Rosie Best is the founder of Issue Box Theatre, a nonprofit utilizing the theatre arts to raise awareness about social injustice and to nurture marginalized voices. This is the third year for the Voices project and the 6th year for Rosie's involvement in the IHTSJ Conference.
Read MoreDaniel Huesman is an experienced mental health clinician in the Toledo community. Dan has utilized his years of connection with the community health system to coordinate the mental health exhibits for the IHTSJ Conference for the past 6 years.
Read MoreDr. Arvindhan Natarajan has published and presented on the use of art as method. He is a self-trained sketch artist who uses art as a way to investigate empathy, grief, and social work engagement. This is Dr. Natarajan's eighth year of bringing art and arts-based research to the IHTSJ Conference.
Read MoreDr. Heather Sloane is the founder of Fearless Writers, which is a creative writing mentoring program with members from local Toledo high schools and interprofessional/ interdisciplinary students from the University of Toledo. This is the eighth year that Dr. Sloane has helped to coordinate art at the IHTSJ Conference.
Read MoreMatthew Clarke is the principal researcher for the Freedom Keys Research Project, which generates and evaluates innovative ideas that address the role of perpetrators in human trafficking. With a background in information technology, knowledge management, international development, and peacemaking, Matthew brings an analytic perspective to the task of making anti-trafficking interventions effective.
Read MoreBukola Oriola is an international public speaker, bestselling author, mentor, advocate, entrepreneur, consultant, and former member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015, and reappointed by President Trump in 2018, Oriola is an award-winning journalist, a survivor of labor trafficking and domestic violence.
Read MoreAmanda Colegrove is the Safe Harbor Expansion Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). She is managing the process of integrating a response for labor trafficked youth up to age 24 into Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Program. This includes working with state agencies, survivor advisory groups, and tribal nations.
Read MoreMicaela Cayton Garrido is an Instructor at DePaul University. She previously led outreach efforts in Illinois as Outreach Coordinator for Chicago’s Legal Aid Society. Through a Fulbright grant, she is conducting research in Southeast Asia on Covid-19 and migrant worker welfare. Micaela is fluent in English and Tagalog.
Read MoreDr. Kezban Yagci Sokat is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at San Jose State University with a passion of analytics for social good. With the support of U.S. Department of Transportation and IBM, she leads various multi-disciplinary projects to combat human trafficking (HT) and serves on HT committees.
Read MoreJeff Steckler’s career in occupational therapy (OT) started as a COTA in the U.S. Army in 1986. He earned his OT doctorate in 2019 and currently owns and operates a private practice. Jeff organized and initiated a local human trafficking taskforce to provide intervention and restoration for survivors. Jeff currently provides OT services for human trafficking survivors through Without Permission, a non-profit located in the Central Valley of California.
Read MoreAriel Weindling is an entrepreneur, a leading employment lawyer, and an advocate for greater equality, safety, and transparency in the workplace. He is a Principal at Empower Law PC and is the founder of #NotMe: the first mobile enterprise solution for reporting and resolving work-related misconduct. Ariel has trained hundreds of employees on the subjects of sexual harassment, discrimination, and bullying.
Read MoreArnold Cifax, Sr is the HEMAD Director at the Convergence Resource Center. He has visibly led the movement, engaging men at all levels to join the fight against human trafficking.
Read MoreDr. Debbie Lassiter is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Convergence Resource Center with over 45 years of experience working with traumatized individuals. She formulated and launched the HEMAD Campaign, which to date has 65,000 men taking a visible stand against human trafficking.
Read MoreBrittany Dunn is the COO and co-founder of the Safe House Project. Brittany has a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. She is a military spouse, mother of two, lifelong learner, world traveler, and protector of the vulnerable.
Read MoreDr. Patricia Speck is a Professor and Coordinator of the graduate Advanced FN program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing in the Department of Community Health, Outcomes, and Systems She is internationally recognized as a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and expert in advanced forensic nurse care of patients including human trafficking population.
Read MoreDr. Rosario Sanchez is a forensic nurse expert with a program of research in child sex trafficking. Dr. Sanchez is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toledo, College of Nursing. Dr. Sanchez is an affiliate of the University of Toledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and GAHTS.
Read MoreRita Dhungel, of Nepali birth, is an assistant professor with the School of Social Work and Human Services at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Rita has been involved in the anti-trafficking movement through teaching, research, and practice that exemplifies her aspirations for transformative impacts.
Read MoreTiana Sharifi runs an agency called Sexual Exploitation Education, where she provides training to service providers such as law enforcement officers, social workers, and youth workers, as well as educates thousands of students and parents on the issue. Her consulting services have rendered her a reputable resource for research center advisory, as well as nonprofit curriculum development. Tiana currently sits as the Board of Directors Chair for the international nonprofit The Breakfree Collective.
Read MoreChristopher Carey is a former Deputy District Attorney and currently an Associate Professor at Portland State University. His expertise is human rights with an emphasis on human trafficking. He served as Executive Director of a U.S. based international human rights organization focused on combatting human trafficking and authored several articles on the subject.
Read MoreJames Prager is a proud member of the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition and has his master’s in social work. James also has a previous sex offense. Today, he utilizes his skills and experiences to mentor and pursue restorative justice principles. Over the past 33 years, he has had many conversations to create the opportunity for a comprehensive view of promoting healing.
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