Common Grounds: Recent Episodes
A 2nd Cup
A podcast committed to deeply exploring topics on the various intersections of Human Trafficking. Experts, writers, local representatives, and organization leaders all share their knowledge and perspectives on how to attack the root causes of exploitation in our community.
Fostering creativity and cultivating entrepreneurship allows survivors of trafficking to own what's theirs - their story, their art, their work. This conversation with Davina, Founder of MiCreate, helps break down the experience of survivors as they navigate their healing journey through mobilizing their creative talents and the support they deserve.
Becca Cary is Founder + Executive Director of Hands of Justice, and is a Survivor Leader of human trafficking. She began Hands of Justice as a way to support those who had experienced trafficking in a way that many of us cannot - as someone who has been in similar circumstances.
Becca joined us for a conversation on the responsibility organizations and communities have to elevate the voices of those with lived experience, and shared tangible actions to care for them as leaders. You don't want to miss this conversation!
Ending human trafficking in Houston requires a collaborative, intentional, and intersectional approach. We believe this work cannot be done alone, and are proud members of the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. There has been much learned and accomplished in the way that we work in this area, and we are excited for you to hear about that from Coalition Manager, Nate Arneson of United Against Human Trafficking.
MaDonna Land serves as the Program Director for Tony's Place, a Houston based nonprofit with a mission to empower and support unstably housed LGBTQ+ youth. MaDonna is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor with 16 years of combined experience with juvenile probation, adult probation, corrections, substance use, and other at-risk populations. She is the owner of Do The Work Counseling Services, PLLC, which prioritizes individual needs to promote recovery and wellness.
MaDonna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Texas Southern University, and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University.
Over the past several months, we have been broadening this educational component and exploring some of the issues that intersect with and may often contribute to human trafficking. This month we’ve been looking at education and its importance in helping to prevent human trafficking. Today we speak with a fellow educator Carlos Marquina.
Carlos Marquina started working for the YMCA when they were 16 and as they worked in the YMCA they started working summer camps and then became a Program Director running youth program summer camps. They attribute that as their beginning of being in education, even though it wasn’t in the classroom. Carlos finished college studies and did their Masters in Literature and then seven years ago they started teaching high school. Carlos started at Sam Rayburn High School in Pasadena and then two years ago made the move to HISD and is at East Early College.
For a full transcript of this episode click here (you will be redirected to A 2nd Cup's website)
A 2nd Cup Development Director, Kathryn Rogers, speaking with Julia Andrews, Director for Harris County’s Center for Safe and Secure Schools. Julia has worked in education for over 18 years as a teacher, an administrator, she has done work with the Institute for Restorative Justice at the University of Texas. She has a lot of experience in school safety training and programs. She’s the President-Elect of the Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership from Abilene Christian. Julia is joining us today as the Director for Harris County’s Center for Safe and Secure Schools.
For a full transcript of this episode click here (you will be redirected to A 2nd Cup's website)
We are continuing our Intersections series, in looking at how human trafficking affects and impacts the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as some ways in which our awareness of these issues supports the fight against trafficking. We were pleased to be able to speak with Alan Dettlaff, from the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work.
Alan J. Dettlaff is Dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston and the inaugural Maconda Brown O’Connor Endowed Dean’s Chair. Prior to joining the University of Houston, Dean Dettlaff served on the faculty of the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from TCU, and Masters in Social Work, and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to entering academia, he worked in the child welfare system where he specialized in conducting investigations of child abuse and neglect. Dean Dettlaff’s research focuses on improving outcomes for children and youth in the child welfare system by examining and addressing structural and institutional racism issues that contribute to racial inequities in this system.
For a full transcript of this episode click here (you will be redirected to A 2nd Cup's website)
Human trafficking doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in result of, in combination with, and at the intersection of many other social issues impacting our communities. Understanding human trafficking requires us to look carefully at all of these other issues to help us be more effective in the fight against it. Today we talked with Esther Liew, the Health Partnerships Manager at the Houston Food Bank to explore the impact of food insecurity on human trafficking. Esther’s primary role at the Houston Food Bank includes supporting healthcare organizations in implementing food intervention programs that aim to decrease food insecurity and improve the health outcomes of our communities. By implementing and testing food interventions and food distribution methods, she hopes to move food banking toward developing programs that will advance health equity.
For a full transcript of this episode click here (you will be redirected to A 2nd Cup's website)
Alongside his wife, Jessica, Drew Willey founded Restoring Justice. He currently serves as the organization’s CEO. Drew left a career as an accountant to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center. An internship with the Texas Innocence Network showed him firsthand how the legal system dehumanizes poor people, people of color, and those with mental health conditions.
After training from Gideon’s Promise, Drew became a criminal defense attorney, primarily working on the representation of the indigent. He is dedicated to providing passionate, proactive, and client-centered representation to marginalized people in the greater Houston area. This work eventually led Drew to found Restoring Justice to provide high-quality, holistic counsel to those who need it the most and find ways to expose, disrupt, and fix the systemic racism and discrimination in our criminal justice system.
Drew’s work as a public defender and as the founder of Restoring Justice has been featured in publications like The New York Times, Texas Monthly, Texas Tribune, and the Houston Chronicle. Drew’s song on repeat is currently This is America by Childish Gambino.
For a transcript of this episode click here (you will be redirected to A 2nd Cup's website)