Board of Advisors
Melissa Snow is the Director of Programs at Shared Hope International, a non-profit organization providing rescue and restoration to women and children victimized by sex trafficking. Currently Melissa is working with more than fifteen Department of Justice Human Trafficking Task Forces with the primary goal of identification and facilitation of services for domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) victims. Recognizing the dearth of awareness and understanding on the issue of DMST she developed two comprehensive training curriculums, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: How to Identify and Respond to America’s Prostituted Youth and INTERVENE: Identifying and Responding to America’s Prostituted Youth. She has utilized these resources to train thousands of first responders providing them with a deeper understanding of child sex trafficking, enabling increased victim identification and response. Melissa also manages the expansion and establishment of Shared Hope’s partnership programs for victims of trafficking in India, Nepal, Fiji, Jamaica and the United States. These programs provide funding for services such as street outreach, HIV clinics, long-term shelter, holistic care, vocational training and education programs.
Melissa has overseen a myriad of initiatives to combat human trafficking specifically operating as Lead Field Assessor and Communications Correspondent for human rights investigations in Japan, Jamaica and the U.S. These field assignments have led to partnerships with local non-government groups and faith based organizations to expand shelter facilities and increase public awareness. Released in September 2007, this research produced a report and 45-minute documentary and report titled DEMAND. These deliverables revealed how cultures of tolerance and buyer demand are driving the marketplace of exploitation where women and children are the product for sale.
Melissa is currently on staff as a writer for the End Human Trafficking blog on Change.org, a leading online activism platform for social change. Additionally, she is a RYT and Founder of the Shanti Warrior Yoga Project, which empowers survivors of trauma and torture by offering the tool of yoga for holistic healing.
Melissa earned her B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Colorado. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Global Development and Social Justice from St. John’s University.
