Meeting of the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission
March 23, 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, were tabled.
Agenda Item:
Report of the Commission Chair:
Chairwoman Melissa Palepu reminded the Board members to send in their bios and a headshot for the Commission website.
Chairwoman Palepu stated the newsletter did not go out yet because she did not get anything from anyone. She reminded everyone to submit items to include in a quarterly newsletter for the Commission. A questionnaire went out for the Meet the Board section and went out for organizations.
Chairwoman Palepu stated she is working on the annual report, and the DAG is working on “media kits” for the Commission. These are shareable graphics we can post on the website and social media.
Chairwoman Palepu informed everyone the DAG did a Survivor Roundtable in February, and it was very informative and a great opportunity to learn directly from survivors.
Chairwoman Palepu informed everyone that the pending legislation regarding human trafficking has stalled in the House. She reminded everyone to please call their State Reps to get it moving again.
Old Business: There was no old business.
New Business:
Chairwoman Palepu asked to pause Committee work. The focus this year is more of a general idea that doesn’t need the individuals committees, and everyone is so busy. Everyone agreed it was a good idea.
Chairwoman Palepu informed everyone that we have created a brochure to hand out at events and have downloadable on our website.
Dawn Connors provided an update on the Education in Schools Task Force with Leyna Luttrell and Heather McGannon. The Task Force is meeting and is still in Phase I.
Chairwoman Palepu informed everyone that the sign-up for Board presenters went out and did get filled. Robin Bolz will be presenting a 4-part training series in March, May, September, and November. The series is titled, “Survivor Informed Progression”. In July Sara Johnson with The Hope Project will be presenting on the work being done in Muskegon and Newaygo Counties.
Robin Bolz presented Part I of her series.
Public Comment: Melissa Palepu opened the floor for public comment.
Announcement of next meeting: The next meeting will be May 11, 2026, both in person at the Williams Building in Lansing and via Teams.
Adjournment: Melissa Palepu adjourned the meeting.
