Truckers Against Trafficking Training Specialist & Survivor, Liz Williamson

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Openforce is raising awareness in partnership with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), a non-profit organization that is raising up a mobile army of transportation professionals to assist law enforcement in the recognition and reporting of human trafficking, to aid in the recovery of victims and the arrest of their perpetrators.   

In this powerful episode, host Nick Hancock interviews Liz Williamson, TAT training specialist, and trafficking survivor. They discuss:

• New training opportunities available with TAT
• Liz’s story, what familial trafficking is and how to spot it
• Why kindness matters in bringing humanity back to victims
• How truckers, couriers, delivery drivers, home assembly technicians, and home health aides are uniquely positioned to spot human trafficking activity – and what we can do about it that could potentially save a life.    

We’re calling on ALL Openforcers to get TAT certified! This free, online training takes less than 30 minutes and can potentially liberate trafficked victims. Sign up here: https://education.truckersagainsttrafficking.org/openforce/ 

For more information, please visit the Truckers Against Trafficking website: https://truckersagainsttrafficking.org/ 

**If you suspect human trafficking activity at your location, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline immediately at 1-888-373-7888 to report what you know. Your call can remain anonymous.** 

The Gig Academy host

Nick Hancock, Openforce Gig Academy Podcast Host and Customer Success Manager of Key Accounts
Nick monitors all areas that pertain to and affect the gig economy and IC model to best advise and meet the needs of Openforce’s clientele. Prior to working at Openforce, Nick worked in the dental manufacturing industry and has a background in insurance as a producer.

Nick has a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies of Humanities from Northern Arizona University. Nick resides in Phoenix, Arizona where he and his wife recently welcomed their firstborn daughter in October 2021.

About this episode’s guest

Liz Williamson, Training Specialist for Truckers Against Trafficking
Liz Williamson is a training specialist for Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) and a survivor of human trafficking. Located in northern California, Williamson shares her trafficking story at casino/bus Coalition Builds and other TAT events and is responsible for some administrative duties.

A survivor advocate, she has done direct service work with survivors at the local, regional and national levels. For the past decade, she has trained and spoken nationally to audiences regarding her survival of familial trafficking to help dispel the myths surrounding this topic and to empower individuals to help make a difference.

Williamson has also trained medical professionals with Dignity Health to identify victims seeking to receive medical services, with special attention given to what the medical community missed or was unable to assist her with during her trafficking experience. She is a member of the Survivor Leadership Institute through GEMS.

With a bachelor’s in English Literature and a flair for all things creative, Williamson enjoys communicating and creating. She passionately believes survivors deserve the opportunity to use their experiences to rewrite their stories and their futures.

About Truckers Against Trafficking
Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a 501(c)3 that exists to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking, bus and energy industries to combat human trafficking.

Modern-day slavery, or human trafficking exists whenever people are bought and sold for forced labor or commercial sex. Around the world, it is estimated that there are over 40 million slaves today. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, and the number of victims in the United States is estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

While illegal, human trafficking is a booming business. Traffickers recruit out of our schools, online, in shopping malls, as well as the streets and other locations. A large percentage of the people trafficked are women and children. Many of them are used in the sex industry. They are the prostituted people on the street and in private homes, and in legitimate businesses such as restaurants, truck stops and motels. They need to be identified and recovered.

Truckers Against Trafficking recognizes that members of the trucking, bus and energy industries are invaluable in the fight against this heinous crime. As the eyes and ears of our nation’s highways, you are in a unique position to make a difference and close loopholes to traffickers who seek to exploit our transportation system for their personal gain.

About Openforce
Openforce is the leader in technology-driven services that reduce operating costs and mitigate risk for companies using independent contractors. Their cloud-based applications help companies and contractors alike achieve more sustainable, profitable growth by removing financial, operational, and compliance barriers to getting business done.