Session #4: Putting it All Together

Introduction of Panelists:

Nick Lembo

Since 2012, Nick has been involved in standing against human trafficking with various organizations. Along with currently serving as a board member for the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network, he is also the state coordinator for Just Men Arizona. He is an emeritus board member of Shared Hope International and also founding board member of the Rebecca Bender Initiative. Nick has become networked across the nation with anti-trafficking organizations, speaking to advocates at Shared Hope International national conferences and presenting in state and regional meetings. As the Just Men Arizona statewide coordinator, he recruits men as volunteers to engage buyers to disrupt demand.

Dr. Stephany Powell

Dr. Powell retired from the Los Angeles Police Department as a Sergeant in charge of a vice unit. Dr. Stephany Powell's unique insight into the world of sexual exploitation and trafficking gained through her 20 years with LAPD, has made Dr. Powell an unparalleled choice to lead Journey Out in 2013 (formerly known as the Mary Magdalene Project). Journey Out assists victims of human trafficking in finding their way out of violence and abuse, and trauma due to sexual exploitation or forced prostitution. In 2020, she joined the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) as the Director of Law Enforcement Training and Survivor Services. She is also the law enforcement human trafficking training consultant for Selah Way Foundation. Dr. Powell’s passion and expertise in this field has translated within the last four years into new policies for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and the national massage school industry. She has led education and awareness workshops to various audiences of law enforcement, prosecutors and communities, throughout the country and internationally. Dr. Powell has spoken before the California Congressional Legislative committee in the state capitol and addressed the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in Austin, Texas. Since 2013, she has educated over 9,000 people. She has received numerous awards and recognition from Los Angeles County and city officials, as well as the Women of the NAACP, and Masonic organizations. Dr. Powell is clearly the recognized expert on the subject of human trafficking. Additionally, she is an adjunct assistant professor of behavioral science at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. Dr. Powell’s expertise on the subject of race and law enforcement, has been showcased in documentaries, local newspapers and magazines. She has most recently been highlighted in the PBS documentary “And Still I Rise,” by Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Dr. Powell has also been featured on HLN Chris Cuomo for her expertise in human trafficking. She recently authored a human trafficking workbook for teens, "My Choice, My Body, My Rules," her workbook is currently being used on a national and international level. She is the contributing author for the textbook "Teaching Beautiful Brilliant Black Girls, Girl Trafficking Misunderstood: Understanding the Commercially Sexually Exploited African American Girl."

Michael Shively

Michael Shively is a senior advisor on research and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. His core objective throughout a 30-year career in applied research has been to provide practitioners, policymakers, and advocates with information and tools to support their efforts to prevent and respond to the victimization of vulnerable populations. Since 2002 he has received a continuous series of eight federal grants to lead research on the perpetration, victimization, and system responses to both survivors and offenders in human trafficking and sexual exploitation. His research on the consumer-level demand that drives all sex trafficking includes a rigorous evaluation of a program designed to deter sex buyers. He founded and currently directs Demand Forum, a website documenting demand reduction tactics used in more than 2,500 communities throughout the U.S. For the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, he assessed the evaluability of the Republic of Korea’s “john school” program, a nationwide demand-reduction initiative. His prior research includes developing a method for producing valid estimates of human trafficking prevalence; examining the traits and motivations of convicted human traffickers; and conducting a national survey on police perceptions and responses to human trafficking. He has presented on these and other issues at training programs, expert workgroups, and conferences convened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Department of State; U.S. Department of Health and Social Services; U.S. Department of Justice; National Academy of Sciences; Center for Disease Control and Prevention; International Association of Chiefs of Police; International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators; National Association of Attorneys General; Massachusetts Bar Association; American Public Health Association; Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; and the American Society of Criminology.

Peter Qualliotine

Peter has been working to promote men’s accountability and end commercial sexual exploitation and other forms of gender-based violence for more than 30 years. In the 1990s, with the Sexual Exploitation Education Project in Portland, Oregon, he created one of the first sex buyers intervention programs. He also integrated the issue of commercial sexual exploitation into a comprehensive middle and high school program to prevent gender-based violence. He co-founded Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS) with Noel Gomez in Seattle in 2012. As OPS’ Director of Men’s Accountability, he launched the 10-week sex buyers intervention program Stopping Sexual Education Program and co-coordinated the King County Ending Exploitation Collaborative. Presently, through the Boston-based EVA Center, Peter coordinates Modeling Equality, a project to catalyze the creation and implementation of policies and practices across multiple sectors that address commercial sexual exploitation through an Equality (Nordic) Model framework.

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