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Experience

Christa Foster Crawford, J.D.

 

PRESENT

Founder, Freedom Resource International (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Expert advice, training, and resources to equip grassroots and international organizations working against all forms of exploitation and trafficking

Founder, Connecting for Freedom Network (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Connecting more than 70 anti-trafficking organizations in Northern Thailand (nearly 60 in Chiang Mai alone) to the people and resources they need to end exploitation; Sole regular gathering in English open to all organizations; Information sharing to distribution list of hundreds individuals working against trafficking

Co-Founder and Programme Manager, Centre for Social Impact and Research Fellow, Institute for Religion, Culture and Peace (Payap International College, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Practitioner training, certificate courses, cutting-edge research, academic and practitioner-focused publications, business incubation, and think tank for scaled impact and next-generation solutions to persistent social problems

Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Intercultural Studies (Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA)

Online and in-person graduate course on “Ministry to Sexually Exploited and Trafficked Children” for grassroots practitioners, mental health professionals, and leaders of aid and development organizations in four continents

Instructor, GO ED. Mekong Study Abroad Program, International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, Thai and South-East Asia Studies Program, and Payap International College (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Field-based courses on “Exclusion and Exploitation in the Greater Mekong Subregion,” “Human Trafficking in the Mekong Sub-Region: A Critical Analysis,” and “Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Southeast Asia” for US students in Thailand; Mainstream awareness of exploitation into undergraduate courses for future leaders in business and government from Thailand, Myanmar, China, Japan and more than 30 countries from every continent

 

PAST EXPERIENCE

Co-Founder, Just Food Inc./ The Garden of Hope (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Started and operated social enterprise businesses in F&B/hospitality industries to provide training and employment for sustainable freedom to trafficked and exploited women; Provided holistic care for women and children in, at risk of, and coming out of trafficking and prostitution in Thailand and Myanmar (Christianity Today, "Red Light Rescue: The 'Business' of Saving Girls from a Life of Prostitution")

Associate Social Affairs Officer, United Nations ESCAP, Gender and Development Section, Emerging Social Issues Division (Bangkok, Thailand)

Researched and authored publication to train Asian Governments about trafficking law; Secretariat for conferences on human trafficking and gender issues for UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Combatting Human Trafficking in Asia: A Resource Guide to International and Regional Legal Instruments, Political Commitments and Recommended Practices (United Nations 2003)) 

Director, International Justice Mission, Thailand Justice Center (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Oversaw investigations and legal documentation of cases of forced and underage prostitution presented to Thai authorities for intervention and relief for victims and prosecution of perpetrators

Attorney, Pepperdine Legal Aid Center at the Union Rescue Mission (Los Angeles, California)

Poverty law advice and criminal defense representation to homeless and low-income veterans and others; member of Homeless Warrant Court Task Force that established a “homelessness court” for “quality of life” misdemeanors

Associate Attorney, Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe and Brown, Todd & Heyburn (Los Angeles, California and Louisville, Kentucky)

Member of Business department, specialized in commercial transactions and finance

Student Prosecutor, Norfolk County District Attorney (Quincy, Massachusetts)

Prosecuted misdemeanor offenses, including a lead on a bench trial; Negotiated dispositions; Motion practice

Legal Intern, United States Attorneys’ Office, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Unit (Boston, Massachusetts)

Researched and drafted federal court motions and legal memoranda; Participated in federal criminal investigations including meetings with federal agents and substantial assistance conferences with accused

Legal Intern, Middlesex County District Attorney Child Abuse Unit (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Analyzed child victim interviews to determine whether to pursue prosecution; Researched and drafted motions and legal memoranda

 

MEMBERSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Current and present activities include:

  • United States State Department, US Consulate General Chiang Mai, TIP Forum
  • United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region
  • Freedom Collaborative
  • Viva Network
  • Asha Forum
  • International Christian Alliance on Prostitution
  • Connecting for Freedom Network, Founder
  • Anti-Human Trafficking and Exploitation Working Group, Planning Team (now defunct)
  • San Jai Faith Based Organization Coalition: Combating Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children, Planning Team (now defunct)
  • Freedom Business Alliance
  • Freedom Business Global Forum, Steering Committee Member
  • North America Asha Forum, Steering Committee Member
  • California Bar Association
  • Christian Legal Society of Los Angeles, Vice President and Board Member
  • MicahNet Network, Founder 
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Barristers Children of the Night Legal Workshop, Attorney Panelist
  • Break the Cycle, Los Angeles, Volunteer Attorney/Teacher 
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association Domestic Violence Project, Volunteer Attorney 

Nominee, Harvard Law School Gary Bellow Public Service Award