Who We Are
Our Vision
A society in which every person is free from the threat and trauma of child sex trafficking.
Our Mission
We implement education and prevention strategies and provide clinical and support services to survivors of child sex trafficking.
Our Values
- Human dignity: We recognize that each human being is born free and equal in both dignity and rights and deserving of unconditional love.
- Justice: We believe in and work towards a society in which every person can lead peaceful, productive, and self-determined lives.
- Community: Because a collective effort is required to stop child sex trafficking, we partner with schools, law enforcement, social service agencies, businesses, community organizations, and churches, as well as children and their families.
- Survivor-centered: Each survivor brings a unique experience, and we provide support as they work to reach their goals and potential.
- Inclusive: The more diverse our colleagues and partners, the more effective our efforts.
Araminta reduces the threat of child sex trafficking—the buying and selling of minors for the purpose of sexual exploitation—and provides clinical and support services to individuals who have survived what the U.S. Department of Justice and United Nations define as modern slavery.
A child can never be responsible for, or complicit in, their own abuse.
A member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative, we spotlight a danger that many people know little about, while working with local communities to develop and implement prevention strategies based on specific risk factors. We also tailor counseling and health care to the needs of individual survivors, whether children or adults, and provide life skills, resources, and mentorship they use to rebuild their lives.
Children in Maryland are exceptionally vulnerable to trafficking. Individual vulnerabilities include housing instability and homelessness, domestic violence, sexual abuse, low self-esteem, social isolation, and untreated mental health or substance abuse in the family. Children in the child welfare system, including foster care, are disproportionately at risk.
In Maryland, these factors are compounded by the state’s disparity of extreme poverty and extreme wealth, along with the increased presence of gambling facilities. The intersection of a major seaport, international airports and interstate highways used to transport children within and without Maryland further foster an illicit marketplace for children.
We take both our name and inspiration from Harriet Tubman, the American abolitionist and political activist, whose birth name was Araminta. Born enslaved in Maryland, Ms. Tubman led family members and other enslaved people to freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, guiding them to places where they could build new lives. Since “conductors” and “passengers” traveled at night to avoid capture, the Underground Railroad used lanterns as beacons of safety and freedom.
Board of Directors
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Rev. Bill Humphrey
President
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Beth McDonald
Vice President
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Luke Zipp
Treasurer
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John Ingham
Director
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Bob Knott
Director
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Jonathan Porter
Director
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Vickie Rekart
Secretary
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Patrice Sowah
Director
Leadership & Staff
Rhonda Sanco, Executive Director / CEO
Candace Parrott, Senior Director of Program Strategy
Renee Murrell, Ph.D., LMSW, Director of Community Engagement
Iona Rudisill, LMSW, Social Work and Family Liaison
Mia Reed, Project Manager / Peer Coordinator
Pascale Lebrun-Gay, MSW, Volunteer Coordinator
Susan Hagis, Administrative Manager
Lourdes Curay, Translation Services & Youth Engagement Coordinator
Julieta Riverola, Translation Services / Client Coordinator
Michaela Holt, Comprehensive Services / Economic Empowerment
Zaaear Pack, Economic Program Services / Grant Coordinator
Harriet Tubman
1822 – 1913
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross in 1822 in Maryland. When she was 5 years old, she was subjected to a life of abuse and exploitation.
In 1844, Araminta married John Tubman and subsequently changed her name to Harriet. In 1849, at age 27, she escaped from Maryland to Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Tubman became an active “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading others to freedom and helping them find food, shelter, and even jobs in the North.
The Underground was an intricate network of routes and safe houses. Since houses were often 10 to 20 miles apart—and “conductors” and “passengers” traveled at night to avoid capture—lanterns were placed in their windows as beacons of safety and freedom.
By 1860, Ms. Tubman had made the perilous trip back to Maryland more than a dozen times, including one especially challenging journey in which she rescued her elderly parents.
As an abolitionist, Ms. Tubman fought to end the system of slavery in the United States. As a political activist, she pushed for the rights of black Americans, women, and others who were marginalized. Until the end of her life, Tubman advocated for educational and economic opportunities for people who had experienced slavery, enabling them to improve their lives.
In a letter to Ms. Tubman, famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass wrote, “Excepting John Brown—of sacred memory—I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than you have.” John Brown himself once called Tubman “one of the bravest persons on this continent.”
