Lauren received her Master of Social Work degree and Certificate for Violence and Injury Prevention from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She individualized her MSW concentration to focus on Advocacy and Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Exploitation. She has worked alongside survivors of both labor and sex trafficking in India, Minnesota, Illinois, and in St. Louis. She has served in several advocacy capacities, and has done extensive research, training, and teaching on this topic. She currently serves as an Advocate and Community Education Coordinator for Crisis Aid, working with survivors of internet crimes against children and their non-offending family members to provide crisis intervention, emotional support, education, safety planning, and resources in the hopes of preventing further victimization online and potential human trafficking. Her advocacy also includes working with adolescent and adult survivors of sex trafficking and facilitating psychoeducational groups such as Finding Healing after Trauma, Healthy Relationships, and Goal Setting. Additionally, she provides extensive school-based lessons and parent presentations on digital safety, as well as a variety of community outreach and professional trainings. Lauren has been passionate about pursuing anti-exploitation work and serving survivors for the last 19+ years and hopes to continue doing so for the rest of her life.

Rachel Grant is a disruptor of traditional modes of healing, creator of the Beyond Surviving program, international speaker, podcast host, and Sexual Abuse Recovery Coach with an M.A. in Counseling Psychology. She is also the author of Beyond Surviving: The Final Stage in Recovery from Sexual Abuse.

Based on her educational training, study of neuroscience, and lessons learned from her own journey, she has successfully used the Beyond Surviving Program since 2007 to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are beyond sick and tired of feeling broken and unfixable break free from the pain of abuse and finally move on with their lives.

Dr. Tyffani Monford Dent is a licensed psychologist both in private practice and within a psychiatric hospital. She also serves on faculty at an Ohio-based university within its School of Medicine-Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Dent’s primary areas of interests are sexual violence prevention and intervention on the continuum, the role of intersectionality in the lives of Black and Brown girls/women, racial trauma & radical healing, social justice work within the mental health profession, DEI within social justice organizations, and culturally informed therapy practices with a focus on decolonizing psychology.

Dr. Dent is the Owner of Monford Dent Consulting & Psychological Services, LLC through which she provides ongoing mental health consultation, assessments and DEI & systemic change work with mental health and social justice organizations. In 2023, she expanded her clinical practice to include therapy services with a focus on Black women and adolescents. In December 2022, she co-founded Living at The Intersections, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on meeting the needs of Black girls & nonbinary youth, and Black Emerging Adult Women. LATI focuses on providing technical support to Black girl/nonbinary-serving organizations, emotional wellness, and social justice issues that impact Black girls/nonbinary youth & Emerging Black Adults.

David is a United Methodist pastor and Director of Rainbow House, an LGBTQIA+ inclusion center in Edwardsville, IL. He has worked with youth, young adults and families for nearly 4 decades as a teacher, coach and minister. He has a Masters in Christian Education and is a certified John Maxwell coach and speaker. His passion is to help those who do not belong, belong! This includes those often marginalized in our culture, especially the LGBTQIA+ community. He works to create safe space in the community through support, education and advocacy. He has a commitment to help change the narrative that sexual minorities have to choose between their faith and their identity. David is the proud father of 4 children and grandfather of 2.

Equiller Mahone serves as the Assistant Executive Director of a local non-profit in Mississippi. Equiller has over 10 years of experience working in the non-profit sector providing services to victims of crime involving domestic abuse, child abuse, and sexual assault.

Ultimately she has served as an advocate in some capacity for victims since starting her internship in 2010. She also has several years of teaching experience on the collegiate level. She served as an adjunct at the University of Alabama where she taught numerous courses related to growth and development over the course of the life cycle. She currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Alcorn State University. Equiller graduated from the University of Alabama in 2012 with a Masters of Science.

Dr. Shawler is an expert in Child and Adolescent Psychology with over a decade of experience supporting families. Prior to opening Shawler Psychology, PLLC, he served as the Chief Psychologist for Oklahoma’s state-wide juvenile justice agency, the Office of Juvenile Affairs. He served as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics for the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and had an adjunct appointment in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the College of Medicine. Additionally, he served 14 years in the Army National Guard achieving the rank of Major before deciding to leave the military to focus on his family and civilian career.

Dr. Shawler earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at West Virginia University and went on to work in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities in Massachusetts and California before returning to graduate school at Oklahoma State University. He earned his Masters’ and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Child and Adolescent Psychology. He completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and completed his post-doctoral fellowship within the Section of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at OU Health Children’s Hospital. He continues to serve as a National Trainer at the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth training and consulting with agencies to address youth with problematic sexual behaviors and the impacted children, families, and the community.

Dr. Shawler consults and trains nationally for a variety of organizations serving youth and families. He has published numerous peer-reviewed publications in top-tier journals. He has particular interest in dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments and policy aimed at improving the lives of children and families. He has in-depth expertise working with parents and children who present with challenging behavior, in particular utilizing Parent-Child Interaction Therapy after years of working with master trainers across the country. He enjoys working on interdisciplinary teams and partnering with other community members.

Dr. Paul Shawler opened his practice in Carbondale, IL when he and his wife moved for her to join the faculty within the Psychological and Behavioral Sciences program at Southern Illinois University (SIU). He has a faculty appointment at SIU where he teaches doctoral level graduate clinical psychology courses and supervises clinical work.

Darius White is a first-generation college graduate turned English teacher with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University. A decade into teaching, he works as a full-time high school English teacher and writing coach in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as serves as a board member for the San Francisco Education Fund, which provides volunteers and financial support to the local public school district. He uses his physical classroom and social media platforms to invite activists, advocates, allies, and educators into radical collaboration, inclusion, and liberation work. Lastly, when he is not lesson-planning or grading, he is building out his online platform, JustBlackThoughts.com, an information center and community for Black men in education to connect, converse, and co-create change.

A proud San Francisco Bay Area native, Amber Clayborne founded the Kerengende Foundation on the principles of community, education, and care. With a graduate degree in Human Resource Management, Amber integrates service, teamwork, and resource-mapping into her nonprofit work with survivors of sexual abuse and their families. Through educational workshops and community partnerships, the foundation empowers youth, families, and communities to better understand and prevent sexual abuse and trafficking. Amber is a mother, grandmother and an advocate for children and families impacted by sexual trauma. Her greatest hope is to have a community so informed about body safety, consent and prevention that there will be a significant decline in traumatic incidents experienced by children. She is deeply committed to ensuring a safer world for our children.

Micah Prior uses he/him pronouns and is a social worker and public health professional. His work focuses on social and economic development to create “economic engines” that holistically address root causes of poverty and racial inequality structuring our society. He is primarily an independent contractor and works in a variety of domains ranging from research, grant writing, consulting, project management, data analysis, policy advocacy, health intervention development, and racial health disparities. At his core, personally and professionally, he seeks to position himself to better understand, dismantle, and address white supremacy and racism.

​Jose is a consultant and Lived Experience Expert on Domestic Child Sex Trafficking, Public Speaker, Author, Advocate and Activist. He has worked with several anti-human trafficking organizations around the globe, to spread awareness on trafficking, specifically within the LGBTQ+ Community and on males. He has been featured in several publications and has worked with law enforcement, DHS and the DOJ to name a few.

David is a United Methodist pastor and Director of Rainbow House, an LGBTQIA+ inclusion center in Edwardsville, IL. He has worked with youth, young adults and families for nearly 4 decades as a teacher, coach and minister. He has a Masters in Christian Education and is a certified John Maxwell coach and speaker. His passion is to help those who do not belong, belong! This includes those often marginalized in our culture, especially the LGBTQIA+ community. He works to create safe space in the community through support, education and advocacy. He has a commitment to help change the narrative that sexual minorities have to choose between their faith and their identity. David is the proud father of 4 children and grandfather of 2.

Tamara’s passion for youth advocacy and community organizing started when she was 16 years old. After losing several childhood friends to gun violence and the criminal justice system, Tamara has devoted her career to improving conditions and systems impacting youth, particularly Black youth.

Tamara serves as the Juvenile Justice Council Coordinator with the St. Clair State’s Attorney’s Office in the Children’s Justice Division. Her work focuses on cross-sector partnership building, reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice and education systems, improving youth mental health access, and building the community’s capacity for youth justice transformation and healing. In previous roles, Tamara has served in after-school programming, maternal health education, coordinating resident services for public housing families in North St. Louis, community engagement, and program evaluation.

Tamara graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a Minor in Education. She also has a graduate degree in Human Resource Management from Lindenwood University. She has over twenty years of adolescent development experience.

Kevin Hopkins has served as a juvenile justice case manager and is presently employed as a family engagement specialist within an at-risk school district. He has experience working with the families of preschool through high school students, community college students, and adult learners.

Rachel Grant is the owner and founder of Rachel Grant Coaching and is a Sexual Abuse Recovery Coach and M.A. in Counseling Psychology. She is also the author of Beyond Surviving: The Final Stage in Recovery from Sexual Abuse.  

Based on her educational training, study of neuroscience, and lessons learned from her own journey, she has successfully used the Beyond Surviving Program since 2007 to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are beyond sick and tired of feeling broken and unfixable break free from the pain of abuse and finally move on with their lives.

Darius White is a first-generation college graduate turned English teacher with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University. A decade into teaching, he works as a full-time high school English teacher and writing coach in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as serves as a board member for the San Francisco Education Fund, which provides volunteers and financial support to the local public school district. He uses his physical classroom and social media platforms to invite activists, advocates, allies, and educators into radical collaboration, inclusion, and liberation work. Lastly, when he is not lesson-planning or grading, he is building out his online platform, JustBlackThoughts.com, an information center and community for Black men in education to connect, converse, and co-create change.

A proud San Francisco Bay Area native, Amber Clayborne founded the Kerengende Foundation on the principles of community, education, and care. With a graduate degree in Human Resource Management, Amber integrates service, teamwork, and resource-mapping into her nonprofit work with survivors of sexual abuse and their families. Through educational workshops and community partnerships, the foundation empowers youth, families, and communities to better understand and prevent sexual abuse and trafficking. Amber is a mother, grandmother and an advocate for children and families impacted by sexual trauma. Her greatest hope is to have a community so informed about body safety, consent and prevention that there will be a significant decline in traumatic incidents experienced by children. She is deeply committed to ensuring a safer world for our children.

Lauren received her Master of Social Work degree and Certificate for Violence and Injury Prevention from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She individualized her MSW concentration to focus on Advocacy and Empowerment for Survivors of Sexual Exploitation. She has worked alongside survivors of both labor and sex trafficking in India, Minnesota, Illinois, and here in St. Louis. She has served in several advocacy capacities, and has done extensive research, training, and teaching on this topic. She currently serves as an Advocate for Crisis Aid, working with survivors of internet crimes against children and their non-offending family members to provide crisis intervention, emotional support, education, safety planning, and resources in the hopes of preventing further victimization online and potential human trafficking. Her advocacy also includes working with adolescent and adult survivors of sex trafficking and facilitating psychoeducational groups such as Finding Healing after Trauma, Healthy Relationships, and Goal Setting. She’s been passionate about pursuing anti-trafficking work and serving survivors for the last 17 years and hopes to continue doing so for the rest of her life.

Dr. Andrea J. Nichols is Lecturer of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and Professor of Sociology at St. Louis Community College Forest Park. Her practitioner-centered research examines victim advocacy and community-based responses, as well as social work and criminal justice practices with survivors. She regularly teaches the course “Sex Trafficking” and is the author and coauthor of numerous books and articles in the area of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

Dr Debbie Lassiter is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Convergence Resource Center with over 45 yrs of experience working with traumatized individuals. In 2012 she launched the Human and Sex Trafficking Support Initiative and in 2013 she created The Epidemic and The Game – an annual community awareness event focusing on human trafficking. Dr D is a panelist, presenter and trainer. She is a Certified Heartmath Coach and Trainer and a Certified Ending The Game Facilitator and Trainer. She launched the HEMAD campaign and to date over 45,000 men visibly take a stand against human trafficking. Dr. Lassiter was honored by the Dept Of Justice with the National Crime Victims Award for her work with victims in 2014 and again in 2016 by the Dept of Corrections. Dr. Lassiter is one of the 50 Heroes of Fortune 500 and received the Citizens Distinguished Service Award from the Sheboygan Police Dept . She has provided training for the State of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public School Counselors, Emergency Medical Staff and Educators in Belize, Heartmath Coaches and Trainers in Mexico, Early Childhood Service Providers, The Wisconsin Association of School Nurses and a host of other organizations and service providers. She is the host of TRIUMPH Rising – a weekly radio show that shares information on human trafficking. Dr Lassiter has a Doctorate in Divinity from St Thomas Christian College (Jacksonville, Fla) and is a licensed Associate Minister at the New Testament Church of Milwaukee. She is a member of the OCVS Advisory Committee, Milwaukee Joint Human Trafficking Taskforce and the Healthcare Collaborative Against Sex Trafficking. Dr. Lassiter delivers the hard truths with humor and humanitarianism making her unique and highly effective.

Heidi Olson, RN, MSN, CPN, SANE-P is a Certified Pediatric Nurse and Certified Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), she is also the Founder and President of Paradigm Shift Training and Consulting, which equips healthcare workers with skills to be able to identify and treat victims of trafficking and exploitation.

Heidi previously managed the SANE Program at a large Children’s Hospital where she performed/reviewed over 1,500 pediatric sexual assault exams, many of them trafficking cases, communicated with a large multidisciplinary team, and educated hundreds of staff members on relevant topics regarding sexual violence. Heidi also serves as an expert witness in civil and criminal trials related to sexual assault.

In 2019, Heidi implemented an evidence-based screening process in an Emergency Department, which has resulted in hundreds of vulnerable children being identified as victims of exploitation. Heidi has testified in favor of bills that have been passed into law and most recently, Heidi testified at a briefing in Washington D.C. about protecting children online.

Over the last few years, Heidi has presented over 200 times internationally about recognizing human trafficking, child-on-child sexual assault, pornography, and exploitation. Heidi has also been featured in several documentaries, including Vulnerable Innocence, which has won 24 awards.