Spring 2017

Dear Friend,

How can we creatively use technology to end demand for human trafficking? With traffickers using technology, social media and the internet to facilitate demand, the need for anti-trafficking advocates to be tech-savvy is more urgent than ever.

In March, ALIGHT Executive Director Marianna Kosharovsky had the honor of serving on the Pathways to Peace delegation to the United Nation’s 61st Commission on the Status of Women. There, she shared ALIGHT’s work as part of the “Learn How You Can End Human Trafficking by Intercepting Demand” panel. View the opening art performances by Team CEREMONY here.

One common thread was the creative use of technology to be more effective in fighting human trafficking and helping survivors. Distinguished speakers represented a diversity of ways to incorporate tech into anti-trafficking work:

Annie Cannons teaches trafficking survivors computer programming skills for viable and safe employment options.
Regina’s Door and Team CEREMONY disseminate messages of empowerment online by turning their experiences into art.
Children’s Rescue Alliance shares its expert strategies for preventing child trafficking through printable resources.
Big Sister organizes fierce and humorous media campaigns to change policy in Iceland.
Historians Against Slavery provides digital resources and online exhibitions to support modern slavery education.
The Epik Project uses texting campaigns to disrupt the demand that fuels the sex trafficking of children.

“The greatest global resource is untapped human talent,” remarked Sheva Carr, the Co-Vice President of Pathways to Peace, as she shared her vision of a civilian response to human trafficking that is more powerful than the trafficking industry.

Ms. Kosharovsky presenting ALIGHT’s work at UN CSW61

As part of that effort, ALIGHT is using mobile technology to mobilize and deliver diverse legal expertise. Ms. Kosharovsky presented the recently launched Legal Needs Matching Pilot, which links survivors (through their service providers and advocates) to diverse legal expertise in real time.

ALIGHT’s commitment to sharing its expertise continues this month, with a visit to The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University to discuss how to design technologies to help at-risk groups.

We request YOUR support as we make ALIGHT an inspiring leader in the fight against human trafficking. Please consider being a Light for Justice and donate today.

In Full Light,
The ALIGHT Team

ALIGHT ENVISIONS a world where anti-trafficking professionals have the resources to achieve justice and restitution for victims of human trafficking. Our MISSION is to enable anti-trafficking advocates and legal providers to connect across borders and build solutions together.

ALIGHT LEGAL NEEDS MATCHING PILOT

The ALIGHT Legal Needs Matching Pilot connects human trafficking survivors (through their service providers) to free legal assistance in real time. Survivors have diverse legal needs, as illustrated in the ALIGHT Legal Needs Examples, and thus coordination and access to attorneys with expertise in family, criminal, tax, general, commercial and contract law becomes critical to providing them meaningful justice.

To address this challenge, ALIGHT launched the Pilot in February 2017, and we continue to grow this community. If you are interested in joining the Pilot, either as a service provider or a pro bono lawyer, write to pilot@alightnet.org.

ALIGHT INTRODUCES NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ALIGHT is pleased to welcome five new Board of Director members. Joining Executive Director Marianna Kosharovsky and Director of Legal Affairs Jeff Michalczak are:

Sheetal Aiyer (JD, Emory University School of Law) is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Sixpoint Brewery. He serves as Board Treasurer.
Malia Du Mont (MPP, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government) is Co-President and Chief Operating Officer at Axis Capital Inc., and Director of Strategy at Amur Capital Management.
Courtney Krause (JD, University of Colorado Law School) is an Associate Attorney at White & Jankowski. She serves as Board Vice Chairwoman.
Adriana Marrey Sosa (JD, Law School of the University of São Paulo) is the Chief Counsel for the Americas Region of CSG Systems International Inc.
Craig Wetmore (MBA, Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University) is Senior Consultant at Deloitte & Touche LLP, specializing in cyber risk services. He serves as Board Secretary.

UPCOMING 2017 ALIGHT EVENTS

APRIL 18, 2017 ALIGHT “PINTS FOR A PURPOSE” HAPPY HOUR, DENVER, CO: Join us! The ALIGHT team and other members of the anti-human trafficking community will gather for happy hour at the Copper Kettle Brewing Company, 1338 S. Valentia St., from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Copper Kettle will donate $1 of each beer purchased throughout the day to ALIGHT.

APRIL 27, 2017 OFFICE HOURS AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON, NJ: Interested in learning more about ALIGHT and meeting Executive Director Marianna Kosharovsky during her visit to Princeton? Contact us at connect@alightnet.org to schedule a meeting, or visit her office hours from noon to 5 p.m. at the Center for Information Technology Policy on the third floor of Sherrerd Hall.

APRIL 28, 2017 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON, NJ: ALIGHT Executive Director Marianna Kosharovsky will present at the Center for Information Technology and Policy’s “Gender-based Violence and Safety in IT Design: Design Ethics Workshop.” Topics to discuss include the demand for technologies that respond to the needs of at-risk populations, such as human trafficking survivors, in a way that takes into account how these populations experience violence and vulnerability.