As the CEO of Polaris and a survivor of human trafficking, I’ve spent the last decade working alongside law enforcement to improve how we identify and respond to trafficking. But long before I stepped into this role, I sat — literally — in the back seat.
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FORTY-FIVE.
That’s how many contacts I had with law enforcement during the five years I was trafficked.
45.
From traffic stops to domestic violence calls to welfare checks to arrests.
Not once was I screened for trafficking. Not once was I offered services. In fact, one of my arrest papers — where I was listed as the offender — listed “society” as the victim.
But… let’s take a second to pause. This was 2008–2012. Understanding where we were in domestic anti-trafficking efforts is critical context.
U.S. citizens being trafficked within the country wasn’t formally acknowledged in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report until 2010.
The officers I had contact with didn’t know what to look for or what questions to ask.
Heck, I didn’t even know that I was being trafficked!
This is why I start most of my law enforcement trainings by naming this history and owning my own. I begin every session by saying:
“After being in your back seat eleven times, it’s an honor to be here in front of you today.”
Training Grounded In Experience
Over the last decade, I’ve trained and worked alongside law enforcement agencies across the U.S. I’ve:
- Provided education on survivor-centered and trauma-informed best practices
- Brought Polaris staff to assist with resource coordination during intervention operations
- Coached officers on how to establish probable cause through online demand operations
- Advocated for protocols that prevent the arrest of victims—even when they don’t self-identify in the moment
- Helped build intelligence before operations to ensure efforts target individuals with confirmed third-party controllers
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Progress and Partnership
I am far from the only survivor doing this work.
There are so many of us. We bring our lived experience, yes — but we also bring years of fieldwork, formal and informal education, and subject matter expertise. Each of us has a slightly different perspective. Together, we’re committed to one thing: making sure what happened to us doesn’t happen to anyone else — and that the people in a position to help are equipped to do so.
Anti-trafficking work has come a long way in the last 17 years. And yes, we still have a long road ahead. The only way forward is together.
Knowing my own journey of repair and trust-building with law enforcement is one of the many reasons I understand how vital that work is here at Polaris, too.
It’s also why I’m deeply proud that, since 2007, Polaris has referred nearly 32,000 unique instances of trafficking to our law enforcement partners.
And did you know over 2,700 of those referrals happened in 2024 alone?
The progress we’ve made — and the accountability we’ve supported — are possible because of trust, experience, and the shared belief that survivors deserve better.
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