Vice Chair
Katie Papke is a human trafficking survivor. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker, Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Clinically Certified Human Trafficking Victims Services Provider. Katie has her own therapy private practice with Life Support Counseling and Coaching, LLC in Grand Rapids, MI. She has a passion working with victims and survivors of human trafficking, intimate partner violence and other forms of abuse. Her specialty is working with teens and adults who have a history of trauma, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking.
She serves as the Vice President of the board of Sacred Beginnings in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sacred Beginnings is a safe haven for victims of human trafficking. Katie is highly involved with her local Human Trafficking Task Force in Kent County, Michigan. She contracts with Kent Intermediate School District’s to provide education to students about human trafficking as part of the Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education grant. Katie graduated from Florida State University with her Bachelors and Masters of Social Work in 2006.
In addition, Katie has achieved years of experience in community education and consultation. She is a School of Social Work Program Associate Professor at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan teaching classes on human trafficking and homelessness. She is a national Health, Education, Advocacy, and Linkage (HEAL) Trafficking speaker and trainer and has provided over 100 national and international trainings on human trafficking.
Katie was recently awarded “40 under 40 Boston Congress of Public Health Catalyst Award” for her achievement in shaping human trafficking as a public health concern.
