ECPAT-USA
End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
ECPAT-USA
We exist because we believe that children everywhere are entitled to the fundamental right to live free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation, including child prostitution, child pornography, and trafficking for sexual purposes.
We seek to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children by raising awareness of the issue, advocating for the victims, developing policy for private companies, law enforcement, and government bodies to fight the problem, and passing legislation that protects the victims and penalizes the traffickers and exploiters.
We are the leading policy organization in the United States and belong to an international network of organizations that have offices in 73 countries around the world.
EXPLOITATION IN THE UNITED STATES
The sexual exploitation of children is a serious problem in the United States with nearly 300,000 children at risk nationwide. Since 1991, ECPAT-USA has led the charge to protect three types of children:
- Children who are sexually exploited by Americans who travel abroad;
- Children who are trafficked to the United States from other countries; and
- American children who are trafficked and exploited within the USA.
HOW WE GOT OUR START
ECPAT was created in 1991 by a group of NGO workers and other concerned individuals in Asia as the campaign to End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism. By 1996, the sexual exploitation of children had exploded into an international crisis, so ECPAT widened its scope of work beyond sex tourism to encompass child pornography and the prostitution of children within all countries. ECPAT International has 80 groups in over 70 countries, including the U.S.
ECPAT-USA’s Annual Report: 2011
OUR STAFF
Click on the name and title to read the person’s bio.
Carol Smolenski | Executive Director | csmolenski@ecpatusa.org
Carol is one of the founders of ECPAT-USA and has been working in the field of children’s rights for over twenty years. She is a long-time nationally recognized leader working to stop the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
At ECPAT-USA Carol oversaw the development of the first research project on child trafficking to New York City and two other research projects about commercial sexual exploitation of children. She was the Project Director for the New York City Community Response to Trafficking Project in New York, a multifaceted ground breaking project to inform communities at risk for human trafficking about the federal anti-trafficking law and help obtain better protections for victims. She has developed and managed projects to stop the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in the United States, the Riviera Maya and Cancun sections of Mexico and in Belize and is currently overseeing a similar project in three cities in Brazil.
She has spoken at numerous conferences and has presented testimony in venues ranging from the New York City Council to the United States Congress to the United Nations. Carol has a Bachelors degree from Rutgers University, a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College and an M.Phil from Columbia University.
Max Walker | Associate Director | mwalker@ecpatusa.org
Max is the Office Administrator and in charge of Youth Outreach, and Public Awareness. He directly runs the ECPAT-USA New York City Youth Committee, which raises awareness of child sex trafficking amongst local high school students and teaches them the tools every activist needs to combat injustice. He has spoken to numerous local area colleges, high schools, and community groups increasing the visibility of a sorely overlooked and vulnerable demographic of Americans. He also provides tactical advice and support to other youth groups and abolitionists across the country through the ECPAT-USA website, which he also maintains as Webmaster. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Anthropology/Sociology and Modern History, with a minor in Political Science.
Michelle Guelbart | Private Sector Project Coordinator | michelle@ecpatusa.org
Michelle is in charge of ECPAT-USA’s engagement with the private sector on issues related to child protection. Her expertise is in tourism. In her role, Michelle manages relationships with corporations, NGOs, and responsible investors to encourage and provide technical assistance on corporate social responsibility initiatives to protect children.
She speaks regularly to local, international, and federal agencies as well as industry professionals. Michelle also represents ECPAT-USA as the Local Tourism Child-Protection Code Representative in the United States. Michelle holds a Masters Degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work and a Bachelors Degree from the University at Albany.
Camelia Tepelus, PhD| State Policy and Program Development Director | ctepelus@ecpatusa.org
At ECPAT USA, Camelia supports the work of improving NY State legislation and policies to protecting children from sexual exploitation and trafficking with a focus on implementation of NY Safe Harbor law. She also advises on corporate social responsibility matters and on the PCT Mexico, Belize and Brazil projects. She coordinates the ECPAT USA annual reports and supports general program development, monitoring and reporting, including fundraising from foundations and institutional donors. Camelia holds a BS in Marketing (1999) from the Academy of Economical Sciences and a BS in Engineering (1999) from the Politechnica University (Romania), a MSc of Environmental Sciences and Policy (2001) and a PhD (2008) on corporate social responsibility and human rights from Lund University (Sweden). Camelia is fluent in Spanish and Romanian.
OUR BOARD OF ADVISORS
Marina Colby | Advisor on Corporate Social Responsibility
Dr. Sharon Cooper | Medical Advisor
Victoria Gutowski | Travel and Tourism Advisor
Ambassador Mark Lagon | Child Trafficking Advisor
Mike Lombardo | Corporate Social Responsibility
Kimberly A. Ritter | Travel and Tourism Advisor
Mira Sorvino | Outreach and Advocacy Advisor
Jonathan Todres | Child Rights Advisor
Brian Willis | Health Advisor
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ana Morse | President
Jackie Shapiro | Secretary
Sarah Altschuller
Howard Davidson
Jami Day
Brenda Hepler
Joan Levy
Ryan Smith
Perry Wooten