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VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 7 | JULY 2025

Carlile United: How fighting human trafficking transformed a trucking company’s culture

Carlile Transportation‘s initiative to stop human trafficking started almost serendipitously. During a meeting with Covenant House, a longtime Anchorage community partner, Krista Williams, Carlile’s president, and Karla Korman, VP of Human Resources, learned about the trafficking survivors who had found shelter there. Click here to read more. 

Seattle man charged with forcing women into prostitution

SEATTLE — On Wednesday, a 37-year-old Seattle man was charged with sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, and transporting a woman for prostitution. Click here to read more.

Flooring company sued for trafficking and forced labor in Georgia

An Oregon-based flooring company, Wellmade Floor Coverings International, and its Georgia affiliate, Wellmade Industries Mfr. NA LLC, are facing a federal lawsuit in Georgia alleging trafficking and forced labor violations. Click here to read more.

Scott Perry steps down as Chairman of TAT's Board of Directors

After serving as TAT’s Chairman of the Board of Directors for 10 years and being on the board since 2013, Scott Perry, vice president of Operations for Proficient Auto Logistics, is stepping down from that role while remaining on the board. Replacing him will be Josh Holland, vice president of Network Development, Mobility Tech Stack and Fleet Care Solutions Development, with Stephanie Wicky, Ryder’s vice president of Marketing, stepping into the vice chair role from her position as board secretary.

"Scott has made significant contributions by guiding TAT through its growth and evolution over the years,” shared Esther Goetsch, TAT executive director. “As a seasoned industry veteran, he has always been attuned to the pulse of the trucking industry, helping move TAT's mission forward while navigating changing economic conditions, business dynamics, political climates, and general market trends. He has provided valuable insights into the vast network and opportunities within the industry. Not only that, but he has served as a wise advisor, a stable support and a compassionate leader for TAT's executive leadership."

Perry stated, “I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the greatest leaders across our transportation industry who have supported TAT with their time, energy and resources. It has been my honor to support the TAT organization as board chair, and I am constantly in awe of the fact that there are now over 2.2 million people (drivers, service partners, OEM’s, logistics companies, energy companies, bus companies, and law enforcement partners to name a few) who have been TAT trained and are helping to carry this effort forward to end human trafficking in the transportation industry. I am excited to see this next chapter of growth and leadership at TAT and will continue to support them in every way possible.”

Scott Perry

Josh Holland

Holland has served on TAT’s Board of Directors since 2022. He has more than two decades of internal and external customer-facing leadership roles in his career, with continuous expansion of scale and responsibilities focused on strategic sales, operations, technology strategy and both team and P&L leadership. He serves as a Work Stream Lead for Global Service Business Committee, a lead mentor with Bridgestone’s Women’s Initiative Network and is an executive sponsor of Women in Trucking.

Wicky joined TAT’s Board of Directors in 2018. At Ryder, she leads her team in development and execution of a focused business-to-business, go-to-market strategy, lead generation and content development for all of Ryder’s key business segments. Additionally, she directs Ryder’s Customer Advisory Board programs that span the Company’s lines of businesses, customers and partners. She has been a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2015, serves as a director for the Board of Feeding South Florida and committee chair of the annual Gala and is on the marketing committee for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. 

Stephanie Wicky

Marathon Petroleum Corporation sponsors Four Corners event, raising awareness of human trafficking and potential link with Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Bernadine Beyale, executive director of the 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue, spoke at the meeting.

It was an aunt who’d been searching for her missing niece for four years who told Bernadine Beyale, executive director of the 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue, to contact TAT. Beyale’s organization is one of the primary non-profits in the Four Corners area (where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet) working on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons/People (MMIP).

Jennifer Smiles had been walking along remote dirt roads on the reservation near the oil and gas site where her niece went missing. And whenever she did, truck drivers would stop and ask if she was okay and needed help. They’d talk, and she’d tell them about her missing niece and give them missing persons posters to share with other drivers in the area. They told her about TAT.

Beyale originally contacted TAT about potential truck stop resources and outreach to the truck stops on the reservation, including the ones owned by the various tribes. “But in the mix of those conversations, she asked if TAT could host an event on the Navajo Nation and if the Freedom Drivers Project (FDP) could be included,” shared Louie Greek, TAT training specialist. 

On June 11, Marathon Petroleum Corporation joined TAT, Navajo Transit, 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue for a one-hour human trafficking awareness training, followed by a tour of the FDP at the Farmington Civic Center in Farmington, New Mexico. As Marathon has a heavy concentration of operations in the Four Corners area, they sponsored the event, with their employee who functions as a tribal liaison sharing the event flyer with all Marathon sites in the area.

Fifty-three participants attended, including representatives from multiple tribes, many of whom arrived in MMIP shirts. They were joined by Marathon employees, student drivers and industry students from the Navajo Technical College and members of the tribal senior center care staff and small tribal businesses that serve the rural pueblos.

New Mexico State Senator Shannon Pinto provided opening remarks. Chosen for her work on MMIP and a recent bill signed into law creating an alert system for missing Native Americans, she spoke to the economic importance of energy exploration on tribal lands, and how the trucking and energy industries can be allies in helping the community with the issue of human trafficking by being trained and posting TAT's materials at their locations and throughout the community. Beyale and Smiles also spoke, and Greek provided a modified human trafficking 101, focused on TAT’s truck stop and energy programs/resources and the ways they can be implemented in the Four Corners area.

Following the meeting, participants visited the Freedom Drivers Project and the many booths set up in the surrounding area.

“Those who attended were very complimentary of TAT for the fact that we came and provided materials and resources,” Greek stated. “They mentioned that there is a lot of national attention given to MMIP, but not many NGOs or government groups are willing to come to this remote community and do the work, but TAT did. In follow-up to this event, the local ‘Navajo Task Force’ will distribute TAT's truck stop and energy materials to 12 truck stops on the Navajo Nation.” 

Beyale said, “We’re grateful to have partnered with TAT to bring this powerful event to the Four Corners. It’s so important to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and the role the transit industry can play in identifying and disrupting trafficking. Awareness is the first step to action, and we’re proud to help make that step happen right here in our San Juan community and within our Navajo Nation tribal communities.”

Following the training, participants toured the FDP and visited informational tents and booths of various community organizations including the Farmington police department, 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue and a Durango sexual assault services organization. 

“I am so grateful to have been a part of this event; it was super impactful; and I’m truly looking forward to the next steps and initiatives in this area of our country,” Greek concluded.

Lexi Higgins, TAT’s director of Industry Engagement for transit, motorcoach and school transportation, shows off some of the YOT materials produced for Safety Month.

Lexi Higgins, TAT’s director of Industry Engagement for transit, motorcoach and school transportation, couldn’t be more pleased with the results of Youth on Transportation’s (YOT) first annual Safety Month in May 2025. 

YOT is designed to prevent and interrupt youth exploitation at the intersection of public transit and school transportation and last year received the U.S. DOT Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation Award. 

Higgins, who manages this TAT initiative, shared the following outcomes:

• Twenty-two partners participated in the campaign, including 11 transit agencies, six task forces, three state trucking associations, one NGO and one government agency. 
• From May 1-31, YOT webpages received 999 visits. This marks a 634% increase over April 2025, and a 1,010% increase over May 2024. Page visits came from campaigns in California, Colorado, Illinois and Massachusetts.
• In the first half of 2025, YOT provided seven YOT-focused event presentations and one Coalition Build session, reaching over 600 individuals. Event partners including National Safe Place Network (NSPN), Allied Universal, the Nevada Resort Association, Washington D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance (DATA) and President Lincoln’s Cottage.

“One particularly successful campaign location was in Denver with the Denver Regional Transit District (RTD), DATA and Denver Parks and Recreation,” she said. “Denver RTD posted 140 signs (co-branded with DATA) on vehicles, included information on digital displays and social media platforms, created a dedicated YOT Safety Month webpage on the RTD website, and included information in weekly employee newsletters. Meanwhile, Denver Parks and Recreation distributed YOT postcards and stickers at 10 recreation centers across the city.”

She continued, “This collaboration really brought to life the original inspiration and hope for the Youth on Transportation Initiative. We set out with a vision to create campaigns to reach youth with information about human trafficking wherever they went in their communities and whatever modes of transportation they used. In Denver, our partners have begun to build just that, where a kid might ride an RTD bus to school and see this campaign, then ride another RTD bus after school to a rec center and see the same messaging. I am excited to see how we can continue to engage community stakeholders that serve and transport youth to expand the initiative, both in Denver and beyond.”

A YOT poster was prominently on display at Denver's Union Station.

Moving forward, TAT will continue to assess successes and lessons learned to build and plan for its next campaign in May 2026.

A milestone event, TAT’s 100th Coalition Build (CB) took place in Oklahoma City in May, welcoming 53 participants from government, transportation and energy to focus on the intersections between human trafficking and these sectors, developing actionable strategies and fostering sustainable partnerships. The CB also launched TAT’s Youth on Transportation Safety Month with a special hour-long supplemental session. The Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General, Loves and Continental Resources co-hosted the event.

The Hamm Institute for American Energy provided a dramatic venue for the Oklahoma City Coalition Build.

"Human trafficking is a crime that thrives in shadows and exploits vulnerabilities across multiple industries and jurisdictions,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond expressed. “No single agency or organization can address this complex challenge alone. A coordinated response that leverages the unique strengths of both public and private sectors is essential to combating human trafficking. 

He continued, "The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has partnered with TAT to create a comprehensive network that can effectively disrupt trafficking operations and provide justice for survivors. TAT’s Coalition Build model transforms everyday workers into trained observers who can recognize the signs of trafficking in their daily operations. Truck drivers, hospitality workers and other frontline professionals become our eyes and ears in communities across the nation, exponentially expanding our capacity to identify and respond to trafficking situations. This collaborative approach strengthens our communities and ensures that those who would exploit the vulnerable find no safe haven."

Sara Sefried, TAT director of Strategic Partnerships, spoke to many CB participants at both events. 

A month later, in June, TAT held another Oklahoma CB, this one in Tulsa with an energy focus and 49 people in attendance. Co-hosting the Tulsa CB were the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General, Marathon Petroleum/MPLX and Northeastern State University.

“Making space for open, honest conversations about human trafficking and how it intersects with the energy industry is critical in fighting this crime,” said Lindsey Mattson, director of Industry Engagement for TAT’s energy program. “Coalition Builds give us an opportunity to connect our energy partners with local government and law enforcement to discuss this issue through a state-specific lens, deepening engagement and creating a targeted approach to combating human trafficking.” 

At each CB, survey results showed that 100% said they plan on sharing information they learned; 100% said they would recommend attending a briefing like this to others in their field; and 95% said they know what next steps to take to combat human trafficking.

The TAT staff is grateful to the Denver Foundation for hosting Boot Camp at their office.

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