I am a professor and social worker, and I strive to invent new ways to help people survive and rebuild their lives.
I direct Phoenix Starfish Place, a housing program for women who have been sex trafficked and their children. When we opened, there was no model like it in the country, so we built it from listening to survivors. They told us they needed safety, stability, and time. Housing gives people the pause they need to heal, to finish school, to reconnect with their kids, and to imagine a future that is not defined by trauma.
I was inspired by my mother, who was also a social worker. She taught me that people are not problems to be solved but stories worth understanding. Early in my career, running groups inside a women’s prison showed me how powerful it is when someone finally has the language to understand what happened to them and how trauma shaped their choices.
The problem I am trying to solve is invisibility. Trafficking is often misunderstood, and people think it happens somewhere else to someone else. In reality, it affects our neighbors, our families, and our communities. My work is about creating real exit ramps so that when someone is ready, there is a place for them to land.
What I get out of this work is purpose. It is hard and heartbreaking, but it is also full of wins. Every time someone realizes their own power, every time a family stabilizes, every time a system shifts toward compassion, it reminds me why this work matters.
I direct Phoenix Starfish Place, a housing program for women who have been sex trafficked and their children. When we opened, there was no model like it in the country, so we built it from listening to survivors. They told us they needed safety, stability, and time. Housing gives people the pause they need to heal, to finish school, to reconnect with their kids, and to imagine a future that is not defined by trauma.
I was inspired by my mother, who was also a social worker. She taught me that people are not problems to be solved but stories worth understanding. Early in my career, running groups inside a women’s prison showed me how powerful it is when someone finally has the language to understand what happened to them and how trauma shaped their choices.
The problem I am trying to solve is invisibility. Trafficking is often misunderstood, and people think it happens somewhere else to someone else. In reality, it affects our neighbors, our families, and our communities. My work is about creating real exit ramps so that when someone is ready, there is a place for them to land.
What I get out of this work is purpose. It is hard and heartbreaking, but it is also full of wins. Every time someone realizes their own power, every time a family stabilizes, every time a system shifts toward compassion, it reminds me why this work matters.