Kentucky First Lady announces the creation of the Human Trafficking Coalition

To fight human trafficking across the state, Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear announced the launch of the Human Trafficking Awareness Coalition at Thursday’s Team Kentucky Update.

Beshear says the coalition consists of public safety, media and healthcare experts to increase human trafficking education, develop plans to reduce its occurrence and to support survivors.

Beshear serves on the advisory board for the National Coalition for the Prevention of Human Sex Trafficking, and through that experience, she says the more the coalition knows about human trafficking, the more equipped law enforcement will be to prevent it from happening.

Deanna Lynn is one of the members of the newly created coalition. She is a trafficking survivor and now serves as the executive director of Refuge for Women, which provides housing and long-term care for women who are survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Lynn calls it a privilege to be a part of the coalition and says she is passionate about human trafficking education, because there are many practices such as coercion, fraud and grooming that occur before victims face violence.

The coalition was created through an executive order issued by Governor Andy Beshear.

The coalition includes:

Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear as Chair

Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr., Kentucky State Police

Amy Hess, executive director, Kentucky Office of Homeland Security

Josh Keats, senior director of security and executive protection, Churchill Downs

Gerina Whethers, Jefferson County commonwealth’s attorney

Deanna Lynn, survivor leader and advocate

Aundrea Lewis, deputy commissioner, Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities

Sheriff David James, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

Corenza Townsend, chief administrative officer, Norton Healthcare

Kelly Jones, deputy director, Louisville Metro Emergency Services

Matt Gibson, president/CEO, Kentucky Derby Festival Inc.

Corey Krill, director of government relations, Churchill Downs

Jeremy Murrell, deputy commissioner, Office of Counter Exploitation, Office of the Attorney General

Olivia D. Olson, special agent in charge, FBI Louisville

Bill Lamb, president and general manager, WDRB Media