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VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 11 | NOVEMBER 2025

Bridgestone wins award for anti-trafficking work from Advancing Women in Nashville

The Advancing Community: Impact at Scale Award recognizes an AWIN (Advancing Women in Nashville) member that exemplifies innovation within the community by implementing programs that contribute to the advancement of Middle Tennessee and its broader global region. Congratulations to our 2025 winner, Bridgestone! Click here to read more.

Bond set for church leader accused of soliciting $50M in forced labor, money laundering scheme

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge in Detroit has granted bond for one of the self-professed church leaders who was accused of using forced labor to solicit $50 million in donations for the Kingdom of God Global Church. Click here to read more.

Three arrested in human trafficking investigation involving Indiana massage parlors

KOKOMO — Three people were arrested on felony charges Wednesday following a 14-month investigation into human trafficking crimes linked to massage parlors operating as fronts for prostitution. Click here to read more.

Transportation leaders in Mexico gather for Guardianes del Asfalto event

On Oct. 22, representatives from major transportation associations and companies in Mexico gathered for a high-level industry luncheon event to share an in-depth look at Guardianes del Asfalto (GdelA) and encourage everyone to commit to anti-trafficking training. 

Kylla Lanier, TAT’s deputy director and senior director of External Affairs, presented at the event.

Sponsored by The UPS Foundation, the event took place at the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in Mexico City, one of the leading human rights museums in the northern hemisphere. Speakers provided a Human Trafficking 101, a TAT presentation by TAT Deputy Director and Senior Director of External Affairs Kylla Lanier, a presentation about GdelA, an overview of how the anonymous, confidential Mexican hotline works and then a panel discussion from organizations who have adopted the GdelA training and the ease of implementing the training. 

Co-hosts of the event included the major transportation associations in Mexico, the DGAF SICT (the Mexican government counterpart of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), the Commerical Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), and NGOs TAT, El Pozo de Vida, and Consejo Ciudadano por la Seguridad y Justicia.

Rodolfo Giacoman, the Fatigue Management specialist for CVSA, enthused, “This extraordinary event, organized by TAT and El Pozo de Vida, was a success in persuading major motor carriers in Mexico to adopt the Guardianes del Asfalto contra la trata de personas training program. With attendance from major industry associations and some of the largest carriers operating in Mexico, the participants benefited from a carefully planned series of presentations and a strong panel discussion. Speakers included leaders from Mexico’s SICT-DGAF, TAT, El Pozo de Vida, Consejo Ciudadano por la Seguridad y la Justicia, and UPS. CVSA was delighted to participate and support TAT's critical efforts to combat human trafficking across North America.”

Retired SICT member Salvador Monroy, who was instrumental in forming the partnership between GdelA and CANACAR and CANAPAT, said, “In the professional sphere, we constantly face the challenge of pushing beyond our limits and solving organizational problems, many of which do not always have a significant impact on society. However, initiatives such as those of Truckers Against Trafficking, Pozo de Vida, Consejo Ciudadano, and the Federal Motor Carrier Transport Directorate, among other organizations and institutions in Mexico and North America, remind us that there are efforts that truly matter and make a difference. Raising awareness, preventing, and combating human trafficking in transportation are examples of social issues that require our attention and joint action, leveraging all available resources to address this serious violation of fundamental human rights.”

TAT busy during the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition

At the end of October, TAT Executive Director Esther Goetsch, Senior Director of Industry Training and Outreach Laura Cyrus and TAT’s Freedom Drivers Project (FDP) exhibit with Mobile Exhibit Specialist Micah Larsen, participated in the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition (ATA MCE), held this year in San Diego.

TAT Executive Director Esther Goetsch

During the conference, Cyrus spoke to the ATA’s Workforce Development and Labor Policy Committee, the Communications and Industry Affairs Committee, the Trucking University and LEAD (up and coming leaders within trucking companies). Tailoring her presentations to the various groups, Cyrus shared information on TAT’s new training for corporate employees, TAT’s upcoming 2026 state trucking association challenge, TAT’s newest mobile exhibit, the Driving Change Project, TAT’s new resources on the intersection of natural disasters and human trafficking, and TAT’s microlearning for the trucking industry. 

Goetsch presented the TAT Champion Award in the Association Category to the Alabama Trucking Association (article on the three TAT Champion Award winners in 2025 coming in the December newsletter) and conducted TAT’s annual in-person Board of Directors meeting. 

Additionally, ATA Chairman Dennis Dellinger selected TAT as the recipient for the $2500 Chairman’s Award. Cyrus received the award on TAT’s behalf.

The FDP attended the conference as part of the Trucking Cares Foundation's Platinum-Level sponsorship to raise awareness with industry leaders about the realities of human trafficking and ATA's commitment to partnering with TAT. UPS employee Ryan Ybarra volunteered with Larsen at the exhibit all three days.

TAT Senior Director of Industry Training and Outreach Laura Cyrus received the Chairman’s Award from ATA Chairman Dennis Dellinger. 

As we approach the end of the year, please remember TAT as you think about the charitable gifts you plan to make before Dec. 31. Human trafficking doesn’t take a holiday, and, actually, as events ramp up at end-of-year, traffickers often see greater opportunity to exploit the most vulnerable. As a non-profit, TAT will not only be running an end-of-year fundraising campaign to help reach our budgetary goals, but we’d love for you to consider donating to us on Giving Tuesday, which is Dec. 2. Giving Tuesday is a global day for generosity, and in 2024, 36.1 million people in the U.S. participated, with 18.5 million of those making financial contributions. It’s a wonderful day to make a financial gift.

Your gift makes a tangible difference in the lives of trafficking victims by helping us activate ordinary people – bystanders in critical positions to see and identify trafficking – into frontline responders. Over 2,316,000 people have now been trained using TAT materials, empowering them to become changemakers in the fight against forced labor and sex trafficking. 

But ongoing challenges continue to be a lack of understanding around what trafficking actually looks like and knowing the right steps to take in response. The cost is great: if members of industries already known to overlap with trafficking remain uneducated about the truths of this crime, victims who would have otherwise been identified go unseen, and their traffickers continue to profit from their exploitation. 

Please consider joining us in this endeavor.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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