Dr. Noelle Hunter is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Political Science and founding director of the International Child Abduction Prevention and Research Office at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. A scholar-practitioner and parent survivor of international parental child abduction, she works at the intersection of public policy, institutional response, survivor experience, and international cooperation.
Since founding ICAPRO in 2022, Dr. Hunter has led survivor-centered research and student engagement, contributed to national education and training, and represented UAH in international policy discussions. She is a Secretariat General appointee to the HCCH Steering Committee for the Forum on Domestic Violence and the Operation of Article 13(1)(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention; an associate of the National Criminal Justice Training Center’s AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program; co-author of When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide and Multimedia Resource Library; co-founder and president emeritus of iStand Parent Network; and a founding member of the Coalition to End International Parental Child Abduction.
Dr. Hunter has testified or briefed six congressional bodies on international parental child abduction between 2014 and 2023. Her scholarship and public engagement focus on improving prevention, governmental coordination, treaty implementation, family support, and long-term outcomes for abducted children and their families.
Publications
Congressional Testimony and Briefings
- 2014 — U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: International Parental Child Abduction
- 2017 — U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations: Enforcement Is Not Optional: The Goldman Act to Return Abducted American Children
- 2017 — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
- 2018 — U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Abducted Abroad: Exploring the Plight of International Parental Child Abduction and Its Effect on American Families
- 2021 — Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: The Rights of Parents and Children: How to Better Implement the Goldman Act on Child Abduction
- 2023 — U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Bring Abducted Children Home
Selected Media/About-Story Links
- AMBER Advocate profile: Alabama Mother Is Champion for Change
- C-SPAN: Senator McConnell and Dr. Noelle Hunter
- AMBER Symposium 2025: Key Takeways
- AMBER Advocate Family Survival Guide coverage
- AMBER Advocate Family Survival Guide tag archive