I get asked all the time how a girl from Sacramento ended up in Los Angeles trying to help women rescued from sex trafficking to find their dream job. I mean, it’s not exactly a 9 to 5 kind of job and it almost never happened.
When I was younger I always knew I wanted a career helping people in need. This desire was what drove me to pursue a degree in Social Work and a brief career as a social worker. Yet when an opportunity for a secure career and continued education became available at an online university in San Diego, I neatly tucked that passion away and spent the better part of 5 years ignoring it. I became content with my place in the career world, climbing the corporate ladder and striving for success above what gave me a sense of purpose.
That all changed for me after watching the movie Trade. In a dark room I watched the story of two young girls who were kidnapped and then sold into sex trafficking to the highest bidders right here in the United States. Their story stirred within me intense feelings of compassion and shock. I couldn’t stop wondering, “How was this occurring in my ‘backyard’ and I did not know about it?” Through opening my eyes to a reality that many young girls faced each day, it reawakened within me a passion that had been dormant for far too long.
At first I didn’t know where to start, so I decided to start small. I spoke with friends, counsellors, and advisors and began learning more about the issue first hand by volunteering at a local shelter that provides a comprehensive recovery program for women rescued from sex trafficking in the San Diego area. After several months, I took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dream career as founder and CEO of the non-profit Two Wings. It hasn’t been easy or glamorous. This city of dreams and possibilities has become a new home for the difficult lessons learned along my journey to starting a non-profit.
Lots of well-intentioned people in Los Angeles at first told my team and I that we didn’t need another “sex trafficking” non-profit. Granted, this city has many great organizations like Saving Innocence and CAST, yet in a city with shelters and services for survivors of sex trafficking, we learned that there was no response to helping these young girls learn independent living skills while obtaining practical work experience.
While there were many amazing organizations to help them heal, there were few organizations to help them fly.
Two wings partners with local organizations to provide the necessary tools for survivors to pursue independent living and a dream career. The program uses life coaching and career mentoring to help clients begin to dream of a career they can be passionate about. By infusing life coaching into the process, we ensure that clients have tangible steps to achieving each goal established with their life coach. Our goal is to equip each client with a support system and skills necessary to not only survive but to thrive in their new life.
That’s our vision: to see young women pursuing their dreams, big or small.
For more information please visit, www.withtwowings.org or contact us at
info@withtwowings.org