Alia Dewees is a Lived Experience Expert and Director of Aftercare for Safe House Project. She has partnered with over 300 anti-trafficking and industry-related organizations and is considered a subject-matter expert on the topics of domestic sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, identification, and survivor involvement.
Read MoreMeg Kraner integrates Narrative Therapy (NT) and art-based therapy methods into the healing process with her clients. Meg has used NT with various client populations, as well as within her own therapeutic journey, and highly values the art of healing through therapeutic storytelling and community connection.
Read MoreRosie Best combines her diverse training and knowledge of theatre, therapy, and social justice to create spaces for marginalized individuals to reclaim authority and autonomy over their stories and their experiences. Through her organization, Issue Box Theatre, Rosie provides community education on topics related to mental health and social justice.
Read MoreBetsy Nolan is the Associate Director of Learning and Impact at Polaris. She has been a social science researcher for fifteen years, both in the U.S. and internationally. Her research spans international development, public health, social work, and community development, often studying complex systems and providing data used to create change.
Read MoreShannon Elliott is a Senior Manager of Social Science Research at Polaris. Shannon guides analysis and works with data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline as well as the National Survivor Study. Shannon previously worked as a Research Analyst - National Sexual Assault Hotline Specialist at RAINN.
Read MoreAshley Maha'a is a subject matter expert and consultant specializing in the areas of sex trafficking, domestic violence, substance abuse and recovery, and their intersections. She has worked with Polaris since the start of the National Survivor Study as a research team member guiding the study and planning dissemination.
Read MoreDr. Anna Travis is the Delaware County Juvenile Court Safe Harbor Coordinator, where she links trafficked youth to direct services, develops Safe Harbor Diversion, facilitates human trafficking prevention programming, and coordinates multidisciplinary protocols and responses for trafficked youth. Dr. Travis has 11 years of experience working with youth.
Read MoreJodi Stanton is the Safe Harbor Coordinator at Hamilton County Juvenile Court, where she has spent the majority of her career. She has also worked as the Sex Offender Specialist for the State of Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Cincinnati Region. Jodi has experience teaching Criminal Justice classes at the college level.
Read MoreRebekkah O’Bryan serves as the Anti- Trafficking Grant Coordinator at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Services, where she coordinates a statewide initiative to improve outcomes for justice-involved youth trafficking survivors. Prior, Ms. O’Bryan served in roles providing direct services to minor and adult survivors of trafficking.
Read MoreChelsea Gaffey serves as the Human Trafficking Liaison for the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Ms. Gaffey has 10 years of professional experience in the anti-human trafficking field. Her professional experience includes both domestic and international work, as well as direct service, providing technical assistance, program management, and advocacy.
Read MoreAlison Phillips is a co-founder of the Human Trafficking Training Center. Previously, she was the Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office where she built a multi-disciplinary team that implemented strategic initiatives which resulted in the closure of 40% of state’s illicit massage businesses.
Read MoreLydia Chu is the Manager of Strategic Initiatives at The Network. She coordinates The Network’s disruption activities nationwide, helping partners combat trafficking in illicit massage businesses. Lydia previously worked at a Big 4 consulting firm and in direct service with teenage victims of human trafficking.
Read MoreMicaela Cayton Garrido is Senior Policy Advisor at Masa Group, a social justice policy consulting firm, and adjunct faculty at DePaul University in Chicago where she is also pursuing a Master of Law. 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 MoreRichard Lotspeich is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Indiana State University, where he specializes in comparative economic systems, environmental economics, and the economics of crime. He has published papers in peer reviewed journals in all three areas, including research on public policy related to sex trading.
Read MoreSamantha Revill is a Master of Science in Social Work student at the Kent School of Social Work and Family Sciences at the University of Louisville and a practicum student at UofL Human Trafficking Research Initiative. She assisted in the analysis process of this study as part of her practicum research.
Read MoreHallie Decker is a doctoral candidate and health equity researcher in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville. Her research explores the impact of sexual violence on health across the lifespan, systemic approaches to violence prevention and intervention access, and efficacy for diverse populations.
Read MoreDr. Lesley Harris is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville in the Kent School of Social Work and Family Science. Dr. Harris's research uses qualitative, arts-based, and community-engaged methods to improve intervention strategies for populations disproportionately affected by HIV and persons with limited access to healthcare and substance use disorder treatment.
Read MoreDr. Jennifer Middleton is an Associate Professor in the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville and Director of the UofL Human Trafficking Research Initiative. During her forensic social work career, Dr. Middleton interviewed and provided services to over 4,000 sexually exploited and trafficked children and youth.
Read MoreChristopher Stollar is the vice chair of She Has A Name’s board of directors and has been involved in demand reduction work since 2010. He works directly with men who have been arrested for soliciting through the Solicitor Education program. He has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland and his Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.
Read MoreCourtney Schmackers is the executive director of She Has A Name. She has led conversations with JP Morgan Chase's HABIT team, the sustainability department at Abercrombie & Fitch, and others. Courtney graduated summa cum laude from Capital University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Media and Film, Spanish and Journalism.
Read More