Hot Chocolate Talk® Press Kit

Tia Kim, PhD

Vice President of Education, Research, and Impact

Child sexual abuse prevention expert Dr. Tia Kim began her career in academia but later decided she wanted to see her research in action helping children and youth. Today, she leads Committee for Children’s team of research scientists to develop and evaluate the quality, effectiveness, and impact of the organization’s programs, including the Hot Chocolate Talk® campaign.

Each April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Dr. Kim speaks with reporters from across the nation to provide families with easy, research-based tips for setting family safety rules. Dr. Kim also provides parents and caregivers with examples of how she approaches these topics with her own children. She explains why having a Hot Chocolate Talk moment with children of all ages can help keep them safe from sexual exploitation in person and online.

Collaborating with experts across the field, Dr. Kim was also a driving force behind the development of the Second Step® Child Protection Unit, Committee for Children’s research-based child sexual abuse prevention curriculum.

Dr. Kim received her doctorate in developmental psychology at the University of California, Riverside, and completed three years of post-doctoral training at the National Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention. Before joining Committee for Children, she served as an assistant professor in the department of human development and family studies at Penn State Brandywine.

“I track the pulse of the education field and push the envelope wherever possible to innovate,” Dr. Kim says. “I ask—and try to answer—the really hard questions so we can help move the field forward as a whole, not just our organization.”