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Melissa is a licensed social worker specializing in anti-human trafficking work, developing/maintaining multi-disciplinary teams, and secondary traumatic stress and officer wellness. Melissa is a certified trainer in Green Dot, Compassion Fatigue, GEMS, Stand to Protect, My Life My Choice, and SHARP, and is Child Welfare and Safe Zone/PRIDE trained. She has eight years of experience providing national/international training and technical assistance, and case management to victims of human trafficking. Melissa has trained over 11,000 students and professionals, and currently sits on the Badges of Unity Board for Fargo PD. Melissa's past experience includes treatment foster care, prevention education, and psychiatric and addictions. She was the first Human Trafficking Navigator and Victim/Witness Specialist in ND, with six years of program development within ND. Melissa was a nominee for the YWCA's Women of the Year 2020. She currently resides in Clearwater, FL.

Melissa was a member of the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force, vice-chair of labor trafficking subcommittee, for six years. She developed a human trafficking program and protocol response for ND, per grant deliverables. Melissa also assisted in the development of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Victim/Witness Program and was the first Specialist hired for that role. 

Melissa has trained at the IAHTI, GRIT Wyoming, Shared Hope, NCPTF, Dallas CAC and IHTSJ conferences, specific to human trafficking team development, secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue, interviews and investigation considerations, person-centered and trauma informed approaches, and the implementation of programming for first responders created in ND.

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