Kyndal Hammock, B.A.

Kyndal Hammock is a Special Projects & Training Assistant at IVAT. She grew up in rural Alabama, where she witnessed how limited access to resources can shape the long-term trajectories of individuals, families, and communities affected by violence, abuse, and trauma. She earned dual bachelor's degrees in psychology and social work from Auburn University, where she worked with pregnant women through a community maternity care program and first encountered many of the issues IVAT seeks to end. Kyndal started her career in social work and public health research spanning more than seven years, much of it at the University of Texas at Austin. There she served as a research associate and data manager for a randomized controlled trial aimed at preventing substance-exposed pregnancies within primary care clinics throughout the Houston metropolitan area. She also contributed to UT Austin's collaboration with the CDC's National Partnerships to Address Prenatal Alcohol and Other Substance Use and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, presenting at its annual convening and helping develop and disseminate materials to partner networks such as the National Association of Social Workers. Kyndal has also worked closely with juvenile-justice-involved young women, military veterans, and substance use communities, and has contributed to three peer-reviewed publications. Grounded in both prevention and intervention, her work is driven by a commitment to those made most vulnerable by the intersections of substance use, intimate partner violence, adverse childhood experiences, and health disparities.