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2010 Faith Summit on Domestic and Sexual Violence:
The Problem of Human Trafficking

Lauren Armstrong, Polaris Project

Introduction - Lauren Armstrong, Polaris Project - Juli Bray-Morris Activist

Formed in 2002, Polaris Project is one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and Japan, with programs operating at international, national and local levels through our offices in Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; and Tokyo, Japan.  Polaris Project is one of the few organizations working on all forms of trafficking and serving both citizen and foreign national victims of human trafficking. Polaris Project's comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking includes conducting direct outreach and victim identification, providing social services and transitional housing to victims, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), advocating for stronger state and Federal anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community members in local and national grassroots efforts.

Lauren Armstrong brings significant legal training and international experience to Polaris Project’s National Human Trafficking Resource Center.  From 2002-05, Ms. Armstrong worked on rural development initiatives as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama.  Thereafter, she pursued a dual degree in Law and Latin American Studies with a focus on human rights law, participating in the law school's Community Lawyering Clinic and Immigration Practicum.  Ms. Armstrong also worked as a summer law clerk for the Chicago Immigration Court, where she drafted opinions for the Court’s detainee docket, which included requests for withholding of removal and relief under the U.N. Convention Against Torture.  Since then, she has presented research on gang-based asylum and conducted research on the intersection of criminal and immigration law for the State Bar of New Mexico.  Ms. Armstrong received her J.D. (cum laude) and M.A. from the University of New Mexico and her B.S. from the University of Illinois. She is licensed to practice law in New Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.