Highly Esteemed Guests to Speak at StAT Forum
Sep. 3, 2009
Representatives with links to United States lawmakers will serve as keynote speakers at the September 9, 2009, Indianapolis-area community forum on human trafficking.
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon and Lisa L. Thompson will address the audience at the StAT: Stand Against Trafficking forum at Heartland Church (I-69 & 96th St.) in Indianapolis. The forum begins at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Lyon serves as one of three General Superintendents for The Wesleyan Church. Prior to her current assignment, she founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of World Hope International, Inc., a faith-based relief and development organization alleviating suffering and injustice in 30 countries.
She has worked alongside Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the confluence of social issues and faith. Dr. Lyon has also been invited to the White House several times for anti-trafficking and HIV/AIDS consultations, as related to human trafficking, and has been actively involved in an advisory capacity with the Department of State. She was recently appointed by the Virginia House of Delegates Speaker to the Virginia Commission on the prevention of human trafficking.
"I have personally witnessed trafficking in many countries," says Dr. Lyon. "This is a global issue, but it is not just an issue in Cambodia or Thailand, as some people may think; it is a United States issue. Right here in our own country, in our own communities."
Lisa L. Thompson will also speak at the upcoming forum. Lisa serves as the Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking for The Salvation Army USA National Headquarters. She works on public policy issues and initiatives related to eradicating sexual trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. She also assists in the development of strategies for The Salvation Army to create recovery services for survivors of sexual trafficking. Lisa has also provided expert testimony to the U.S. Congress and routinely speaks and facilitates training for a variety of audiences.
Prior to her appointment at The Salvation Army, Lisa served as Policy Representative for the National Association of Evangelicals' (NAE) Office for Governmental Affairs in Washington, DC, from 1998-2001. She was heavily involved in NAE's efforts seeking passage of legislation now known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
"I prayed that God would give me a cause for my life," says Lisa. "I found that cause later that same year when I joined the National Association of Evangelicals. At the NAE, I became involved in advocacy efforts to pass what became the Trafficking Victims Projection Act (TVPA) of 2000. This work afforded me the opportunity to meet experts and survivors. It didn't take long after this for the issue of human trafficking to root in my heart and change the direction of my life."
The forum will also feature other guest speakers, including local police officers specially trained in identifying and fighting local trafficking cases.