Quinnipiac University to host conference, ‘Stolen Lives: An Interprofessional Response to Human Trafficking,’ May 29-30

[box]Katherine Chon, the senior advisor on trafficking in persons at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and co-founder of Polaris Project, an organization combatting sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.[/box]

Quinnipiac University’s School of Nursing and Albert Schweitzer Institute, along with St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Bridgeport, will host the conference, “Stolen Lives: An Interprofessional Response to Human Trafficking,”May 29-30 on the North Haven Campus.

Human trafficking, once thought to be limited to Third World countries, has become pervasive in the United States. President Obama has made human trafficking a policy-making priority in his five-year plan. “Stolen Lives” will bring together an interdisciplinary group of professionals with a focus on human trafficking.

“We are very excited about the upcoming conference on human trafficking,” said Leslie Neal-Boylan, associate dean of the School of Nursing. “We hope to bring together a diverse group of people interested in learning more about what can be done to prevent and stop this egregious activity. The speakers are experts on this topic and the combination of presentations will provide attendees with a variety of interprofessional perspectives.”

The conference will open the evening of Thursday, May 29, with a reception and keynote presentation by Katherine Chon, the senior advisor on trafficking in persons at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and co-founder of Polaris Project, an organization combatting sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. Chon has won numerous awards for her work on trafficking.

The conference will continue Friday, May 30, from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and will feature several distinguished panelists. Maurice Middleberg, executive director of Free the Slaves, will deliver the morning keynote presentation.

Middleberg oversees a wide range of anti-trafficking initiatives around the globe and has extensive experience in the field of international development and social justice, including projects in 50 countries for CARE, USAID and others.

Featured speaker Jonathan Todres, associate professor of law at Georgia State University, will discuss his research on human trafficking at 12:30 p.m. His speech will include information about a project on the public health approach to the issue as well as Todres’ involvement in anti-trafficking legislative and policy initiatives.

“Stolen Lives” will conclude with the Presentation of Free the Slaves’ Freedom Award to human trafficking survivor Timea Nagy, who has become a speaker and social advocate on behalf of human trafficking victims worldwide.

The conference is open to community groups, health care and law enforcement professionals, policy makers, students and others with an interest in addressing this egregious human rights issue.

St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Bridgeport is the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University’s principal clinical partner.

Registration is $150 per person, $50 for students.

Posted by Chris

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