ECPAT-USA Invites Thought Leaders in the Meeting and Events Industry to Join Committee

With the growing acknowledgement that the meeting and events and corporate travel management community are uniquely positioned to combat human trafficking, ECPAT-USA develops a high level committee to support our mission.

Sadly, victims of child sex trafficking are often abused in hotel rooms across the globe and airlines are used to transport victims or used by exploiters to travel and meet victims. One trained flight attendant or front-desk clerk can change the path of a victim’s entire life.

As an industry that is consistently communicates with travel suppliers such as hotels, airlines, buses, and ground transportation companies, meeting and events professionals can spread the word about how businesses can partner with ECPAT to combat child sex trafficking.

Industry associations across the board are getting more active about the issue, creating a demand for tools and resources that will help meeting and events/corporate travel professionals better understand the issue, share information with associates, and discuss the issue with suppliers.

The ECPAT-USA TMC Advisory Committee is a group of experts in the fields of the travel management industry, corporate sales or related areas who will lend their skills to help move ECPAT-USA’s mission forward. Advisory Committee members will provide expertise, feedback, and guidance on the development of tools and resources for the industry.

As ECPAT-USA shared in our 2017 report, No Vacancy for Child Sex Traffickers, meeting and events professionals can persuade both travel suppliers (hotels, airlines, etc.) and corporate travel managers to implement policies and programs to protect children.

ECPAT-USA is thrilled to welcome the following meeting and events/travel management professionals to our committee:

Beau Ballin, Sr. Director, Business Development CWT Meetings & Events, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Jen Bankard, Education Specialist, Association of Corporate Travel Executives

Mary Batal-Riley, Senior Vice President, CorpTrav

Mary Clare Darland, Manager, Sourcing, Maritz Travel

Lisa Donovan Berry, Vice President & GM, Business Travel Division, CI Azumano

Ruth L. Marion, Owner/Operator, Marion Meetings and Events

Barbara Scofidio, Editor, Prevue

Mitchell Stern, Global Category Lead - Travel, Fleet & Events, Pearson

Ann Marie Verity, General Manager, Accenture/Global Program Management, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

To learn more about how to get involved with ECPAT-USA’s work, click here.