Speakers
2019 Human Trafficking Awareness Conference Speakers
“Sex Trafficking of Minors and Safe Harbor in Kentucky” - Keynote
Dr. Jennifer Cole is currently appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Science and the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research at the University of Kentucky. She is also a faculty associate of the Center on Trauma and Children in the University of Kentucky. Her overarching research career goal is to investigate the intersection of interpersonal victimization and substance use or misuse along with system responses to individuals with victimization experiences and substance use disorders. Dr. Cole was the Principal Investigator of an NIJ-funded study examining the impact of legislative reform and judicial decision-making related to sex trafficking of minors that was completed in 2018.
“Healthcare’s response to Human Trafficking” - Breakout Session
Carrie A. Bohnert, MPA, CHSE, has a twenty-year history of managing education programs in Louisville. She currently serves as Director of the Standardized Patient Program at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where she instructs health care students in fostering the doctor-patient relationship. Ms. Bohnert is a past vice president of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators and co-author of the Association’s standards of best practice. She has given over thirty peer-reviewed presentations and published several articles on her work in this field. With her research partner, Dr. Olivia Mittel, she has published, presented, and received grant funding for her work teaching medical and nursing students to recognize human trafficking in patients.
Prior to her work at U of L, Ms. Bohnert administered programs at the Kentucky Science Center, Louisville Public Media, and the Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts. She is also the proud leader of a Girl Scout troop for both typical and special needs girls.
Dr. Olivia Mittel, MD, MS is Associate Professor, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville School of Medicine and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, University of Louisville School of Medicine. She graduated from Hanover College with a BA in Chemistry and went on to earn an MS and an MD at the University of Louisville. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. She then joined faculty at UL School of Medicine in 2011, where she currently serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Associate Dean for Medical Student Affairs. Dr. Mittel also works as an academic hospitalist on the general pediatric wards in Norton’s Children’s Hospital and has completed an intensive certification program in therapeutic acupuncture, allowing her to practice pediatric acupuncture for the treatment of acute and chronic pediatric pain syndromes. Innovative medical education projects include evaluation of medical student awareness and recognition of human trafficking in acute care settings as well as integration of wellness in medical education.
Emily Neal, BSN, RN, SANE has been a dedicated champion of the pediatric community of Louisville, Kentucky since 2002. Emily’s nursing career began in the emergency department at Norton Children’s Hospital where she assisted in the development of policies for unit safety standards and identification of sepsis in infants. In 2012, Emily joined the Kosair Charities Division of Pediatric Forensic Medicine, where she currently works with the medical team to evaluate children who are alleged victims of abuse and neglect. In addition to her responsibilities at Pediatric Forensic Medicine, she has been instrumental in developing new protocols relating to human trafficking (HT) and educating community members on the issue of HT. Emily serves as a member of the Louisville Metro and Norton Children’s Hospital Human Trafficking Task Forces. Emily received the Florence Nightingale Award in Nursing from UofL SON in 2016.
“Student. Advocates. For. Exploited. and Trafficked. Youth: Reducing the Vulnerability of Youth through Peer Lead Initiatives” - Breakout Session
Morgan Rumple is the Statewide SART Coordinator for Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault, Inc. Previously, she served as the Regional Coalition Coordinator in Southeast Indiana with the Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program. She is the co-chair of the Southern Indiana Human Trafficking Coalition. In addition, she is a trainer for the Interdiction for the Protection of Children in Indiana, which was developed by the Texas Department of Public Safety and is designed to make patrol officers aware of the variety of resources available to assist them in establishing the status of a child who may be missing, exploited, or at risk of exploitation and what courses of action are immediately available. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies with a minor in Gender Studies from Hanover College and is completing her Masters in Social Work at the University of Louisville. Previously, Morgan worked as an AmeriCorps member in New Orleans, working with those impacted by HIV/AIDS. She then served as a crisis counselor and family advocate for the Center for Women and Families in Southern Indiana and Kentucky. Before taking her current position, Morgan worked as a family case manager for the Department of Child Services in Floyd County, Indiana.
Morgan’s passion for working with those who experience human trafficking and exploitation comes from her experiences in South Africa and Turkey where she focused on issues facing women in politically and economically. She also found a passion in this work having come from experiences that intersect with the issue of human trafficking, and finding this to be a critical topic to reach if we are to address multiple layers or oppression and exploitation. Morgan has a deep passion to not only address an issue, but also address the contributing factors that systems play in maintaining an issue such as human trafficking. She continues to learn about the complex issue of human trafficking, and is continually looking for ways that we can come together to assist in changing laws, minds, and lives.
Sheila Bobay-Singh is a graduate of Indiana University Southeast with a BA in Psychology. She has dedicated the previous 12 years to youth and their families through Case Management, Independent Living, Shelter Management, Direct Care, Substance Abuse Prevention and Outreach/Prevention efforts with National Safe Place.
She began to focus ardently on Human Trafficking 2+ years ago through an outreach grant which focused on presentations/educating communities, schools and organizations. It is through these endeavors and recognizing the increasing prevalence of trafficking and exploitation within youth populations that she co-founded S.A.F.E.T.Y. ©️, a youth advocacy program which piloted summer 2018. A program which was proudly created with Human Trafficking Survivor input and support.
Sheila is currently serving as the Region 12 Coalition Coordinator for ITVAP (Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program) covering 9 counties in Southern Indiana.
“Human Trafficking 101” - Breakout Session
Amy Leenerts is the founder and director of Free2Hope Inc., a non-profit fighting to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children throughout Kentucky. She was herself victimized by multiple sex crimes beginning at the young age 7, including a violent rape at 19 years old. It was decades later before she was able to make the choice to live as a survivor and not a victim anymore. She now devotes her life to finding new approaches to prevent sex crimes, and helping others to begin their process to restoring whole health to victims of sexual abuse, exploitation and human trafficking. On the way to that dream, she has garnered a number of awards, including:
2015- Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association KY Division (2015), The Liberator Award from Kentucky Rescue and Restore (2015),The Voices for Victims Award from the Indiana Attorney General (2016), Appointed to the Survivor’s Council by the Attorney General of Kentucky (2017), The Innovative Program Award from K.A.S.A.P. The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (2017) and the Advocacy Award from the United Nations Association KY Division (2018).
“Human Trafficking in Kentucky: A Collaborative Effort" - Breakout Session
Amy Nace-DeGonda has her undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Louisville. Amy has been working in social services since 2002. Amy works with the Bakhita Empowerment Initiative at Catholic Charities of Louisville as the Assistant Program Director, where she provides educational workshops and trainings on human trafficking, assists in development of a statewide anti-trafficking coalition, and works directly with identified victims of human trafficking throughout Kentucky. She works closely with social service providers, health care workers, law enforcement, and others to ensure that human trafficking is being identified in our communities and that the survivors are provided with the resources they need to rebuild their lives. Amy has provided training on human trafficking to churches, social service agencies, government agencies and volunteers. Amy has worked on the HOPE Campaign where she created materials for training professionals as well as volunteers. Amy is the co-chair of the Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force as well as the Nelson County Task Force. Amy is a member of the Southeastern Region Human Trafficking Advisory Board, that was started by the HHS, which consists of representatives of 7 states in the southeastern region. As part of her work with the Southeastern Region Advisory Board Amy assisted in authoring the Guiding Principles which as been published by HHS.
Kristi Gray is an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County and serves in the Special Victims Unit. She received her license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1994, and joined the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney in June of 2004. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Ohio State University in 1991, and her Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School in 1994. From 1994 until 2004, she served as a Staff Attorney and Directing Attorney for the Department of Public Advocacy in Pikeville and Paintsville. Ms. Gray currently serves as the Sexual Assault Liaison and the Human Trafficking point of contact for the office. In addition, she is a member of the Louisville Human Trafficking Task Force and the Louisville Sexual Assault Response Team.
Tim Stokes is a Louisville Metro Police Department Detective Sergeant currently assigned to the Major Crimes Division-Sex Crimes Unit. This unit handles human trafficking investigations, sexual assaults investigations, the cold case rape kit backlog investigation project, and non-compliant sex offender investigations.
He received his undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Indiana University and The University of Louisville. He was sworn into service with the Louisville Division of Police in 2000. During his career, he has served in multiple patrol divisions, been promoted, and become a Kentucky Law Enforcement Counsel Certified Law Enforcement Instructor. He has devoted countless hours in patrol and in investigations assisting people in crisis. With this real world experience and education, Sergeant Stokes has been sharing information and training courses throughout Kentucky. In addition to teaching at the Louisville Metro Police Academy, Sergeant Stokes has taught officers in each of the 120 Kentucky counties.
Sergeant Stokes is a former player and avid baseball fan. Sergeant Stokes is also a long-distance backpacker and has completed nearly 300 miles of the Appalachian Trial over the past two years. On retirement, he plans to complete this journey and have hiked from Georgia to Maine. He is married, has four adult children, and a grandchild.
Project STAAR's (Survivors of Trafficking Creating Art, Advocacy, and Resilience) Photovoice Digital Art Display - Breakout Session
Dr. Jennifer Middleton is an Associate Professor in the Kent School of Social Work at the UofL and Director of the UofL Human Trafficking Research Initiative. She leads multiple federally-funded, interdisciplinary research projects examining the impact of trauma-informed organizational change interventions within systems of care that serve sex trafficked populations and address community violence within refugee, Tribal, urban, and rural community contexts. She recently completed a five-year $3.9M federal grant project that created a trauma-informed system of care for children directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. Dr. Middleton is currently the Director of Implementation for a new five-year $5M SAMHSA grant aimed at addressing community violence, trauma, and inequities in west and south Louisville. She is an active member of numerous local, state, national, and international human trafficking initiatives and is fully trained in the Sanctuary Model®. During her forensic social work career, Dr. Middleton interviewed and provided services to over 4,000 sexually exploited and trafficked children and youth.
“What’s Wrong with This Picture?: The Impact of Viewing Pornography” - Breakout Session
Rus Ervin Funk, MSW, CSE is a consultant specializing in working with organizations and communities to promote healthy masculinities; equity, diversity and justice; and violence prevention. Rus is a long-time activist and community organizer focusing on anti-racism, and gender justice. Among his organizing efforts, he is co-founder of DC Men Against Rape (now Men Can Stop Rape, Inc.), Men for Gender Justice, the Baltimore Alliance to End Child Sexual Abuse, MensWork: eliminating violence against women, the Own It Initiative (a project of the Center for Women and Families), the Ohio Men’s Action Network, White Folks Against Racism, the North America MenEngage Network, among others.
Rus currently serves on several national and transnational boards. He is the secretary of the Board of the National Center on Sexual and Domestic Violence, serves as the Co-Chair of Male Engagement for World Without Exploitation (WorldWE, an international coalition to combat human trafficking and exploitation), is on the Steering committee of the North American Men Engage Network (NAMEN – a US and Canada network of efforts to engage and organize men to promote gender equality), and serves on the Global MenEngage Alliance Board.
Rus has travelled extensively throughout the US and internationally, he is a sought-after trainer and speaker. He was part of the coalition that crafted and worked to pass the original Violence Against Women Act (focusing on the Safe Campuses and Civil Rights sections of that law).
Rus has also written extensively. In 1993, Rus wrote the first book in the US, by a man, for men about stopping rape (Stopping Rape: A Challenge for Men, New Society Publishers).
Some of his recent publications include:
- • “The Role of adult pornography in intimate partner sexual violence perpetrators’ offending” (with Walter S. DeKeseredy) in Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary approach to prevention, recognition and intervention (2017) Ed by Louise McOrmond-Plummer, Jennifer Y. Levy-Peck and Patricia Easteal. Routledge Press (pp 134 – 142).
- • “Addressing and combating intimate partner sexual violence” (with Lundy Bancroft) in Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary approach to prevention, recognition and intervention (2017) Ed by Louise McOrmond-Plummer, Jennifer Y. Levy-Peck and Patricia Easteal. Routledge Press (pp 179 – 189).
- • “Men’s Work: Men’s voices and actions against sexism and violence.” in Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community. (2008) Vol 36: 1 – 2; (pp 155 – 171).