El is the Founder and Executive Director of S.T.A.R.S. (Standing Together Against Real Slavery) where she works tirelessly with at-risk women and girls from backgrounds of exploitation, domestic violence, rape, and drug abuse. Through her commitment to transparency coupled with an extraordinary lived experience, El creates an atmosphere of hope for women and children who are forgotten or abandoned by society. El’s own exposure to exploitation began with her parents. She was placed in the foster care system where she was introduced to the world of abuse at the age of four, later graduating to a world of drugs, jail, and prostitution by the time she was eleven. El’s insurmountable perseverance and dedication is an essential part of S.T.A.R.S. where she has created one of-a-kind programs such as the Girls Crisis Prevention/Intervention Program and Outreach Program for Survivors of Prostitution, fostering love and trust to a sector of our society that is often lost and forgotten. In addition to her outreach, prevention and advocacy work, El is a respected speaker and anti-trafficking consultant, carrying her message of hope and heart for justice into coalitions, task forces, conferences and classrooms nationwide.
