Rising Stars: Meet Celia Williamson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Celia Williamson.

Hi Celia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I have been and continue to be fueled by my passion to make a difference. I grew up in a low-income, high-crime area in Toledo. Three of my friends were trafficked into the sex trade. One was murdered, one became addicted to drugs, and the other escaped to a different state. After deciding to become a drug dealer and promptly and thankfully being robbed within 24 hours of this decision, I decided to take my father’s advice, use my time and energy for the good, and go to college.

Although not a serious student, I scraped by to obtain my associate’s and eventually my bachelor’s degree in social work. I was humbled and thankful to receive county support and food stamps for a time. The school built my confidence. I did extremely well in the master’s program and pursued and received my Ph.D. in Social Work in 2000. I’ll never forget where I came from and I share a deep understanding and desire to mentor those who have a dream to change their life circumstance while also helping others change theirs.

My passion turned toward helping trafficking victims in 1993 when I spent six months on the streets with prostituted women learning about their experiences, the locations of the dope houses, the pimps, the culture, and the customers. After six months I build the first direct service anti-trafficking program in Ohio. I am well versed and experienced in how to plan for and conduct ongoing street outreach that is safe and effective.

I am excited to share my lessons and tips that will help others go where the need is and provide these much-needed services in a loving, non-judgmental, evidence-informed way. The satisfaction of meeting people where they are is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had. By 1995, I was conducting groups with women and then trafficked teens and was deeply engaged in daily case management with trafficked victims and conducting advocacy in the courts and with other systems on behalf of women.

Here I learned the best ways to engage and build relationships with victims and survivors, walking with them as they recover, believing that not only is recovery possible but that individual and unique greatness is probable. I believe in my clients. I start where they are. I work with them as they move from victim to survivor to thriver. I’ve used various case management techniques to develop a combination that has worked for my clients. I’ve done this while keeping myself safe, invested, and focused on self-care.

I am humbled to have witnessed the growth and transformations of vulnerable people who became strong and stand in their own right. It’s social justice in action. I’ve created life-long friends and colleagues as a result. I’ve used my clinical skills to support the dynamic nature of healing by facilitating successful weekly groups with survivors. I’ve worked with others to build a PATH model of recovery and restoration. This is an evidence-informed model that coordinates systems and community collaborators to provide more effective services to victims and support their healing.

My micro-level work has not been limited to victims. I’ve also worked with traffickers. A rewarding experience of mine was working with three traffickers re-entering society after a lengthy prison sentence. When their goals align, helping former traffickers live a life free from victimizing others serves both them and society well. By 2004, I convinced a colleague and some students to put up a website announcing we were having the first national conference on prostitution.

The Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference stands today as the largest and oldest academic conference in the nation. Now international, the conference has hosted representatives in attendance from over 42 states and 30 countries. The conference hosts an average of 90 expert presenters annually. This conference is responsible for countless partnerships and collaborations. Attendees take back what they learn from the conference to make a difference.

One visit to this amazing conference will convince you that not only are you in the right place at the right time but that you met incredible people that made you feel welcome and equipped to leave and conduct the type of work you want to do or to improve the work you are doing! The Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars was formed as a result of the conference. The Global Association is a collaboration and network of human trafficking scholars from around the world. This group of scholars has been valuable to my career.

Most importantly, they are invaluable in helping me stay connected to the current literature and knowing what type of research is being accomplished or should be accomplished. This is the group I most like to connect to as a researcher and academic. We invite you to join us as a new or established anti-trafficking scholar. The benefits of joining and being connected to other scholars around the world are immeasurable.

I have extensive experience in community organizing and community building. By 2009, we formed a thriving anti-trafficking coalition that today has over 75 members and an average of 50 active members that attend each monthly meeting. Our coalition is highly effective. We continue to educate about 6,000 people each year. We cultivated and collaborated with politicians to pass four anti-trafficking state bills in Ohio and one federal bill. Because of their passion and focused energy, we advocated for a state anti-trafficking commission.

Under the direction of Representative Teresa Fedor and the Ohio Attorney General, I was blessed to become a founding member of the state’s first anti-trafficking commission. As a Ph.D., my focus was to conduct research, publish, and teach. Since 1998, I’ve been involved in several prostitution and trafficking-focused research studies, many as the Primary Investigator.

Because I was a successful academic, I was funded by the Department of Justice and/or National Institutes of Health for ten years from 2002-2012 to research prostitution and sex trafficking. Since that time I’ve received funding from state-level offices, foundations, and private donors to conduct and complete research projects. As a result of those studies, I’ve published several peer-reviewed articles on prostitution and sex trafficking. Because I am familiar with the research and literature, I will peel away the mumbo-jumbo to share the latest cutting-edge knowledge and work being done so that you can use this information to become more effective in your work.

In 2015, we opened the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute at the University of Toledo. At the Institute we’ve vastly improved the work being done with victims of trafficking. We’ve been able to develop a program that assesses victims, coordinates service providers and services for victims, provides wraparound services, and studies the effectiveness of programming. We continue to build a coordinated, transparent, accountable, and effective intervention.

We developed a research-informed 10-session prevention curriculum for high-risk youth. The curriculum comes equipped with pre and post-tests to study the effectiveness of your work. Our work is informed by our advisory board made up of our survivor-thriver colleagues from across the country. Lastly, we teach human trafficking courses to engage our local, national, and international communities. As an internationally known and experienced anti-trafficking advocate, my mission is to share what I know with other passionate advocates.

Because I have over 29 years of experience in focused anti-trafficking work, I am teaching, mentoring, and coaching others to work with and on behalf of victims, to engage in social justice and social change, and to confront and beat this scourge on our society. This next chapter of my life will be to continue the work and to dedicate my time to pass the torch onto you who want to do the work and do it effectively.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been involved in anti-human trafficking work for about 29 years now. I went from taking myself onto the streets in north Toledo to developing the first anti-trafficking program in Ohio that worked with victims. I worked with politicians to pass state and federal laws. I have been funded for 10 consecutive years by the National Institutes of Health and/or the Department of Justice. I was a founding member of the Ohio Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission. I founded the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition. I founded the annual International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference.

Next year will be the 20th year of the conference. We have hosted representatives from 50 countries and all 50 states. I was just nominated and accepted membership in the G100- that is 100 women in the world that are creating change. I serve as the G100 globally for anti-trafficking work. https://www.g100.in/ I have gone from being on welfare to obtaining my Ph.D. and representing women globally. Today I am the Executive Director of the University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute.

What matters most to you? Why?
My family matters most to me. Other than that, I think freedom matters most. I think we are all trying to live free to be who we are.

Contact Info:

• Website: celiawilliamson.com
• Youtube: @Celia Williamson