About Us

The National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance

Our Mission

The National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance is a network of service providers committed to enhancing services and increasing access to care for survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The Need

Human trafficking is the second-largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, with up to 300,000 people at risk of being trafficked each year in the US alone. This problem generates a desperate need for thousands of survivors to find a safe place where they can heal. 

The U.S. Government has been taking the issue of domestic sex trafficking seriously since 2010, making this is an incredibly young and uncharted field. In such a new field, many residential programs do not survive their first year of operation due to burn-out or financial instability, and many experience a widespread sense of isolation.

At present there are no standard, widely-accepted best practices that all programs can use to inform the care they provide. Until now, there was no accrediting body for long-term shelter care for survivors of human trafficking, and there is a present gap in accountability and goal setting for agencies within this field.

The Solution

As the response to human trafficking in America continues to increase, the need for service providers to collaborate and stay connected is more important than ever. NTSA strives to address this need in three strategic ways: 

Our Referral System connects survivors across the nation with the right residential program for them both efficiently and with dignity.

Our Knowledge Center equips residential programs with the training & resources to learn and grow in a collaborative community.

Our Accreditation provides accountability to ensure that survivors receive quality care from healthy, trauma-informed organizations.

Through collaboration, we can ensure every survivor can access quality, trauma-informed care.

History

National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance was born out of a need to ensure every survivor has access to the best quality of care and every service provider feels connected to a support system. In 2016, twenty-two agencies from across the country gathered outside of Chicago, IL, along with a host of individuals who aspired to get involved in survivor care. Represented were survivor allies, survivors of the sex trade, and survivors of other forms of exploitation. It was an incredible gathering of dedicated individuals, each of whom had accepted the call to step into the world of darkness and evil known as human trafficking. Read More

Annual Reports & Financials

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Financial Accountability
Annual Reports

Our Staff

Melissa Yao

Melissa Yao

Executive Director
As Executive Director, Melissa is responsible for setting the mission and vision of the organization; informing, developing and executing the organization’s strategic plan under the oversight of the Board of Directors; as well as performing other key duties such as fiscal stewardship, fundraising, marketing, and platform building.
Alexis Byers

Alexis Byers

Referral Program Manager
As the Referral Program Manager, Alexis manages the enhancement, facilitation and analysis of the Alliance Referral System (ARS) as well as the development and future launch of the TIRA app, which will enhance the current ARS program.
Zach Boyd

Zach Boyd

Membership Program Manager
As the Membership Program Manager, Zach acts as the main point of contact for the membership program for NTSA, enhancing customer experience for all new and current members, builds out what NTSA offers members, cultivates new partners to provide more opportunities and offers for members, and maintains the current offerings to ensure an overall positive experience for NTSA members.
Rachel (Kersjes) Karper

Rachel (Kersjes) Karper

Director of Operations
As the Director of Operations, Rachel collaborates with leadership in the development of strategic goals and long-term operational plans, while overseeing the Alliance Referral System (ARS), Accreditation, and Operations departments.
Annie Archard

Annie Archard

Accreditation & Government Partnerships Coordinator
As the Accreditation & Government Partnerships Coordinator, Annie supports the growth of NTSA’s Accreditation program, helping with the creation of processes, policies, databases, and templates as well as facilitating the accreditation process for NTSA General Members.
Danielle Ballard

Danielle Ballard

Marketing & Donor Engagement Manager
As the Marketing & Donor Engagement Manager, Danielle is responsible for the creation of marketing materials and public communications while also supporting NTSA’s Development efforts.

Our Team

Susan Ingram

Susan Ingram

Board Chair
President, Walk Her Home
Susan is the founder and president of Walk Her Home, a 501(c)3 charity with a mission to fight human sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in the United States. She is also the founder of SRI Media, Inc., a communications company specializing in creating customized content. She currently sits on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s Advisory Committee and is an active member of the Chester County Anti-Trafficking Coalition. In addition, Susan serves as the Co-chair of Community Assessment of human trafficking activity in metro Philadelphia for International Justice Mission (IJM) and partnered with congressional representatives to draft the Duty to Report Sexual Assault Act. In 2017, The Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus selected Susan to be honored as the recipient of the Eva Murillo Unsung Hero Award for her efforts in using her experience to make a positive difference in public education, public policy development and greater awareness about crime victims’ rights and needs.
Bill Schneider

Bill Schneider

Board Treasurer
Bill and his wife Susan live in Annapolis, Maryland, where they are fully engaged in community advocacy work to break down the socioeconomic stratification that persists in Maryland’s state capital. Bill is a retired engineer, and has most recently earned a Masters in Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. He would be most interested though in talking to you about sailing.
Shelia Simpkins

Shelia Simpkins

Board Secretary
Director of Residential Services, Thistle Farms
Shelia Simpkins is the Director of Residential Services at Thistle Farms, a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. Her past trafficking experiences are the driving force behind her desire to help others who have experienced trafficking. She sits on the Human Trafficking Advisory Council for the State of Tennessee, and she is a survivor advocate for Grace Empowered, a court-ordered prostitution intervention program operated by the Nashville-Davidson County Office of the District Attorney General. In addition, Shelia completed the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy fellowship program in 2018. She has an MSW from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville with a concentration in Organizational Leadership.
Amanda Hightower

Amanda Hightower

Board Member
Executive Director, REST
Amanda is Executive Director and co-founder of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade), a nonprofit residential program that provides pathways to freedom, safety, and hope for victims of sex trafficking and exploitation. She has over 12 years of experience working with individuals in the sex trade. She is certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is also a nationally certified High Fidelity Wraparound Coach. Amanda has her BSc in Psychology from Northwest University and an MSW from the University of Washington.
Rachel Thomas

Rachel Thomas

Board Member
Founder of Sowers Education Group, Lead Author for Ending the Game
A graduate of UCLA and a personal survivor of human trafficking, Rachel has extensive experience teaching, training, curriculum writing, public speaking and mentoring. As director of Sowers Education Group and lead author of Ending The Game: An Intervention Curriculum for Survivors of Sex Trafficking, Rachel has helped millions to become more aware of human trafficking and has helped hundreds of survivors break the bonds of attachment to traffickers and the lifestyle of commercial sexual exploitation. Recently, Rachel was appointed to the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking for a term of 2 years.
www.RachelCThomas.com
Instagram: @RachelThomasWasHere
Facebook: @RachelCThomas

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