Meeting of the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission
January 12, 2026, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Williams Building, Lansing, MI and Virtual (Microsoft Teams)
Called to Order:
Chairwoman, Melissa Palepu, called meeting to order at 12:00PM.
Agenda Items:
Call to order and Welcome. Chairwoman Melissa Palepu welcomed Commission members and the public.
Roll Call. Chairwoman Melissa Palepu took roll call of the Commission Members.
Members Present:
Agenda Items:
Approval of the Minutes from Monday, January 12, 2026: The minutes for the January 12, 2026, meeting was approved.
Agenda Item:
Report of the Commission Chair:
Chairwoman Melissa Palepu reported the Michigan Department of Attorney General is going to sponsor some of the projects the Commission sought to complete this year. We will have funding for our PSA Campaign and everything we have set out to do this year.
Chairwoman Melissa Palepu stated she is working on making a budget proposal to the Legislature for a line-item budget in 2027. Chairwoman Palepu is working on collecting data on the need for Anti-Human trafficking funding throughout the State, specifically looking on the resources needed and how much money is needed to ensure those resources are provided.
Chairwoman Palepu reported the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Student Journalism Scholarship was a success again this year. We had 15 entries in the College Audio category, 10 in High School Audio, and 5 in High School Visual.
Chairwoman Palepu stated she is hoping to get a Newsletter out in February and requested assistance from the group. She reminded the group to send anything they wanted included in the newsletter. There will be an upcoming events section, a Meet the Board section, Survivor voices, highlights of those volunteering with the Commission and any articles people want to include.
Chairwoman Palepu also reminded everyone to submit their write-ups for the annual report.
Old Business: There was no old business.
New Business:
Chairwoman Palepu reminded everyone to sign-up for Committees and the various task forces.
Chairwoman Palepu reminded everyone that a sign-up for Board meeting presentations went out. The presentations are a way for anyone to share something they are working on, new research, books or articles they have written, survivor experiences, any concerns or achievements that we want to discuss etc.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The DAG did a roundtable on January 8th in Lansing. The tone was more somber with key frustrations being the lack of federal collaboration and immigration concerns.
The floor was opened for others to share ways they are engaging in human trafficking awareness. Michigan Anti-Trafficking Project stated they are showing the movie “The Right Track” in Ann Arbor and Peg Talburt stated they will be distributing blue ribbons during the film. The Jenson Project is showcasing survivor voices. Amy Smith discussed the Detroit ordinance requiring hotels to display human trafficking awareness and reporting information and seeks support getting a statewide ordinance. Shawn Schutt reminded everyone that next week is the Annual Human Trafficking Conference in Saginaw and it is free. Dawn Connors with MAP state they spoke at Mission Church to about 400-500 members about education and that they are posting signs in rest stops in Michigan.
Public Comment: Melissa Palepu opened the floor for public comment.
Announcement of next meeting: The next meeting will be March 23, 2026, both in person at the Williams Building in Lansing and via Teams.
Adjournment: Melissa Palepu adjourned the meeting.
