Meet Irene
Irene is originally from Ohio but grew up in Arizona where she graduated high school in 2000. In her mid-twenties, she fell into the dark world of sexual exploitation and was trafficked for several years. By the grace of God, she became one of the few to successfully escape "The Life". After a deep season of healing and restoration, during which time she worked for a nationally known branding/signage business rising to become their manager of logistics, Irene got a call from God to serve survivors of human trafficking. Irene connected with the Where Hope Lives program at the Phoenix Dream Center where she discovered her true passion and purpose to walk alongside survivors!
She is Manager of the Women & Men’s Human Trafficking Program for Where Hope Lives at the Phoenix Dream Center, overseeing the rescue and recovery of survivors of sex and labor trafficking. She is the primary responder for the Where Hope Lives 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline. In addition, Irene is Outreach Director of The Fountain, a private drop-in location strategically placed on 27th Avenue, Arizona’s hotspot area for street level sex trafficking. The private drop-in center provides safety, aiding street-trafficked women with the opportunity to receive resources and compassionate support on a weekly basis. Through The Fountain, Irene has developed a heart for the frontlines impacting the lives of thousands of survivors since 2020. Irene is certified in Trauma Informed Care and works monthly supporting several law enforcement Human Exploitation Anti-Trafficking units with her lived experience expertise on their victim centered operations.
She seizes every opportunity to connect with survivors, inspiring them to emerge from the darkness, just as she did. Passionate about making a lasting impact in the fight against human trafficking, Irene embodies the resilience and compassion necessary for empowering survivors and fostering lasting change. Irene is excited to be part of the Arizona Survivor Human Trafficking Coalition, where she serves as First Vice President, joining the most influential survivor leaders in Arizona to create real change. She is pressing on tough issues in Arizona, seeing that buyers of human trafficking face stronger penalties.
Meet Irene: E3RF’s New Counter-Sex Trafficking Advocate
The E3RF team is growing, and we recently sat down with one of our newest members to hear her story. Irene may be a newcomer to our Phoenix team, with an office set to open this summer, but she isn’t new to Arizona or to this work. As our Counter Human Trafficking Victim Advocate, she supports survivors as they exit the commercial sex industry, building relationships with victims and partnering agencies to fill gaps and improve outcomes. It’s a role that demands deep trust and hard-won expertise, and Irene brings both in abundance.
Called, Not Just Hired
Irene’s path to this work wasn’t accidental, it was a calling. “I got a prophetic word to go help the girl I once was,” she says. “I realized that in my darkest day I had to cry out for help, and someone was there to pull me up. Once I was healed enough, I needed to pull the next person up who was down.”
That conviction has driven her through years spent in the trenches of aftercare, walking alongside survivors in the hardest moments of their healing, shaping her into someone whose purpose and passion are inseparable. “I’m that girl that walks around feeling like she never works a day in her life,” she says.
The Gap She Fills
After years of front-line work, Irene has developed insights that shape how she approaches every case. Mental health, she says, has become one of the most significant and underserved vulnerabilities in the trafficking landscape, a gap that leaves victims falling through the cracks of both care systems and making them easy targets for perpetrators. She has also watched technology reshape the threat entirely. “The game hasn’t changed, but the victim has.” Digital payments, social media, and content-sharing apps have given traffickers a 24/7 reach that no longer requires physical proximity. “Perpetrators have the keys to your own home through your phone.”
When law enforcement enters a room and a victim shuts down, that’s where Irene steps in. Her advocacy is deeply personal, accompanying someone to a court date, helping them find an outfit they feel confident in for a hearing, restoring documents, arranging transportation. But it starts with trust that can’t be manufactured. Irene has a rare ability to meet survivors exactly where they are, sitting down with someone whose walls are fully up and creating a moment of real connection. “I have the ability to tear down walls and help victims walk in freedom,” she says. When that happens, it isn’t just good advocacy. It’s a divine intervention.
Welcome to the Family, Irene
Irene joined E3RF because she found an organization that shares her faith-centered conviction that you cannot fight trafficking without being anchored in something greater than yourself. “I love fighting human trafficking. I love Jesus. And I know I can’t fight human trafficking without being partnered with Jesus.” She steps into our Phoenix office not just as a new hire, but as a true addition to a family fighting for something greater than themselves. We can’t wait to see what God does through her. Welcome to the team, Irene. We are so grateful you’re here.
If You Suspect Someone Is Being Trafficked
Don’t wait. You could be the hand that helps someone in their darkest moment.
-
National Human Trafficking Hotline: Call or text 1-888-373-7888, or text “HELP” to 233733
-
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): Report online at cybertipline.org or call 1-800-843-5678
-
Local law enforcement: If someone is in immediate danger, call 911