4th Annual Regional Human Trafficking Summit

EXPANDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO ADDRESS HUMAN TRAFFICKING

For Advocates Against Human Trafficking

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 • 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 • 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
VIRTUAL/HYBRID OPTION NOW AVAILABLE

Summit Agenda

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024

MC – Charlee Borg, Senior Program Officer, Learning and Development Management, International Rescue Committee

8:30am Registration Opens
9:00am Welcome: Representative from the VCU School of Medicine
9:05am Opening Prayer and Remarks, Chief Stephen R. Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe
9:15am Remarks from Lisa Walbert, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operations Officer, Public Safety and Homeland Security Secretariat in the Administration of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin
9:30am Keynote Address
Focusing the Fight Against Human Trafficking: Current Trends and New Opportunities
Motivated by human dignity, passionate individuals, organizations, and agencies are working to fight human trafficking. They can achieve measurable impact if they unite around a focused, strategic framework that holds traffickers accountable and protects survivors.

Former Ambassador-at-Large John Cotton Richmonds, Office on Trafficking in Person
10:15am Break/Networking Opportunity
10:30am Featured Speaker
Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia
11:00am Forced Criminality Through the Public Health Lens
Hear from a panel of lived-experience experts on the importance of cultural understanding and societal determinants in creating vulnerable communities. Also learn how to address issues of forced criminality within the human trafficking lens.

Panelists:
Nathan Earl, Principal, Giant Slayer Consulting
Dawn Schiller, Training Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), LA County Project, Consultant, Speaker, Lived Experience Survivor Leader
Evelyn Chumbow, Operations and Survivor Leadership Director, Human Trafficking Legal Center
Moderator: Debra Holbrook, Director of Forensic Nursing at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Overview of the work done by the Survivor Engagement Workgroup

Dawn Schiller, Training Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), LA County Project, Consultant, Speaker, Lived Experience Survivor Leader

Overview of the work done by the Legislation and Policy Workgroup

Patrick McKenna, Co-Founder of the Virginia Coalition Against Human Trafficking
1:15pm Breakout Sessions
Attend one of the following breakout sessions and become part of an ongoing conversation to identify and work on completing one short-term goal and one long-term goal to disrupt human trafficking. These sessions will be led by experts in the field. The results of each session will be presented to the attendees on Thursday morning. Quarterly meetings will be held to track the progress of meeting the identified goals and will be built upon in the 2025 Regional Human Trafficking Summit.
Option 1: Survivor Engagement Workgroup 2024 and Beyond
Join the ongoing discussion on “meaningful survivor engagement” within the anti-trafficking field. This workshop is aimed to develop short and long-term trauma-informed goals to increase connections with persons with lived experiences to better create, adapt, and modify services when working with folks who have been victimized by human trafficking (exploitation).

Dawn Schiller, Training Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), LA County Project, Consultant, Speaker, Lived Experience Survivor Leader
Option 2: Child Sex Trafficking and HOPE Court 2024 and Beyond
Exploring the particular vulnerabilities of youth and the grooming process traffickers use to exploit them. Plus, an overview on the District of Columbia’s specialty treatment court and multi-disciplinary approach to servicing this population of youth.

Caren Schiffman, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
Option 3: Legislation and Policy 2024 and Beyond
Learn how to advocate for policies and legislation to address human trafficking and effectively address barriers to implementation in your jurisdiction.Patrick McKenna, Co-Founder of the Virginia Coalition Against Human Trafficking
3:00pm Break/Networking Opportunity
3:30pm Online Sextortion: How to Recognize and Address the Needs of Youth Survivors 
In the last year, over 3,000 youth survivors of sextortion have been targeted nationally, according to a recent report from the US Department of Justice. In this session, we will discuss the dynamics of sextortion and how communities can recognize and respond to this prevalent crime through a trauma-informed and survivor-centered lens.

Zozan Küçükaydin, Anti-Human Trafficking Services Coordinator, PA Coalition to Advance Respect
Jaime Cypher, Children’s Advocacy Coordinator, PA Coalition to Advance Respect
4:30pm Wrap-up, Heather LaRocca, Vice Chair, The RIC

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

MC – Charlee Borg, Senior Program Officer, Learning and Development Management, International Rescue Committee

8:30am Registration Opens
9:00am Welcome: Neil Mallon, Chair, The RIC
9:05am Opening Prayer and Remarks, Chief Stephen R. Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe
9:15am Addressing Human Trafficking Through Multi-Disciplinary Collaborations in the Criminal Justice and Civil Legal Systems
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, responding to human trafficking is most effective when it is executed through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach.   This session will focus on the importance of bringing together local, state, and federal officials as well as community leaders to combat trafficking, seek justice, and support victims in the criminal and civil legal systems.

Panelists:

Thomas Stack, Human Trafficking Coordinator, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, City of Baltimore
Renee Franchi, Attorney for Victims of Sexual Abuse and Human Trafficking at Andreozzi + Foote
Dr. Glenn Sterner, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice Site Coordinator, the Greater Philadelphia Office, Criminal Justice Research Center at Penn State Abington
Moderator: Caren Schiffman, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
10:15am Break/Networking
10:45am Breakout Sessions Regroup:

Survivor Engagement Workgroup 2024 and Beyond – Room 3101
Child Sex Trafficking and HOPE Court 2024 and Beyond – Room 5200A
Legislation and Policy 2024 and Beyond – Room 5200B
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Report out of Breakout Sessions

Dawn Schiller, Caren Schiffman & Patrick McKenna
1:30pm State Legislators, Advocates, and Survivors Discuss Legislative and Policy Objectives/Successes/Barriers

Hear from state officials, advocates and survivors on the advances made to combat human trafficking throughout the region.

Amanda K. Rodriguez, Esq., Executive Director, TurnAround Inc.
Moderator: Tanya Gould, Director of Anti-Human Trafficking, Office of the Virginia Attorney General
2:30pm Break
2:45pm Three Worlds, One Goal: Recommendations for Combating Trafficking based on insights from Academia, Nonprofits, and Tech Companies

Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons has engaged in anti-trafficking and sexual exploitation work as a case management intern at NCMEC, a researcher in academia, a research associate at the nonprofit Thorn, and as a policy enforcement manager at YouTube. This presentation will discuss her experiences in anti-trafficking work across these sectors, highlighting how, despite similar shared goals, each sector approaches anti-trafficking work in their own way. This work becomes increasingly challenging in the context of regulations, funding, and misinformation. The session will include recommendations to build more opportunities between the sectors in the spirit of supporting a unified goal: to combat human trafficking.

Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons, PhD, Policy Enforcement Manager, YouTube Trust and Safety
3:45pm Wrap-up: Neil Mallon, Chair, The RIC