Resilience and Surviving Trafficking: Raising Awareness and Understanding of Human Trafficking

Presented by:
Jessica Patterson, LMSW, DSW Educational Manager, CEU Creations
Jessica Patterson, LMSW, DSW, is a licensed social worker with over ten years of experience working in different systems. Jessica has a strong passion for teaching, training, and professional development. She also has a strong background around creating trauma informed systems, social emotional behavioral health and the implementation of community and individual support systems.
Jessica has created and facilitated many professional development trainings throughout her career. Jessica’s role at CEU Creations includes developing curriculum, working with licensure boards, and presenting at various CE trainings. Jessica holds a Bachelor’s degree in organizational management and sociology from Ashford University. She received her Master’s in Social Work from University of Iowa and is currently working on her Doctoral degree in Social Work. Jessica is a licensed Social Worker through the state of Iowa. Jessica currently lives in Iowa with her husband, four children, two dogs, and cat. Any spare moment that Jessica has is usually spent running or reading.

Rachel D. Fischer, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, Forensic Nurse Examiner-Legal Nurse Consultant- Educator
A native from Detroit, MI, Rachel is a survivor, leader, and a pioneer in the fight against human trafficking. She has a B.S. in Nursing and specializes in human trafficking research and rescue and finding missing children. Rachel is an ER RN and specializes in adult and pediatric forensic nursing. Rachel began her speaking career in 2013 when she published her autobiography, Taking Back the Pen, and shares her story with various audiences. Rachel collaborates with several anti-trafficking agencies, both statewide and international to combat sex trafficking. Rachel has been to several countries doing research and undercover mission work to collect intelligence from pimps and trafficked victims and has undertaken several rescue operations in retrieval of missing children, many of which have been locally in the United States. As a lived experience expert, Rachel consults with governmental and non-governmental agencies to formulate the best plan of action to fight sex trafficking on both the demand and the supply side. She trains parents and students on social media trends and how to keep kids safe in the digital age. Her knowledge will awaken and broaden your current knowledge base to highlight the difference you can make in the phenomena of trafficking in your community. She will discuss how you can be a part of helping to meet the needs of these victims and other victims of violence that are not being cared for properly in order to bring justice to families and hold predators and offenders accountable.

Dorsey Jones, Speaker, Survivor, Author, and Advocate
Dorsey Laquan Jones is a prolific speaker, author, and youth advocate who carries a message of perseverance, hope, and will power. Dorsey’s story is a testament of overcoming a lot in life and choosing to thrive despite the odds.
Dorsey’s impactful work to bring awareness to sex trafficking and be a voice for the voiceless has taken her from the lowest lows to the highest highs. Having spoken to over 300 audiences that range from everyday people to Mayors, Police Chiefs, Corporations, Civic organizations, and government officials. This work is her life’s calling.

Phylicia King, Survivor and Educator
Phylicia is a former social worker turned human trafficking survivor. Phylicia is also a loving daughter, sister, and aunt who loves her family deeply. Phylicia has experience working with adults with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse. She has always been one to route for the underdogs in life. Phylicia continues to cheer for the underdogs in life. As a survivor of trafficking who was unjustly persecuted, Phylicia's goal is to share her story to educate the community members, so the same thing doesn’t happen to other victims. Phylicia continues to heal and grow from her past trauma and sharing her experience is one way. Phylicia continues to receive services from an anti-trafficking agency and is working on clearing her criminal record. Phylicia takes each day one at a time and refuses to give up hope.

Gretchen McCall, BA, Public Health, Supervisor of Braking Traffik
Gretchen is a social activist and leader in the anti-human trafficking field. She has over 4 years-experience mentoring survivors of human trafficking and providing education to the community regarding human trafficking. She has provided education to medical students, high school youth, foster care youth, domestic violence shelters and several social service agencies. Her goal is to equip professionals and community members to identify and fight human trafficking. She is a mother, supervisor, bodybuilding champion, personal trainer and is also a survivor of human trafficking and child sexual assault. She has overcome her past traumas and believes that survivors are so much more than their traumas and the most traumatic experience someone has had doesn’t define who they are and isn’t their identity. Her personal and professional experiences give her the ability to connect and empathize with the survivors she mentors and provide quality education to the community. Her favorite quote when addressing the issue of human trafficking is, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”- Dr. Wayne Dyer.