SPEAKERS & KEYNOTE

Leonela Cruz-Ahuatl, Director, Project Rescue Anti Human Trafficking Program
Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants
As Director of the program, Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl oversees the provision of a broad scope of services to survivors of human trafficking, including advocacy, victim rights awareness, comprehensive case management, direct financial support and immigration legal services. Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl also aims to raise awareness on human trafficking and resources available for victims of trafficking and other crimes through training and public education campaigns.  Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl also oversees a number of other programs including: the Unaccompanied Minors Program, Rapid Rehousing Program and the Victims of Crime Act Program.

Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl chairs the Connecticut Coalition Against Trafficking, is the state lead for the New England Coalition Against Human Trafficking, is a member of the Trafficking in Persons Council, and the Freedom Network.

Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl holds bachelors degrees from Providence College in Global Studies and Public and Community Service and a Masters from the University of Bridgeport in Global Development and Peace.  Before joining CIRI, Ms. Cruz-Ahuatl worked overseas in China as an English teacher for students of all ages.

Jamie Manirakiza, LMSW, Executive Director, PEHTJamie Manirakiza, has over 10 years of experience in the field of anti-human trafficking. As the Executive Director of Partnership to End Human Trafficking, she brings her experience working in various roles throughout the Northeast. Jamie joined PEHT as the founding Executive Director in July 2020, to establish one of Connecticut’s first residential programs for survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. As Executive Director, Jamie has helped to establish a 24-month residential program and re-launch a survivor led Social Enterprise business providing employment opportunities for women who have experienced human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation or sexual violence. Prior to joining PEHT, Jamie, held several key roles with The Salvation Army. Her longest position was in Greater Philadelphia as Director of Anti Trafficking for the New Day to Stop Trafficking Program. Most notably, Jamie helped to start a drop-in center for women victimized by the commercial sex industry and was part of the founding team to open up a residential program, incorporating models of harm reduction, motivational interviewing, and the Sanctuary Model ® for trauma-informed care. Jamie continues to serve as an adjunct professor for Vanguard University’s Human Trafficking Certificate Program and has consulted on crime victim services for a number of national organizations. Jamie received her MSW degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed social worker.
 

Sabrina Delgado, Clinical Residential Manager, PEHT
Sabrina is currently enrolled in the Master of Social Work program at Sacred Heart University. Sabrina joined the PEHT team in January of 2021, as the Clinical Residential Advisor. Prior to joining PEHT, Sabrina, worked as the Ryan White Quality and Development Coordinator for a local Federally Qualified Health Center for over 8 years. Sabrina holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Human Services from the University of Bridgeport. She has a passion to serve, bridge the gap in disparities, and help enhance the services accessible to vulnerable populations. Sabrina’s desire to make a difference is to help set a better path for her son and future generations to come.

Lera Homer, Clinical Survivor Advocate, PEHT
Lera is currently pursuing a Master’s in social work at Sacred Heart University and is the Clinical Survivor Advocate for the PEHT program team.   Before joining PEHT, Lera taught pre-school, kindergarten, third and seventh grade. She specialized in teaching American/Immigrant history, at Greenwich Academy, Masters School, Dobbs Ferry and The School at Columbia University.  Lera hold a B.A. in Sociology with a focus in Critical Race Theory and Gender from Columbia University.  She lives in Stamford, CT.

Jean Nangwala, Residential Counselor, PEHT
Jean Nangwala joined the PEHT survivor care team in July 2021, as the Residential Counselor. Jean’s talents are multifaceted. She is a singer, public speaker, creator and survivor-advocate. She was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia. Her passion for social justice stems from her personal experience of injustice and witnessing the same inequality across the globe. Her passion is empowering women to come together and alleviate systems that perpetuate social injustice. She loves using music and dance to inspire others to find liberation through their art. She is the curator of “tales of a black girl” and has curated spoken word poems around sexual violence which has been published online and in print. She has also helped in raising the voices of survivors for national and international organizations such as Brave Global, Made for Pax and Freely in Hope. 

Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director, CATW 
Taina Bien-Aime has close to three decades of experience defending the rights of women and girls at the national and global level.  She is currently the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), one of the oldest international organizations dedicated to ending trafficking in women and girls and commercial sexual exploitation as practices of gender-based violence. Prior to this position and for twenty years, Taina was involved with Equality Now, an international human rights organization working to promote the human rights of women and girls, first as a founding Board member and subsequently as its Executive Director for ten years. She was also Director of Business Affairs/Film Acquisitions at Home Box Office and practiced international corporate law at the Wall Street law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Taina holds a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and a degree in Political Science from the University of Geneva/Graduate School of International Studies in Switzerland.  Taina has received a number of awards for her work and campaigns to uphold the human rights of women and girls globally. She is on the 2021 Forbes’ list of 50>50 Women Who Have Made a Social Impact.  

Daniel Cummings, Prosecutor, Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District
Daniel Cummings is assigned to Part A of the Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District, which deals with the most serious offenses in the jurisdiction. Mr. Cummings is the office’s liaison to the CT Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team and a member of the multi-disciplinary team, which specializes in investigating and prosecuting physical and sexual abuse against children. Prior to being a prosecutor, Mr. Cummings was a paramedic for fifteen years, working in Hartford, New Haven, Meriden, and Madison.

Tamarra Clark, MS, Connecticut Survivor Care Director, Love 146
Tamarra is responsible for overseeing all aspects related to service coordination and implementation within the Connecticut Survivor Care Program.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services and a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management. Tamarra brings her 15 years of experience providing direct service and managing family systems such as early childhood education, home-visiting, parenting education, care coordination, and homelessness systems to this important work.

She believes everyone has a life purpose and is passionate about helping others recognize their strengths and work towards addressing barriers that hinder their purpose-filled lives.
 

Mary Speta, Chief Impact Officer, Amirah
Chief Impact Officer Mary Speta is a researcher, educator, speaker, and advocate in the movement to end commercial sexual exploitation. She serves as Chief Impact Officer for Amirah, overseeing the organization’s public education, policy, and fundraising efforts. In her role, Mary trains service providers, law enforcement professionals, organizations, and communities, not only to equip them to respond wisely and ethically in helping victims, but also to change systems that enable exploitation. Mary utilizes her own lived experience of commercial sexual exploitation as well as her research on domestic sex trafficking to break down myths and inform policy advocacy efforts. Additionally, she leads Amirah’s advancement strategies as the organization grows its service capacity. She serves on multiple legislative advisory committees throughout New England as an anti-trafficking policy adviser and consultant. Mary is currently pursuing a doctorate in law and policy at Northeastern University, where her research focuses on expanding access to effective, survivor approved exit and aftercare approaches. She also holds a master’s degree in administrative sciences from Boston University and completed her undergraduate studies at Gordon College. 

Ali Boak, MPH Director, Global Center on Human Trafficking
Ali Boak (she/her/hers) is the Director of the Global Center on Human Trafficking located within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University.  Ali is a passionate leader in the global movement to end human trafficking.   For more than 25 years, she has worked alongside survivors of all forms of trafficking to develop innovative, survivor driven approaches to prevent and address human trafficking across the United States, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

She began this journey when she discovered that traffickers were recruiting children and youth out of the schools, universities and orphanages where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Fulbright Scholar in the Baltic States.

As a pioneer in the anti-trafficking movement, Ali co-founded several organizations, networks, and coalitions at the forefront of the anti-trafficking field today including the International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), Freedom Network USA, the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force, and the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group.
 

Ms. Treia Boozier, Youth Survivor Leader/Advocate
Ms. Boozier is a survivor of domestic sex trafficking that occurred when she was 16 years old living in Westchester County, NY. Now 22, Ms. Boozier completed the Westchester County Safe Harbour program and worked with Federal law enforcement helping to secure a conviction of her trafficker and leading to the discovery of additional survivors her trafficker abused.  She has trained nationally during the past year on issues related to child sex trafficking, service provision to trafficked minors, victim collaboration with law enforcement, and other topics.  In 2019, she was a featured speaker at the National Youth Summit organized in Austin, TX by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women and at the New York State Justice Center’s Annual In-Service Training.   She currently serves as the survivor advocate advisor to the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force.  

Luke Robbins, LCSW, Chief Operating Officer at The Rowan CenterLuke (he/him/his) is the COO of The Rowan Center which is the sexual assault crisis counseling, advocacy, and community education center for the eight towns of lower Fairfield County.  A native Midwesterner, Luke was born and raised in Indiana, studying at Wabash College and the University of Chicago before moving to Connecticut.  Before joining the Rowan Center, Luke worked for Stamford Hospital, the Child Guidance Center, and Lifebridge Community Services.  Luke’s professional passions include burnout prevention and serving those who have experienced trauma.  Three of Luke’s go-to self-care options are being a human jungle gym for his two young children, working collaboratively with his spouse to solve the Quordle and Octordle of the day, and mystery novel audiobooks.