Carolyn E. Hawley, Ph.D., CRC, is a Professor in the Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program within the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She serves as Executive Director of the Virginia Partnership for Gaming and Health (VPGH), Virginia’s statewide network for gambling treatment and recovery support services, and as President of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VCPG).

Dr. Hawley has more than two decades of experience in the fields of rehabilitation, behavioral health, problem gambling, counseling, research, training, and program development. Her work has focused on improving access to services for individuals with disabilities, behavioral health concerns, and gambling-related problems through innovative research, community partnerships, workforce development, and systems change initiatives.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hawley has held leadership roles on numerous state and national boards and advisory committees, including service as a Board Member of the National Council on Problem Gambling and currently as Vice Chair of Virginia’s Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund Advisory Committee and member of Virginia Lottery Responsible Gaming Advisory Team, among others.

Dr. Hawley has successfully managed and collaborated on grants funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), state agencies, and private foundations. Her research interests include gambling, veterans, recovery support services, and traumatic brain injury.

She earned her Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University.