The success of the HTCN relies on the continued work of our founders and core members.
STEERING COMMITTEE
![Theresa Anasti, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2024/06/Theresa-Anasti-1-280x386.jpg)
Theresa Anasti, PhD
- Email: anasti@wustl.edu
Theresa Anasti is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She is an organizational theorist who focuses on how nonprofit organizations represent marginalized populations through services and policy advocacy. Her research focuses specifically on organizations that provide services to drug users and sex workers and how the stigma of these populations affects the services provided. She received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2017, and before her role at WashU, she was an Associate Professor of Social Work at Oakland University.
![Nathaniel Dell, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2024/06/Dell_N-280x386-1.jpg)
Nathaniel Dell, PhD
- Email: delln@wustl.edu
Nathaniel A. Dell, PhD, is a licensed clinical social worker and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Dell is an experienced evaluator of evidence-based practices for people with serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders. His research interests include promoting the uptake of evidence-based, recovery-oriented psychosocial interventions for people with SMI and leveraging big data and data science approaches to identify the behavioral health needs of hidden and hard-to-reach populations, such as people experiencing homelessness or survivors of human trafficking.
![Stephen Liang, MD, MPHS](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2023/07/stephen_y_liang-280x386.jpg)
Stephen Liang, MD, MPHS
- Email: syliang@wustl.edu
HTCN Co-Lead and Associate Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Liang leads the HTCN Seed Endowment Fellowship Committee to enhance educational activities for survivors of human trafficking and students interested in in-depth learning of global and domestic human trafficking. As a clinician with dual appointments in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Liang is a proponent of social justice work in healthcare settings and is interested in improving healthcare for vulnerable populations, including individuals with experience of human trafficking. Dr Liang’s primary research interests include trauma-related infections, orthopedic infections, device-associated infections, and management of infectious diseases and infection prevention in emergency care settings.
![Linda Neumann, RN](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2024/06/Linda-DC-2-280x386.jpg)
Linda Neumann, RN
- Email: neumann.linda60@gmail.com
Linda is a registered nurse with 48 years of experience caring for children in hospitals and schools. She is particularly interested in educating her school nurse colleagues about human trafficking prevention, recognition, and response. She joined the HTCN in 2017 at the invitation of founding member Dr. Kathleen Thimsen.
![Andrea Nichols, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Bio-Pic2-36f9b12efb6213af-280x386.jpg)
Andrea Nichols, PhD
Dr. Andrea J. Nichols is Professor of Sociology at STLCC Forest Park and Lecturer of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Her practitioner-centered research examines victim advocacy and community-based responses, as well as social work and criminal justice practices with survivors. She regularly teaches the course “Sex Trafficking” and is the author and coauthor of numerous books and articles in the area of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. She is the author of Sex Trafficking in the United States: Theory Research Policy and Practice, and coauthor of Social Work Practice with Survivors of Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
![Marilen Pitler](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/MP-Pic-280x386.jpg)
Marilen Pitler
- Email: mpitler@prodigy.net
Marilen Pitler is the VP of Advocacy of the National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis (NCJWSTL) and past Co-Chair of their Committee on Human Trafficking. She has served on the board of NCJWSTL for six years, chairing and co-chairing several other committees including the Racial Justice Committee, the Legislative Reception in 2022, and the Celebrating Women Committee. Marilen became interested in combatting human trafficking after attending a lunch and learn at NCJWSTL on Human Trafficking in 2014 and shortly after joined the NCJWSTL Human Trafficking Task Force. In 2015, she co-chaired a day long human trafficking conference that over 125 professionals attended. She has been involved in this work ever since.
![Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Headshot.jpg)
Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE
- Email: pricerk@wustl.edu
HTCN Lead and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Rumi Kato Price’s focus in human trafficking is on quantifying the risk and prevalence of human trafficking as well as policy related to trafficking in persons. She is currently engaged in multiple international trafficking-in-persons projects.
![Rebecca (Becky) Sarabia, DNP, WHNP-BC](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Sarabia-headshot-280x386.jpg)
Rebecca (Becky) Sarabia, DNP, WHNP-BC
- Email: rebecca.sarabia@bjc.org
Dr. Rebecca Sarabia is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner working in the OB/GYN clinic at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Her primary research focus is sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
![Annamaria Szakonyi, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2023/08/AS-Photo2-280x386.jpg)
Annamaria Szakonyi, PhD
- Email: annamaria.szakonyi@slu.edu
Dr. Annamaria Szakonyi is an assistant professor at Saint Louis University working at the intersection of technology, policy and society. Her passion is in the application of technology, data and policy to combat human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children. She received Saint Louis University’s inaugural Geospatial Research and Innovation Award for her research using geospatial methods and machine learning to study human trafficking. She’s published multiple peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter related to human trafficking, data science, cybersecurity, online identity theft, and diversity and inclusion in technology. She’s a technology mentor and women in tech advocate on a mission to increase the presence of women and underrepresented groups in technology. She has over 15 years’ experience in the IT and innovation sector in various technical and leadership positions.
![John Viviano, MBA](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2023/08/John-Viviano-500x500-1-280x386.jpg)
John Viviano, MBA
John Viviano is an adjunct instructor at Washington University’s Olin Business School. He is the co-founder and partner of Evidentia Learning, an EdTech that provides high quality, accredited e-learning modules to a global learning community of more than 500 institutions and 6,000 medical professionals committed to serving victims of child abuse, neglect, and human trafficking. In his community, John has been a CASA volunteer for more than 12 years and serves on the board of Franklin County CASA.
ADVISORY BOARD
![Tonya E. Edmond, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Tonya-Edmond-Headshot-280x386.jpg)
Tonya E. Edmond, PhD
- Email: tee1@wustl.edu
Dr. Edmond is a faculty affiliate with the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention, with research focused on violence against women, with a specific interest in testing trauma-focused interventions for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
![Brian Froelke, MD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Brian-Froelke-Headshot.jpg)
Brian Froelke, MD
- Email: brfroelke@wustl.edu
Dr. Brian Froelke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATORS
![Default image](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/wp-content/plugins/washu-people-places-items//assets/images/default-people.jpg)
Gavin Newberry
- Email: gavinn@wustl.edu
Gavin Newberry is a dual Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology and Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He works as a Data Assistant at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the Department of Psychiatry and has been providing administrative support to HTCN since May 2023. In addition, he has completed his MPH Practicum in the Divison of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at WashU Medicine in the Trauma Response Program, focusing on child trauma, abuse, and victimization. His studies focus on neuro-psychiatric epidemiology and psychological trauma, particularly among vulnerable populations such as survivors of human trafficking, children, and minority populations.
FOUNDING MEMBERS
![Tonya E. Edmond, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Tonya-Edmond-Headshot-280x386.jpg)
Tonya E. Edmond, PhD
- Email: tee1@wustl.edu
Dr. Edmond is a faculty affiliate with the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention, with research focused on violence against women, with a specific interest in testing trauma-focused interventions for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
![Andrea Nichols, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Bio-Pic2-36f9b12efb6213af-280x386.jpg)
Andrea Nichols, PhD
Dr. Andrea J. Nichols is Professor of Sociology at STLCC Forest Park and Lecturer of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Her practitioner-centered research examines victim advocacy and community-based responses, as well as social work and criminal justice practices with survivors. She regularly teaches the course “Sex Trafficking” and is the author and coauthor of numerous books and articles in the area of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. She is the author of Sex Trafficking in the United States: Theory Research Policy and Practice, and coauthor of Social Work Practice with Survivors of Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
![Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Headshot.jpg)
Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE
- Email: pricerk@wustl.edu
HTCN Lead and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Rumi Kato Price’s focus in human trafficking is on quantifying the risk and prevalence of human trafficking as well as policy related to trafficking in persons. She is currently engaged in multiple international trafficking-in-persons projects.
![Kathleen Thimsen, DrNP, MSN, WOCN, FNS](https://sites.wustl.edu/htcn/files/2019/04/Webp.net-resizeimage-1-280x386.jpg)
Kathleen Thimsen, DrNP, MSN, WOCN, FNS
Dr. Kathleen Thimsen is an Assistant Professor at Barnes Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing. Her clinical practice and research is focused on vulnerable populations, health care disparities, and all forms of interpersonal violence.