“Truth is powerful and it prevails.” – Sojourner Truth
She believed she was called by God to tell the Truth and that’s exactly what she did. She became a leading voice for the abolition of slavery and for the rights of women. Undeterred by her own enslavement, physical abuse and a mountain of injustice, she traveled the nation bearing witness to the Truth thus affecting the lives of countless Americans.
The Truth Panel honors the work of Sojourner Truth not only in the spirit of history but with the possibilities of the present and the future. We introduce these voices as a means of prevention, comfort and empowerment for those that have been trafficked for sex and labor exploitation and to keep those that haven’t from ever knowing this crime.
These leaders are all human trafficking survivors. Relating their own histories with unmatched authority and candor, Truth Panel members are available to speak to your group or conference. Fill-out the speaker request form below and tell us about your gathering or event.
Truth Panel Speakers:
James Kofi Annan
James Kofi Annan knows from personal experience that slavery is not a thing of the past. Having been sold to traffickers by his financially desperate parents at the tender age of six, James spent the next seven years working long, difficult, unpaid hours in over 20 different fishing communities along Lake Volta in Ghana.
Amira B.
As a survivor of devastating hardships in her youth, Amira is now living a full life as a wife, and mother of four beautiful, bright children. As a full time student Amira is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work and a Certificate in Art Education.
Anne Bissell
Since the controversial and ground-breaking publication of her autobiographical book, “Memoirs of a Sex Industry Survivor,” in 2004, Anne Bissell has been on the frontline in the fight against the commercialized sexual exploitation of children.
Ateba Crocker
After surviving childhood rape, teenaged pregnancy, alcoholism and prostitution, Ateba Crocker is channeling the past abuse into a national enterprise called Shoe Revolt to fund the fight against domestic sex trafficking. The mission of Shoe Revolt, now more than a year old, is to stomp out human trafficking by creating a steady revenue stream through the sale of new and used donated shoes.
Theresa Flores
Ms. Flores has been a licensed Social Worker for over twenty years. She received her Master’s in Counseling Education from University of Dayton and a Bachelor’s of Social Work from Ball State University. She is the spokes woman and Director of Education & Training for Gracehaven House, a ten-bed long-term faith based care and rehabilitation home for young girls under the age of 18 who have been victimized by human trafficking.
Tina Frundt
Ms. Frundt has been actively raising awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) since 2000. A high profile national advocate on the issue of domestic sex trafficking and a survivor of CSEC, Ms. Frundt is deeply committed to helping other children and women who are living through experiences similar to her own.
Margaret Howard
Ms. Howard has been a writer and social activist for more than 30 years. She delivers her inspiring message that human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children can be ended once and for all as we come together in community. She brings a unique combination of experience and training.
Annie Lobert
Annie Lobert is a survivor of more than a decade of sex trafficking-working as an exotic dancer and a high-class escort prostituted in Hawaii, Minneapolis, and Las Vegas. She is an internationally recognized expert and advocate of ministry to men and women in the commercial sex industry from her personal experience.
Shamere McKenzie
SHAMERE MCKENZIE was simply trying to find a way to pay her college tuition when she met her trafficker. He seemed like a nice guy, and he promised her she could make money dancing.
Instead he forced her into sex slavery.
Katariina R.
Katariina has a personal story of human trafficking from the time she was just 13 years of age to 17. Throughout her early life, she experienced four separate trafficking scenarios which ranged from the less organized ‘family’ traffickers who recruited her through a friend in her middle school, to the more organized hotel & local prostitution rings and modeling scam.
Toshia Shaw-Lacy
Toshia Shaw navigated life’s turbulent waters throughout her adolescence and early adulthood with resiliency; emerging as a victor. To take steps towards healing, she penned the fiction novel entitled, High Stakes, that was published in the year 2010. With her firsthand knowledge about what goes on in the nightlife of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Holly Smith
Holly is a survivor of child trafficking and an advocate against all forms of human trafficking. In November 2011, Holly appeared on the Dr. Oz show to raise awareness for the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST), along with Tina Frundt (founder of Courtney’s House), Lisa Ling (American journalist and advocate), and Kevin Perkins (Director of the FBI’s Innocence Lost project).
Tina Willis
Tina Willis is an over comer of childhood sexual abuse and a former victim of commercial sexual exploitation in her teen years. Tina has a personal understanding of what a woman goes through in the recovery process of rebuilding her life and overcoming the personal struggles of emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing.
Click here to request a Truth Panel speaker for your event.
