Kiricka Yarbough Smith is a premier advocate and leader of anti-human trafficking efforts in North Carolina. Her wealth of experience, influence, and connections have been instrumental in improving advocacy and restoration services for survivors. Trained as a social worker, Kiricka addresses human trafficking (HT), child abuse, and domestic violence through an intersectional framework with issues including mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, and sexual violence.  She has over 20 years of combined experience working in these areas. Some of her many positions and accomplishments include:

As a consultant and trainer for the Office of Trafficking in Persons, Kiricka focuses on finding ways to ensure that all survivors have equitable access to services. She also serves as a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime at the U.S. Department of Justice assisting communities in building their capacity to serve victims of crime.  

 For eight years, Kiricka served as the Director of HT Programs (DHTP). During her tenure, she was also the Family Violence Prevention Act Coordinator. She developed and implemented several successful advocacy programs to enact policy changes on a statewide and community level. Her efforts improved access to services for individuals, especially youth, who have experienced interpersonal and gender-based violence. 

 In 2017, Kiricka established the NC Community Advocates Advisory Committee (NC CAAC). This is an interagency committee that works toward ensuring all survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking have access to appropriate and culturally specific services that meet their individual needs.

 Kiricka initiated the LEAD (Leading, Empowering, Advising and Developing) program for rural communities in NC. This program connects youth and families in marginalized and low-income communities to local resources and services. It also promotes career exploration and community engagement. Since its inception, over 155 participants have benefitted from these services.

 Kiricka has co-authored several publications, including a journal article, “How Anti-Sex Trafficking Efforts Should Align with Criminal Justice Reform” with the HT Institute. This addresses how sex trafficking has disproportionately harmed black women and girls. 

 Kiricka served as the HT Program Manager for the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault, (NCCASA) implementing various advocacy programs focused on supporting marginalized communities. Kiricka also assisted as an Investigator for Project No Rest through UNC-Chapel Hill, which was a statewide effort to increase awareness and prevention around human trafficking and identify how it affects children in the child welfare system. 

 As one of the founding members of the NC Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NCCAHT), Kiricka also served as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee from 2014-2019. As a 2021 HT Leadership Academy Fellow for the National HT Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC), she also helped develop recommendations to address institutional inequities and barriers to accessing services for survivors of human trafficking and communities of color.