Meret Hofer

Meret S. Hofer is a research psychologist in the Workforce Wellbeing and Effectiveness Program in the Justice Practice Area. She focuses on improving occupational health and organizational performance in various criminal justice settings, including police organizations. In line with her background in community psychology and prevention research, Dr. Hofer leverages mixed methods and emphasizes a collaborative research process informed by the challenges and realities of the criminal justice landscape to develop research that answers critical questions to enhance practice. Her work has focused on generating actionable evidence that promotes health, safety, and wellness among law enforcement; improves the operations and performance of organizations to better support employees and address the needs of the public; and enhances the relationship between law enforcement and the community. Dr. Hofer is currently involved in several research and evaluation projects, including serving as the Principal Investigator of a mixed-methods evaluation of the North Carolina Responder Assistance Initiative.

Before joining RTI in 2021, Dr. Hofer was a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and a Fellow at the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke University School of Law. In these roles, she led studies examining the influence of organizational and traumatic stressors on police officers’ performance and well-being and supported a multi-site evaluation of North Carolina’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs.