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
SPEAKERS
Click on a speaker’s name below to read their bio.
Keynote Speaker
Former Ambassador-at-Large, Office on Trafficking in Persons
John Cotton Richmond
John Cotton Richmond served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and leads the Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. In October 2018, the Senate unanimously confirmed him and President Trump appointed him to lead the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking and support the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts across the U.S. government.
Ambassador Richmond served in the highest position in the federal government dedicated to combating human trafficking, after a distinguished career in the global battle for freedom. He co-founded the Human Trafficking Institute that exists to decimate modern slavery at its source by empowering police and prosecutors to use victim-centered and trauma-informed methods to hold traffickers accountable and ensure survivors are treated with respect and care.
Featured Speaker
Attorney General of Virginia
Jason Miyares
Jason Stuart Miyares is an American attorney and politician serving as the 48th Attorney General of Virginia since 2022. A Republican, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, from the 82nd district in northeastern Virginia Beach, and served three terms from 2016 to 2022. He was elected Attorney General of Virginia in 2021. The son of a refugee, he is the first Hispanic elected statewide in Virginia.
SPEAKERS
Charlee Borg
Senior Program Officer, Learning and Development Management, International Rescue Committee
Charlee Borg
With her extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing national and international anti-trafficking programs across sectors, Charlee Borg weaves first-hand knowledge from over ten years serving survivors of human trafficking to create engaging and relevant training materials. Prior to Framework, Charlee built agency, regional, and state anti-trafficking capacity across the U.S. while consulting as a cross-cultural trauma and crisis response specialist. She has aided human trafficking survivors nationally and internationally by developing and managing programs, providing crisis and long-term therapy interventions, and supporting survivors and organizations better partner together. Charlee received her M.A. in International Disaster Psychology: Trauma and Global Mental Health from the University of Denver with a certificate in Program Development and Evaluation.
Evelyn Chumbow
Survivor of Child Labor Trafficking/Activist
Evelyn Chumbow
Evelyn Chumbow is a survivor of child labor trafficking turned anti-trafficking activist and public speaker who has focused her life’s work on ending modern day slavery, a crime impacting some 35M victims globally.
Ms. Chumbow was brought to the U.S. from Cameroon at the age of nine and forced to cook, clean, and care for her trafficker’s children. She was never paid for her work, and any hope that she might escape her miserable life was undermined by the constant beatings she received from her trafficker.
For seven years, she lived in constant fear, working day and night. She was prevented from contacting her family, attending school and enjoying things that many children take for granted – she never rode the school bus, went to prom, hung out with friends after school, or joined a dance team. Instead, she was a modern-day slave – not in some far-flung country, but right here in the U.S.
After years of captivity, she finally escaped and her trafficker was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Today, Ms. Chumbow works tirelessly to raise awareness and help other survivors. She serves as an advisor to human trafficking NGOs, and has been invited to brief government agencies about human trafficking from a survivor’s perspective, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Department of Justice. She is invited regularly to speak around the world about her experience, including at the White House. She also serves as an advocate and mentor for fellow survivors.
In December 2015, fulfilling a life-long dream, Ms. Chumbow graduated with a B.S. in Homeland Security studies from the University of Maryland University College. She was appointed by the President of the United States to serve as United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to his administration. Since January 2015, she has worked at the law firm of Baker & McKenzie LLP in Washington, D.C., where she has the opportunity to support human trafficking and human rights related pro bono initiatives.
Ms. Chumbow has been featured in New York’s New Abolitionists, a book of portraits of women and men committed to ending human trafficking in New York and globally. Ms. Chumbow was one of the coaches for the Partnership for Freedom’s first innovation challenge, Reimagine: Opportunity – a competition to improve the infrastructure of support for survivors of modern slavery; U.S. government agencies and private donors co-sponsored by Humanity United. Ms. Chumbow hopes to leverage her unique position as a former child slave to end human trafficking in West Africa, in her hometown, and the rest of the world.
Jaime Cypher
Children’s Advocacy Coordinator, PCAR
Jaime Cypher
Jaime Cypher is the Children’s Advocacy Coordinator at PCAR. Jaime provides training and resources to rape crisis center staff across PA and works with systems to promote appropriate practices and support to youth victims in PA. Jaime was previously a Certified Trauma Professional (CTP) and Children’s Trauma Counselor at a PA dual (domestic violence and sexual assault) center. Jaime received her BS in Psychology from Slippery Rock University in 2016.
Nathan Earl
Principal Consultant at Giant Slayer Consulting
Nathan Earl
Nathan Earl is an anti-trafficking pioneer, fierce advocate and visionary leader with a passion for building resilient communities immune to exploitation. Nathan creates impactful change across systems by leveraging prior lived experiences involving commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, incarceration and addiction to develop and lead transformational initiatives aimed at preventing and combating the victimization of boys and male-identifying individuals.
In addition to serving on The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CSE Leadership Council, Mr. Earl advocates for the continued framing of human trafficking as a public health priority. He educates counter-trafficking stakeholders on the systemic factors that create and sustain exploitation through his work as a Consultant with the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime and the U.S. Office on Trafficking in Persons’ National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center.
Mr. Earl is a 2019 Fellow of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Human Trafficking Leadership Academy. His educational background includes a business degree from State College of Florida and current studies in marketing and public health at the University of South Florida. Mr. Earl has earned a Certificate in Leadership from Coro Southern California, and a Certificate in Human Subjects Research from Florida International University.
Renee Franchi, Esq.
(Moderator)
Attorney, Andreozzi + Foote
Renee Franchi, Esq.
Renee is an attorney with Andreozzi + Foote who represents survivors of sexual abuse, violent crime, and human trafficking against large and powerful institutions including, but not limited to, Catholic Diocese, religious institutions, and churches, foster care agencies, national and international corporations, mentoring organizations, and schools. She has given voice to victims of sexual abuse nationwide, appearing in The New York Times and more. Renee’s practice is nation-wide, and she is specifically licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Colorado.
Prior to her work representing survivors, Renee was a Senior Deputy Prosecutor who prosecuted violent crime and death cases including strangulation, domestic violence, aggravated assaults, and homicides in jury trials to verdict. She also served as a member of the Adult Mental Health Court and Juvenile Drug Court treatment court teams offering diversionary and treatment-based programming for non-violent offenders.
Renee also volunteers on the Board of Directors for Collective Liberty, a non-profit organization that works closely with government agencies to shift systems and improve public policy to ensure, as a community, we support survivors while stopping traffickers. Collective Liberty uses tech-forward solutions interconnecting data points across multiple platforms to produce impactful intelligence reports. Combined with legislative efforts to create systemic change through public policy, it is Collective Liberty’s mission to effectively end all forms of human trafficking and ensure survivors have access to necessary resources.
Renee can be reached at renee@vca.law.
Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons, PhD
Policy Enforcement Manager, YouTube Trust and Safety
Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons, PhD
In her role as a Policy Enforcement Manager, Kwynn helps to develop YouTube’s internal community guidelines for Adult Sexual Content to achieve scalable enforcement decisions. Prior to joining YouTube, she was a Research Associate at Thorn and a Case Management Intern at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Austin, Texas. She’s published 4 peer-reviewed research articles on human trafficking.
Kwynn earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from McNeese State University, a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Texas Health Science Center, and a PhD in Social Work from the University of Utah.
Debra Holbrook
Forensic Nurse, Baltimore City Mercy Medical Center
Debra Holbrook
Debra Holbrook attended The Union Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, in Baltimore, Maryland and completed both undergrad and graduate studies through the Wilmington University. After working in the field of critical care, Mrs. Holbrook founded a Forensic Nurse Examiner Program in Delaware that became a model of the United States (US Senate Subcommittee / Biden, 2002).
In 2002 she testified on Capitol Hill before a Senate Judicial Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs on behalf of the Bill that was signed into law in 2005 as the DNA Justice Act. She is the recipient of numerous international awards, including the ANCC Magnet International Nurse of the Year, the Delaware Nurse of the year, the International Association of Forensic Nurses Pioneer Award, the 2014 Most Influential Marylanders in Healthcare, Distinguished Fellow – Academy of Forensic Nursing, and the prestigious Fellow American Academy of Nursing. She serves on the Board of the National Strangulation Institute, has authored grants totaling over 11 million dollars to benefit victims of major person’s crimes and lectures nationally for the Office for Victims of Crime, educating medical professionals across the country. She has conducted over 200 pediatric and adult SANE educational offerings both nationally and internationally.
Zozan Küçükaydın
Anti-Human Trafficking Services Coordinator, PCAR
Zozan Küçükaydın
Zozan Küçükaydın is the Anti-Human Trafficking Services Coordinator at PCAR, where she works to support local, state-wide, and regional partners in the anti-trafficking field through survivor-centered and trauma-informed training, technical assistance, and resource sharing. Prior to her role, Zozan provided counseling and case management to survivors of human trafficking at a Pennsylvania domestic violence and sexual assault center. Zozan is a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and a Psychology minor.
Heather LaRocca, LCSW
Director, Anti-Trafficking for The Salvation Army
Advisor, New Day to Stop Trafficking Program
Heather LaRocca, LCSW
Heather LaRocca, LCSW is the Director of Anti-Trafficking for The Salvation Army and provides leadership and clinical oversight to the New Day to Stop Trafficking Program (NDSTP). NDSTP delivers trauma informed, wholistic, and victim centered services to survivors of trafficking including task force response to trafficking in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, transitional housing, 24 hour hotline, intensive mobile clinical case management, a drop in center, court advocacy, Police Assisted diversion program, and trainings.
Ms. LaRocca has been working with victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking since 2006. Ms. LaRocca was employed by Women Against Abuse (WAA), the lead domestic violence agency in Philadelphia, for over a decade where she supervised and coordinated the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline as well as intake to two 100 bed shelters. Ms. LaRocca has advocated for the rights and identification of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence survivors and participates in collaborations of service providers and law enforcement in the greater Philadelphia area. Ms. LaRocca holds her master’s degree in Social Work from Widener University and bachelor’s in Social Work from Messiah College.
Neil Mallon
Senior Training Specialist
Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work
Neil Mallon
Neil Mallon, LCSW-C is a Senior Training Specialist with the Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work.
In his role, Mr. Mallon is responsible for implementing and overseeing several grant funded initiatives to improve outcomes for child and young adult victims of sex and labor trafficking in Maryland. Mr. Mallon is also an Advisor to the University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, & Empowerment (SAFE) Center; a multi-disciplinary service center for survivors of human trafficking. He has also previously served in leadership roles with the Maryland Child Labor Trafficking Learning Collaborative and the Washington County Human Trafficking Task Force. nmallon@ssw.umaryland.edu
Patrick J. McKenna, Esq.
Co-Founder and President of the Virginia Coalition Against Human Trafficking (VCAHT)
Patrick J. McKenna, Esq.
Patrick J. McKenna, Esq., is one of the co-founders and President of the Virginia Coalition Against Human Trafficking (VCAHT), an alliance of service providers, attorneys, survivor-advocates, and community members on a mission to remove barriers preventing survivors from achieving a full and healthy life through public awareness campaigns, policy reform and enacting survivor-centered human trafficking legislation.
Mr. McKenna has also co-founded and is the President of Human Trafficking Justice & Freedom International (HTJFI) HTJFI exists to seek justice and freedom for those who have been afflicted and abused by human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation through legal advocacy, education and policy reform. It works with survivors of trafficking to address their legal needs beyond criminal defense.
He is also a Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the Virginia Beach Justice Initiative (“VBJI”) a faith-based non-profit organization founded in 2011, dedicated to ending human trafficking and restoring those victimized by it throughout southeastern Virginia.
Since 2011, Mr. McKenna has been raising awareness, training groups about the ploys of traffickers and signs of human trafficking, facilitating case management for victims, partnering with governmental and non-governmental organizations to form local and statewide coalitions advocating for better state laws and partnering with others to develop protocols and wrap-around services for victims in the Hampton Roads area. As a local expert in the area of human trafficking, Mr. McKenna has done interviews with TBN, CBN, local television ABC, NBC & CBS affiliates, radio, and newspaper/internet news sources.
Mr. McKenna has practiced law for over 30 years and is a member of the Virginia State Bar. He earned his B.A. and B. Mus. Degrees cum laude from S.U.N.Y. at Potsdam and his J.D. degree from Regent University School of Law. He has been happily married to Lori for over 31 years and is the proud father of three adult children.
Amanda K. Rodriguez, Esq.
Executive Director, TurnAround, Inc.
Amanda K. Rodriguez, Esq.
Amanda K. Rodriguez, Esq. graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2005 as the only candidate to receive the prestigious Arts/Law degree in her class. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2007. During her legal study, she was the first student attorney in the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at the University of Baltimore. Subsequently, she wrote numerous articles on the topic of the international implications of human trafficking on the United States’ economy, human trafficking, prosecution, investigation, and domestic minor sex trafficking. Her articles have been published nationally and internationally. She was an Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore County where she oversaw all human trafficking investigations in the county. In 2014, Mrs. Rodriguez transitioned to the role of Manager of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Policy for the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention and was appointed a Special Assistant United States Attorney where she oversaw the state-wide implementation of policy and protocol related to human trafficking in Maryland. She subsequently moved to leadership roles at local victim service agencies. She accepted her current position of Executive Director of TurnAround, Baltimore’s rape crisis center, and a comprehensive domestic violence and human trafficking service provider in December of 2019. She is also currently the Co-Chair of the Legislative Subcommittee for the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and the Chair of the Legislative Committee of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence. She has received numerous awards for her work on human trafficking in the state including the Breakthrough Award from the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, a special citation from Baltimore County, two citations from the State of Maryland, a special recognition from the Baltimore U.S. Attorney’s Office for her successful prosecution of traffickers involved in child exploitation and her commitment to human trafficking survivors. Additionally, she was recognized in 2014 as a Leading Woman by the Daily Record.
Caren Schiffman, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
Caren Schiffman, Esq.
Caren is dedicated to public service and volunteer efforts aimed at making our communities safer, achieving justice for victims, advocating for vulnerable populations, and championing human rights.
Caren takes great pride in her work. With an exemplary work ethic, a get-it-done attitude, and meticulous attention to detail, Caren sets challenging goals and consistently exceeds expectations. She is extremely resourceful, skilled at thoughtfully and expeditiously investigating issues, and excels at cultivating relationships with diverse populations to accomplish objectives.
As a trial attorney, prosecutor, and child advocate, Caren has a proven track record of leaving no stone unturned to get to the truth. Her opponents know that she comes prepared, fights hard, and is always fair.
Caren also has significant experience as a marketing/business development specialist, project manager, trainer, and supervisor. Caren’s experience spans multiple industries including corporate, legal, and nonprofit. Examples of her work include: managing multi-million dollar software consulting projects for Fortune 1000 companies, hiring personnel from around the globe and staffing projects, managing project teams, creating business plans and marketing strategies, delivering trainings, and managing events.
Licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia
Dawn Schiller, M.A.
Training Director, Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), LA County Project, Consultant, Speaker, Human Trafficking Survivor Leader
Dawn Schiller
Dawn Schiller is the Training Director, L.A. County Project for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST). She is an expert survivor-leader in the anti-trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault movements. Abused and trafficked on the streets of Hollywood in her youth her subsequent years of struggle to survivorship, education and service to others offer valuable first-hand insight to community advocates. Today, she is a national speaker, educator, consultant and author.
Dawn earned her undergraduate degree summa cum laude in 2012 from Eastern Oregon University with honors in communication and gender studies. She received the “Women of Vision and Courage” award from EOU President’s Commission on the Status of Women. She is a Phi Kappa Phi Kathleen Greey Fellow and received a teaching fellowship from Oregon State University earning her Master of Arts in Women, Gender, & Sexuality in 2020. Dawn is a VISTO volunteer and regularly visits the girls in Los Angeles juvenile halls who struggle with substance abuse, sharing her experience, strength, hope, and recovery.
Dawn taught Women’s Studies and Activism at Oregon State University. Her academic presentations and trainings infuse lived experience on topics of anti-violence, anti-trafficking (Commercial Sexual Exploitation & Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children), trauma and trauma-informed care, teen/child abuse, the media, ally-ship, resilience, addiction, recovery and healing. Her memoir, “The Road Through Wonderland,” was published by Medallion Press.
Nationally, Dawn is a violence and human trafficking expert consultant with the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, the Department of Health & Human Services Office on Trafficking in Persons (NHTTAC) and the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. She is a founding member of “Survivor 2 Survivor” (S2S) and member of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking’s (CAST) “Resilient Voices.”
Above all else, Dawn’s greatest joy is the privilege to be a parent to her talented daughter.
Dawn welcomes you to connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-schiller-m-a-54586316/
Ret. Detective Thomas Stack
Anti-Human Trafficking and Sexual Assault Response Manager, City of Baltimore
Ret. Detective Thomas Stack
Thomas Stack is currently the Anti-Human Trafficking and Sexual Assault Response Manager for the City of Baltimore, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement where he oversees anti-human trafficking efforts and Sexual Assault response in the City of Baltimore. Mr. Stack also started and is the Co-Chair of the Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative. Previously Mr. Stack worked at the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention from May of 2015 to October 2017 where he over saw the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention’s efforts to combat human trafficking in the State of Maryland as the Human Trafficking Policy Analyst. Mr. Stack was appointed by Governor Hogan to be a member of the Safe Harbor Workgroup to study Safe Harbor policy for Child Sex Trafficking Victims. He also conducted Law Enforcement trainings though out the State, and developed human trafficking policy for the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
Thomas Stack retired from the Montgomery County Police Department’s Vice and Intelligence Unit on September 1, 2014. Retired Detective Stack has more than 26 years of law enforcement experience including 14 years in the Vice and Intelligence Unit. He has investigated and assisted in more than 450 Prostitution/Human Trafficking cases to include Asian Massage parlors, Latino Brothels, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking cases, Labor Trafficking cases, Internet prostitution cases, and “John” sting cases. He has conducted numerous undercover stings. Ret. Detective Stack was a Task Force Officer with the FBI, Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force where he was one of the lead investigators on the United States vs Jeremy Naughton human trafficking case. This two and a half year investigations involved a violent pimp who was charged with numerous counts of human trafficking and other Federal charges, and had eleven victims of human trafficking. Ret. Detective Stack has testified in front of the Maryland House of Delegates, Judiciary Committee and the Maryland Senate, Judicial Proceedings Committee on prostitution and Human Trafficking. Detective Stack has been recognized as an expert in prostitution and human trafficking investigations by the Circuit Court and District Court of Maryland. Detective Stack is also the Human Sex Trafficking for Law Enforcement instructor for Street Cops Training.
Glenn Sterner
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Penn State University
Dr. Glenn Sterner
Dr. Glenn Sterner is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at The Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus. He serves as the coordinator of the Criminal Justice Research Center’s Greater Philadelphia Office for the University. As an expert on the opioid epidemic, he sits on the Opioid Overdose Task Force for the State of Pennsylvania. He is also a founding member of the Penn State Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse advisory board. He serves as a faculty fellow of the Penn State University Administrative Data Accelerator. He is the founder of the Share Your Opioid Story initiative, found at www.shareyouropioidstory.com.
His main research agenda is focused on the application of social network analysis in understanding illicit, illegal, and covert networks, and he is experienced with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Dr. Sterner has been awarded over $6.7 Million in local, state, and federal grants to study and address the opioid epidemic, including funding from the National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). His work includes the examination of opioid abuse networks, illegal opiate distribution, networks of legitimate opioid distributors and overdose deaths, hot spots of opioid availability, intelligence-based interventions in rural areas, and stigma associated with opioid and other substance use disorders.
Dr. Sterner collaborates extensively with law enforcement agencies on the local, state, and federal level in his work to address the opioid crisis and other substance use issues. He has several active grants with the Pennsylvania State Police, and partners with local district attorneys, coroners, and police departments. Within the Pennsylvania State Police, he regularly works with individuals in the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center (PaCIC), the data fusion center at State Police Headquarters in Harrisburg. Ges5098@psu.edu