Shea Rhodes, Esquire

On April 5, 2018, Marti delivered an immensely impactful account of her experience of overcoming extreme difficulties such as commercial sexual exploitation, post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic violence and addiction. She engaged our diverse audience of survivors, social workers, lawyers, members of law enforcement, and other concerned professionals by utilizing her sharp sense of humor and wit. Her ability to reach such a vast array of listeners was evidenced by the constant laughs that emanated from the room. Marti used her dynamic presence to teach the audience about the intersection that exists between commercial sexual exploitation, trauma, and addiction using her own life story as illustration. Her storytelling ability made the plenary equal parts entertaining and informative, a feat that can be extremely difficult to balance in this space.