Charlie is a survivor who has dedicated their life to serving others like them. In their day job, they are an advocate working with runaway and exploited youth to help them overcome complex and compounded trauma. Charlie has also served on various working groups, advisory boards, and as a consultant to several anti-trafficking organizations and agencies. Charlie’s submission is a collection of pieces that capture their style as a survivor artist.
Biography
An alumnus of Washburn University with a clinical Masters in Social Work degree with certifications in Victim and Survivor services, Art Therapy, and Nonprofit Management, Charlie dedicates their life to serving others like them. Their day job as a Missing Youth Specialist provides them with opportunities to empower and engage runaway and exploited youth in foster care to overcome complex and compounded trauma, and find the path to who they want to be. Charlie is a dedicated advocate with specializations for persons who have experienced human sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, childhood trauma, interpersonal violence, and other complex or compounded traumas. Charlie is part of the LGBTQ community as a nonbinary person (they/them), and a staunch leader and participant in social justice activism. They are an ally for all trans and/or persons of color, as well as dedicated activist for Black Lives Matter and Trans Lives Matter movements. Charlie has had the honor of serving as a delegate of the United Nations via the International Public Policy Institute, serving on the US Attorney’s Office Kansas Working Group on Human Trafficking Task Force, and as a Victims Services Subcommittee Member for the Kansas Human Trafficking Advisory Board. Charlie has served the anti-trafficking community with both professional experiential expertise as a consultant with the US Department of Justice, US Office on Victims of Crime, Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and Polaris Project. Charlie is a member of the National Survivor Network and Survivor Leaders Institute, and has delivered keynote and training sessions to professionals from around the country. Charlie is also an accomplished artist and expert in the healing arts for survivors of complex trauma.