CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 27 T he NSU Coalition for Research and Education Against Trafficking and Exploitation (CREATE) was founded in January 2015 by Brianna Black Kent, Ph.D., associate chair and assistant professor, and Sandrine Gaillard-Kenney, Ed.D., assistant dean and associate professor. The purpose of NSU CREATE is to equip all members of the community—including private citizens, educators, current and future health care professionals, and organizations—with skills to identify victims of human trafficking, resulting in increased reporting and referrals to appropriate health and social service agencies. Florida ranks third in the nation for human trafficking, including sex trafficking, just behind California and New York, while Broward County ranks first in the United States for buyers of commercial sex online. NSU CREATE is focused on educating faculty mem- bers, students, and the community-at-large about human trafficking. NSU CREATE is an expansion of ProjectHEAT (Health Educators Against Traffick- ing), which was founded by Gaillard-Kenney and Kent in 2010. ProjectHEAT was designed to teach health care educa- tors to recognize signs and symptoms of trafficked victims. ProjectHEAT advocates for curriculum change in the health professions, with a goal to help future health care professionals identify and assist victims appropriately. NSU CREATE celebrated the establishment of its new headquarters at the NSU Miramar Campus on September 15, 2015. Event speakers included Stanley H. Wilson, Ed.D., PT, CEAS, dean of the College of Health Care Sciences; Meline Kevorkian, Ed.D., NSU associate provost of academic affairs; Nabil El Sanadi, M.D., president and CEO, Broward Health; Maria Clara Rodriguez, M.S., Project GOLD director, Kristi House of Miami; and Corey Steinberg, J.D., assistant United States attorney, Southern District of Florida. In a demonstration of the collaborative nature of NSU CREATE, members of the NSU community and representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office— Southern District of Florida, Kristi House Miami, Broward Health, and the Community Foundation of Broward attended the celebration. The speakers all emphasized the importance of uniting community members, community organizations, educators, health care providers, and law enforcement in the fight against human trafficking. The speakers also highlighted the impact that NSU CREATE co-founders Kent and Gaillard-Kenney have had in the battle against human trafficking. Their work has significantly increased awareness of human trafficking among health care providers and com- munity members. The opening of NSU CREATE is the next step in the journey to provide support and services to human trafficking survivors and increase human trafficking awareness throughout the health care and education communities. ■ From left: Meline Kevorkian, Ed.D., associate provost, academic affairs; Heidi Schaeffer, M.D., Community Foundation of Broward; Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D., vice president for Advancement and Community Relations; Brianna Black Kent, Ph.D., CREATE co-founder; Sandrine Gaillard-Kenney, Ed.D., CREATE co-founder; and Stanley H. Wilson, Ed.D., PT, CEAS, CHCS dean.