CSEC Action Team Advisory Board
A first of its kind advisory board led by survivors
Centering the leadership of people with lived expertise and survivors is critical to effectively serving children and youth vulnerable to or impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). California has created space for individuals with lived experience to lead and is committed to elevating and incorporating key insight and input of lived experience experts and survivors into state and local policies, practices and decision making.
Since its creation, 42 individuals with lived experience have served on four cohorts of the Advisory Board.
How the Advisory Board fights for progress on ending commercial sexual exploitation
During their tenure, board members develop and hone their personal and professional skills through professional development and other learning opportunities. Additionally, the Board provides a space for team building, growth, and healing.
While our focus is on elevating lived expertise, we recognize that individuals with lived experience are whole people with diverse talents and experiences. Board members are parents, chefs, tribal leaders, poets, executive directors, and changemakers, driving meaningful reform and action beyond their exploitation.
The Advisory Board, now in its ninth year, provides expert guidance to stakeholders working to improve services for youth and families impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) across California. Board members advise on policies, prevention and intervention strategies, housing, training, and more, ensuring systems center the voices and leadership of those with lived experience.
Introducing the members of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board
The fourth cohort of the Advisory Board will be serving a three year term from May 2024 through June 2027. Below you can learn more about the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board! Their diverse backgrounds and experiences enhance our work in shaping policies and supporting youth impacted by CSE.
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andrea brewer is a daughter, partner, mother and teacher. As a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board, they use their lived experience as a survivor to advocate for the connected experiences of land, water, and bodies.
Andrea's lived, professional, and educational experiences blend Emergency Medical Services (first response) with birthwork & student midwifery, agricultural labor & nutrition science with outdoor education & environmental studies, and trauma-competent care & advocacy with studies of structural violence, cultural anthropology and sociology. When woven together, these interrelated disciplines and experiences reveal patterns of exploitation and harm — and also possibilities for healing.
Coming from Colorado's high desert, andrea's experience of the coastal ecology of California provides a deepening perspective. They love to travel, learn, and eat, as well as play with their family animals, play in the dirt, be outside, swim and surf.
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Faith Fabiani serves as a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board and works at WestCoast Children's Clinic as a CSEC training specialist, offering in-depth training and support to service providers who work directly with youth. She is also the creator of the "In Our Shoes" project, which aims to uplift voices in underserved communities so that providers may better serve them. Faith attributes her ability to connect with communities to her past experiences as a survivor of sexual and physical trauma, homelessness, exploitation and incarceration.
Faith began working as a rape crisis counselor at San Francisco's Women Against Rape in 2012 and obtained state certifications to become a community health worker, post-prison health worker, and sexual health educator. After earning an associate degree in public health at San Francisco Community College, she continued her studies at San Francisco State University, where she is currently earning her bachelor's degree. While Faith's academic credentials have helped bolster her impact, she attributes much of her success to her lived experience and her ability to articulate those experiences and perspectives to community members and professionals in the field.
Faith remains dedicated to bringing realistic solutions to underserved communities by exposing systems that perpetuate social inequities. Above all, she hopes to help facilitate human connection and empathy as a person who has not only experienced trauma, but has overcome it despite the odds being stacked against her.
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Lauren Mendez is a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board whose lived experience has given her the perspective to relate to individuals affected by commercial sexual exploitation.
Lauren is a Youth Shelter Specialist at the Youth Navigation Center in Modesto, California, a temporary shelter for youth ages 13-24. She is also a mentor for youth in the Ambassadors for the Child and Family Policy Institute of California's Youth Engagement Project. Lauren previously served as co-chair of the California Youth Connection advisory board. Lauren is an experienced trainer, having previously served as a trainer with the California Youth Connection's Y.O.U.T.H Training Project and as an independent contractor. She has trained California Department of Social Services staff, county child welfare staff, judges, probation officers and community members on topics surrounding children and youth in foster care.
Lauren was born and raised in California's Central Valley. She loves to spend time with her husband, three children and two bonus children. In her free time she travels and plans family outings. One of her personal goals is to visit all of the Disney parks.
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Fantayjah Callis serves on the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board and is also the Survivor Leadership Program Coordinator at Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. She serves on the Homeless Youth Forum of Los Angeles (HYFLA) and previously sat on the board for Qualified, a career development academy for survivors of trafficking and women at risk of exploitation. She has developed and facilitated curricula to promote life skills, job readiness, and computer literacy to survivors, victims and youth. Fantayjah passionately pursues opportunities to enhance her advocacy skills.
Fantayjah enjoys music, movies, and art. In her spare time, she writes poems, paints, and makes self-care items. She is planning to open a transitional shelter and drop-in center for folks directly or indirectly affected by trafficking that will provide housing and life skill training to enhance their quality of life.
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Ummra Hang serves as a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board who is dedicated to supporting people who have been impacted by sexual exploitation, as well as justice-impacted people. Ummra is a second-generation Cambodian American, subject matter expert, consultant, and advocate, born and raised in Oakland, California.
She earned a Master of Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from San José State University. Ummra’s focus is centered on education and research in anti-exploitation, particularly around the value of trauma, inclusion and leadership of those with lived experience, and the impact of narratives that are placed on people.
Ummra has contributed her voice and passion across the Bay Area — consulting for Alameda County’s Department of Child Welfare Department, San Francisco’s Safe Housing Workgroup, Oakland Unified School District’s Human Trafficking Prevention & Response Community Schools & Student Services Department, the Prevention and Addressing Child Trafficking Project administered by the Child and Family Policy Institute of California, and as a member of the Oakland Mayor’s Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
Ummra’s academic and lived experiences are reflected in the way she promotes the power of healing from trauma through agency, self-empowerment, and pursuing authentic selves to realize one's passions and goals for self-sufficiency. She hopes her journey uplifts others who may still be suffering, and supports others to reach a place of healing, surpass survival mode, and fully thrive.
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Heaven Williams is a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board who, during her youth, survived seven years of sex trafficking in Los Angeles and hopes to inspire others to dig deeper into a journey of healing and holistic health.
In addition to serving on the CSEC Advisory Board, Heaven has also served on a Youth Empowerment Summit survivor panel and has facilitated workshops with the UCLA Commercial Sexual Exploitation Research Group. She also is a former behavioral health technician, a role in which she provided care and support to adults and adolescents with behavioral and developmental disabilities.
Heaven is currently pursuing her life’s purpose as a holistic herbalist, while also undergoing studies to become a doula. Heaven believes that having a natural holistic approach to healing and health can help people achieve their highest level of self and wellness.
Originally from Southern California, Heaven also spends time in Arizona, where she began her journey of healing. She believes that birth is a sacred experience that should be remembered for a lifetime. Heaven hopes to one day have her own holistic center where she can provide a home of resources and services.
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Sandy Esparza serves as a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board and is the Human Trafficking Prevention Program Manager at ZOE International, leading initiatives in community education, youth mentoring, and intervention strategies. As a Lead Rescue Advocate, she collaborates with law enforcement to support trafficking investigations and aid victims in finding safety. With a wealth of training experience, Sandy educates stakeholders on prevention methods and victim support. She is dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community, leveraging her cultural proficiency and Spanish fluency to provide education, awareness, and assistance to those vulnerable to exploitation.
From foster care to overcoming child trafficking and adult exploitation, her story epitomizes triumph over adversity. Sandy radiates resilience and faith — an eternal optimist always seeking out the silver lining in every situation. Her mission is simple: to infuse every space she enters with warmth, joy, and positivity, and to leave a lasting impression of encouragement, love, compassion and hope.
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Sable Horton is a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board, whose lived experience has allowed her to relate to, educate, and partner with those affected by exploitation and the community at-large.
In addition to being on the CSEC Advisory Board, Sable is the CEO and Founder of Shades of Beauty, a nonprofit that exists to foster, equip and transform girls and women into the trailblazers they were born to be. She is also the CEO of Agape Training & Development Solutions, a consultation business designed to partner with nonprofits, churches, and service providers to help them utilize equitable practices to work more efficiently with vulnerable populations.
Sable is a Bay Area native and has dedicated her life to justice and advocacy. Because of the dark things she has experienced, combined with her faith, she holds to the belief that all people are worthy of love, belonging, and healing, and that there is hope and light, even in the darkest of places.
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Keelin Washington serves as a member of the CSEC Action Team Advisory Board with both lived experience and a background in supporting survivors.
In addition to serving on the CSEC Advisory Board, Keelin also is the Chair of the San Diego HT CSEC Advisory Board and is the Program Specialist at GenerateHope, a long-term residential program for survivors. She has been instrumental in mobilizing support within collaborative efforts from law enforcement, industry leaders, service providers, and higher education institutions.
Keelin is originally from San Diego but was brought up in a traditional Irish household where her family would cook traditional cuisines. She developed a love for cooking and dived into her Irish and Nigerian roots, spending her time cooking foods from all over the world, along with exploring the richness of different cultures.