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This week, we took a road trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a lobby day to encourage activists to talk to their legislators about important pending legislation. A coalition of anti-trafficking groups based in Pennsylvania and nationally organized the lobby day and it was a great success! There were with more than 80 activists who met with their state representatives and state senators. The day culminated with a press conference held in the Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, where several legislators and activists, including Polaris’ Senior Policy Specialist and Communications Advisor Julie Janovsky, spoke passionately about the issue.
The pending legislation in Pennsylvania includes a bill related to the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline in key places. This legislation requires certain establishments – such as massage parlors, hotels and motels, highway rest areas, train stations – to post the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (888-3737-888). This heightened visibility of the national human trafficking hotline increases the chances that a victim will be able to reach out for help, and that community members will report potential cases. Click here to learn more about pending legislation in Pennsylvania.
Another important bill proposed is the vacating convictions for sex trafficking victims, meaning that any arrests for prostitution that occurred while the victim was trafficked will be removed from her criminal record. The second part of the bill is intended to clarify that the Pennsylvania law prohibits both labor trafficking and sex trafficking. Both of these bills are crucial steps forward for the state.
The day was a great chance for local Pennsylvania supporters to meet face to face with lawmakers about human trafficking. Many legislators were surprised to learn that human trafficking involves U.S. citizens, and Pennsylvania’s highways and truck stops are hotbeds for human trafficking cases.
This is why it is crucial that legislators hear directly from you, their constituents, that action must be taken – no matter which state you live in! Make sure to stay tuned for ways that you can talk to your legislators about pending legislation in your state!
For over two decades, Analisa Balares has been committed to women’s leadership development, entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainable development, and education. She has produced, directed, and co-produced over 100 conferences, summits, events, and media on these themes, with 12 of these conferences and forums through Womensphere.
In the summer of 2007, Analisa founded Womensphere, a unique global leadership community and independent media company that inspires, empowers, connects, and unites women leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, scientists, artists, explorers, and women who are creating development and pioneering new trails across all fields and disciplines. In the last three years, as the US and global economies went through crises and upheaval, Analisa and the leadership of the Womensphere Team brought together a community of over 11,000 women leaders, building one of the most powerful new platforms for emerging women leaders, and for women leaders across all fields.
Prior to Womensphere, Analisa launched her career in the Goldman Sachs High Technology Investment Banking group, where she helped execute over $1.5 billion in IPOs, corporate financings, and mergers and acquisitions for companies like open source software leader Red Hat and communications leader Nokia. Her professional experience includes working for Milestone Capital Management, Morgan Stanley’s Energy Investment Banking Group, the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, and the Japan External Trade Organization.
Analisa holds an MBA from Harvard Business School; a BA in Economics & Mathematics cum laude from Mount Holyoke College; and an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Lester Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Canada. While at Harvard Business School, Analisa founded and co-led the non-profit Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), and served as a President of the HBS Entrepreneurship Club, and Debate Coach/Team Co-Captain of the HBS Debate Team.
Following business school, Analisa joined Microsoft as Global Marketing Manager for Microsoft’s blogging and social networking service, where she managed the global marketing launch of Windows Live Spaces in over 30 countries, and led the strategy and execution of Spaces projects around branding, partnerships, events, and online community development. She managed Spaces’ internal partnerships with MSN Entertainment and XBox, and external partnerships with NGOs (Global Fund for Women, Earth Day Network), media companies (ABC, Sundance Channel), and independent music/film/TV festivals (SXSW, MethodFest Film Festival, New York TV Festival).
A global citizen, Analisa’s lifework and inspiration to have impact emerged early: In her teens, she led a team of students pioneering innovative work on wastewater pollution treatment, recycling, and alternative energy production, efforts which won recognition and the Philippine Shell Petroleum Company‘s Outstanding Junior Scientist Award for three consecutive years. She was elected Senate President of the 1st Philippine Youth Environment Congress, where she led drafting the Philippine Youth Environment and Sustainable Development Policy Proposal for the UN Earth Summit in Brazil. That year, she was elected Youth Mayor of Manila City, where she led the passing of 18 Executive Orders into laws to improve the community, education, and environment of Manila. As a Canadian Government scholar to the Lester Pearson United World College in British Columbia, she gave voice to the importance of children’s rights while on the Steering Committee of Canada’s First International Conference on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child held in Vancouver.
In 1999, Analisa founded The Lyons Network, a leadership and career mentoring organization for young women, and for a decade, Analisa co-led the organization of regional conferences on leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship for young women in New England, reaching several thousand young women in the last decade.
Analisa was recently selected as Fearless Woman of the Year 2010 by The Fearless Factor in New York City. Analisa was chosen by the New Leaders Council as one of its 40 Under 40 New Leaders in the United States, and recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in America by the US Filipina Women’s Network. Analisa was also recognized by CBS Radio/1010Wins as its Tomorrow’s Newsmaker Award Winner for Business.
