Avon Foundation for Women leader joins panel to tackle the issue of human trafficking

After being named by Vital Voices as one of just 15 Global Freedom Exchange Fellows for 2018, Ana Ines Alvarez, from Avon Foundation for Women in Argentina, will today take part in a prestigious panel of inspirational leaders that are daring to curb the tide of sex and labor trafficking around the world.

The event is part of The Global Freedom Exchange (GFE), a partnership between Hilton and Vital Voices, with additional support from the Avon Foundation for Women, that provides dynamic educational and mentoring opportunities for emerging and established women leaders on the forefront of global efforts to prevent and respond to the destructive crime of human trafficking.

The panel discussion, hosted by Google at their DC headquarters, features Ana Alvarez, Manager at Avon Foundation Argentina; Malika Saada Saar, Senior Counsel at Google; Francisca Awah Mbuli, CEO & Founder of Survivors' Network Cameroon and 2018 TIP Report Hero; and Neysara Rais, Founder of TransgenderIndia. The panel will be moderated by Cindy Dyer, Vice President of Human Rights at Vital Voices.

Each year, the GFE convenes a select group of women leaders from countries around the world, known as GFE Fellows. Over the past five years, the GFE has involved a total of 112 women leaders from 45 countries in a two-week experiential, interactive, learning and networking program across three cities in the United States that have developed unique, effective approaches to addressing human trafficking.

The 2018 GFE Fellows include:

•Ana Ines Alvarez, Social Worker and Manager at the Alza La Voz and Premio Mujeres Solidarias, Avon Foundation for Women – Argentina

•Erjola Kaci, Deputy Director of the Arsis Social Organization for the Support of Youth – Albania

•Francisca Mbuli, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Survivors’ Network, Cameroon – Cameroon

•Pomaa Arthur, Recovery Manager at Challenging Heights – Ghana

•Shefield Douglas, Counselor and First Care Responder for Guyana Women Miners Organization – Guyana

•Neysara Rai, Founder of TransgenderIndia – India

•Fitiavana Ramamisoa, Service Strengthening and Institutional Capacity Building Program Manager at Youth First – Madagascar

•Heidy Quah, Founder and Director of Refuge for the Refugees – Malaysia

•Elisa Sarmiento-Flores, Presiding Judge for the Supreme Court, Judiciary – Philippines

•Nina Volontey, Psychologist at the Safehouse Foundation – Russia

•Mickey Meji, Advocacy Manager at Embrace Dignity – South Africa

•Samantha Inesta, Executive Director for BeaSister2aSister – United States

•Wendy Barnes, Program Coordinator for the Human Trafficking Response Program at Dignity Health – United States

•Hahn T. Dang, Country Program Coordinator for the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons – Vietnam

•Hahn Dang, Program Officer for the International Organization for Migration – Vietnam

GFE Fellows all over the world use the tools and connections they gain during the program to offer comprehensive services to survivors, reduce vulnerability to trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, and contribute to a worldwide network of anti-trafficking leaders who are creating a safer world for us all.