The Human Face of Trafficking

Sr. Meaghan V. Patterson is a Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia with a background in teaching and administration in Philadelphia and a surrounding suburb. She taught both younger and older elementary students before entering administration where she worked with various stakeholders of the school, participated in development and fundraising opportunities, and coordinated community partnerships. Sr. Meaghan has recently interned with a small non-profit in Chester County, PA where she worked with women who have or were about to experience homelessness. Her educational background includes a degree in English from Chestnut Hill College, a Master’s degree in Multicultural Education from Eastern University, and a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University.

Mary DeFusco Esq is the Director of Training for the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She is a co-founder of Dawn’s Place, nonprofit organization that proactively supports women negatively affected by commercial sexual exploitation, in 2007. In addition to co-founding Dawn’s Place, Mary DeFusco co-founded the Project Dawn Court in 2010 which is modeled after the Philadelphia Treatment Court. It is designed for women with repeat prostitution offenses and seeks to both reduce recidivism rates and provide rehabilitation services, including sexual trauma recovery therapy, under court supervision. She is the active president of the board of Dawn’s Place and a member of the advisory board for both the Ohlbaum on the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence and The Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation.