Former Mayors speak at human trafficking conference in Raleigh, NC

Sanibel-Captiva Islander, September 9, 2010

Nola Theiss, former mayor of Sanibel, FL and Shirley Franklin, former mayor of Atlanta, GA co-presented at the Regional Conference: STOP Human Trafficking on September 1, 2010 in Raleigh, NC. The goal of the conference was to address issues and challenges in North Carolina by learning from the experiences of other communities, researching promising practices and implement them in communities throughout the region. Ms. Franklin spoke about her involvement with the Atlanta Task Force and, specifically, about the Dear John public awareness campaign which is aimed at users of the services of sex trafficking victims. Ms. Theiss talked about the development of the Lee County Human Trafficking Task Force and the work of other communities across the nation she has been involved with.

In addition to their individual presentations on their own experiences and the basics of human trafficking, Ms. Franklin and Ms. Theiss led two interactive sessions on the role of elected officials in stopping human trafficking and getting started in one’s community.  Ms. Theiss, Executive Director of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships is an advocate for sharing of information about has worked with many communities organizing to fight modern day slavery. She said, “It was an honor to work with Shirley Franklin, a woman who understands the importance of local government officials participating and supporting the efforts of community groups and citizens.”

The conference was organized by the Soroptimist International Club of Raleigh and the Triangle J Council of Governments as was attended primarily by regional law enforcement officials, city government administrators and elected officials.