Dr. Ann C. Wolbert Burgess[a] (born October 2, 1936) is an American researcher and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist whose work has focused on victims of trauma and abuse, and is author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind.

As a young woman, she said the only career choices for women at that time were to become a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher.

She began to consult for John E. Douglas, Robert Ressler, and other FBI agents in the Behavioral Science Unit to develop modern psychological profiling for serial killers.

Burgess was granted access to the early cassette tapes that were recorded during the first serial killer interviews, such as discussions with Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson.

As she conducted her interviews, Burgess told the women that they were essential to the investigation, as their information could help catch the offender.

Burgess realized the pattern of victims: women who lived a wealthy lifestyle.

[8] After a young boy was killed in Nebraska, a member of the BSU gave police a profile for who the killer might be.

After a second young boy was killed, establishing that this was a serial killer, Burgess was officially brought into the profiling room.

Evidence pointed to his boy victims trusting him, so Burgess profiled that he may be a teacher, coach, or scout leader.

Burgess also noted that he may be interested in detective magazines, as that was a common pattern with similar serial killers.

Joubert's belongings included a detective magazine that was dog eared on a page about a young newspaper boy being abducted.

Horton was riding a bike with her friend, Melissa Ackerman, when a man attempted to abduct them.

Police used Horton's description and sketch of the car that was used during the abduction to arrest Brian Dugan.

She asked for further information about his father and the bedroom, leading Erik to draw a depiction of incestuous, sexual abuse.

[6] Burgess was tasked with interviewing Andrea Constand as she began her civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby back in 2005.

According to Burgess, even if someone was unconscious for most or all of a sexual assault, the body still recounts the trauma and reacts appropriately.

Burgess published books and findings so that behavioral science could be utilized by law enforcement.

Burgess has been attributed as the inspiration for the character Dr. Wendy Carr, a psychological consultant for the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in Netflix's TV series Mindhunter.

In 2024, Hulu released a three-part docu-series about Burgess and her work titled Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer.