Dr. Celia Williamson founded the first anti-trafficking direct service program in Ohio in 1993. Today she serves as the Director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute, founder of the International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference, and produces a podcast called the Emancipation Nation Podcast.
Read MoreMegan Petra is an Associate Professor in the Social Work Program at the University of Toledo. Her research and scholarship focuses on ameliorating the effects of addictions, mental health problems, and violence on families, and on evidence-based practices.
Read MoreMamta Ojha is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at the University of Toledo. Her research and scholarship addresses work-family issues, homelessness, re-entry, and intimate partner violence and work. She is engaged in Wood County Project Homeless Connect, a community initiative to address homelessness in the area.
Read MoreDr. Jesse Bach is a researcher specializing in the topics of exploitation, oppression, and human trafficking. His research interests include the systems and institutional agents associated with domestic sex trafficking, forced labor, domestic child soldering, and the role that education hold in rectifying the situation.
Read MoreDr. Lara Christensen’s research is focused on prevention and responses to sexual violence and abuse. She is Co-Leader of the first University-led Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit (SVRPU) in Australia with a PhD in Psychology. She is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Criminology and Justice at USC Australia.
Read MoreDr. George Tsagaris is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Cleveland State University. He is an adjunct faculty member with Australia’s Sexual Violence and Research Prevention Unit (SVRPU), University of the Sunshine Coast, member of the Academic Council at Athens Institute of Education and Researchers, and member of the National Association of Social Workers.
Read MoreElise Nagowski is the contract manager for the Surgical Team for CommonSpirit Health where she has worked for 15 years, the last 6 in Supply Chain. Her master’s degree is in business, emphasis in crisis management from Grand Canyon University and an undergraduate degree from Wayland Baptist University.
Read MoreAfter leading community health projects in South Asia, Petra Linden has become the Director of International Health & Human Trafficking with CommonSpirit Health. Petra has developed an online training module on human trafficking for physicians in India and coordinates efforts to address forced labor in the healthcare supply chain.
Read MoreBailey Johnson is a graduate student at the University of Dayton in the Master of Public Administration program. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights Studies and serves as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center working primarily with Abolition Ohio.
Read MoreTony Talbott is an anti-human trafficking speaker, researcher, advocate, and educator. He directs Abolition Ohio and is Director of Advocacy at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center. He chairs a committee of the Ohio Human Trafficking Commission and is on other national, state, and local boards and committees.
Read MoreMelinda Gill is the founding director of Renewsiya Foundation. She is a family physician with a background in international health programming and research. Her work includes programs to improve health outcomes among vulnerable populations, including survivors of trafficking, and the recovery and reintegration of survivors through technology-based, supported employment.
Read MoreAyelet Prior is a doctoral student at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University. Her research explores various aspects of the sex industry and the phenomenon of paying for sex. She focuses on social constructions of gendered identities, sexuality, and deviancy.
Read MoreNur Shimei is a postdoctoral fellow at the school of social work at Tel Aviv University. She specializes in participatory critical research methods and currently is a part of a research team that studies the immediate and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sex worker aid organizations in Israel.
Read MoreDr. Yeela Lahav-Raz is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is an anthropologist, specializing in gender and sexuality, sex-work studies, digital anthropology, and the intersections of gender and sexual politics, technological developments, and social deviance.
Read MoreDr. Guy Shilo is a Senior Lecturer at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University. His research focuses on societal stressors and their impact on mental and physical health, as well as policy practice, among sexual and gender minorities, including LGBTs, people in prostitution, and sex-workers.
Read MoreEinat Peled is an Associate Professor at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel Aviv University. Her research aims to unpack the impact of social gendered constructions for both social workers and their clients, in the areas of sex trade, violence against women, and mothering and fathering.
Read MoreFaraz Ahmad completed his LLM from Sikkim University. He is currently working as a training coordinator for Setu Abhiyan, an NGO in Kutch, India. He has prepared a paper titled, “Decriminalizing Sex Work in India: A Socio-Legal Analysis” and has been pursuing the subject for three years.
Read MoreAnne LaFrinier-Ritchie has been working in anti-trafficking as a Regional Navigator in Minnesota and North Dakota since 2016. She is a graduate of NHTTAC’s Human Trafficking Leadership Academy. She has partnered with tribal communities for the past decade in various roles. Anne is a member of local and national tribal boards.
Read MoreMelissa Kaiser is a Human Trafficking Navigator and was the first Navigator hired in North Dakota. She has since gained experience in protocol development, training, public speaking, and team facilitation. Melissa has experience in the foster care system, psychiatrics, and addiction which provides insight into dynamics and vulnerabilities contributing to victim experiences.
Read MoreLori Lux is an MSW student at the University of Toledo and was an intern with the Fearless Writers program during the 2020/2021 academic semester. She is a gifted writer and fierce advocate.
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