes pilot and field testing, process and qualitative evaluations, and quasi-experimental studies. Currently, she is co-leading a randomized trial of a community-based intervention to prevent sexual violence perpetration. She has received funding for her research from foundations, federal agencies, and state government.

She has published 70 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and invited commentaries on these topics, and given more than 100 peer-reviewed and invited research presentations at national and international venues. The rigor of her research and its benefit to practice has been recognized with awards from both the Office of the University of North Carolina Provost and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.