Today’s featured member, Katie Amodei, Director of Development & Communications for Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST), said BEST is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization with the mission is to educate employers to prevent human trafficking and create pathways to employment for survivors.
Tell us about your organization
BEST is unique in the anti-trafficking space because it focuses on helping businesses learn how they can make a difference in preventing human trafficking in their community. BEST concentrates on preventative work that transforms attitudes about sex buying, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor by training employees about the issue of human trafficking so they can spot potential human trafficking situations in public-facing workplaces. BEST also helps survivors of human trafficking find long-term solutions to rebuild their lives through safe, stable employment.
Why did you join the Chamber?
BEST joined the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce to make connections with business leaders in the Seattle metropolitan area. Over the past year, BEST’s Safe Jobs Collaborative, which is an employment connection program for survivors of human trafficking, has placed 140 survivors in safe, stable employment in western Washington. And since the program’s inception, BEST has trained over 1,000 people leaders to know how to successfully manage staff members who have experienced trauma. As a result, BEST has received multiple requests to expand the Safe Jobs program, and they are recruiting more employers to join the Safe Jobs Collaborative and begin offering job opportunities for survivors of human trafficking.
To learn more about membership with the Seattle Metro Chamber, please visit our membership page.
Thank you to the Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) for being part of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce network. Here at the Chamber, we have 2,500 companies across the region and 13 different business sectors, from your favorite neighborhood restaurant to brands known around the world. Our member feature program is based on referrals. If you would like to learn more about how to be featured in our member features series, please contact Cori Lumens.