Leadership
Martina E. Vandenberg
Founder and President
Martina E. Vandenberg is founder and president of the Human Trafficking Legal Center. Vandenberg established the Human Trafficking Legal Center (formerly HT Pro Bono) in 2012 with generous support from the Open Society Foundations (OSF) Fellowship Program.
Sarah L. Bessell
Deputy Director
Anasuya Syam
Human Rights and Trade Policy Advisor
Anasuya Syam is the human rights and trade policy advisor at the Human Trafficking Legal Center. She leads the Human Trafficking Legal Center’s initiative on the U.S. Tariff Act and forced labor, with a focus on conducting investigations and submitting petitions under the Tariff Act.
Roxie Farrow
Operations Manager
Roxie Farrow is operations manager for the Human Trafficking Legal Center. Farrow is co-chair of the Maryland Survivor Network, a membership group providing support and professional and leadership development for human trafficking survivors participating in anti-trafficking efforts in the state.
Shayna Horwitz
Development and Communications Director
Shayna Horwitz is development and communications director for the Human Trafficking Legal Center.
Fainess Lipenga
Training Advisor
Fainess Lipenga has been an active member of the National Survivor Network since 2013. As a survivor of labor trafficking, she uses her voice and experience to educate the community and raise awareness.
Madina Qasimi
Legal Fellow
Madina Qasimi is a human rights lawyer and career diplomat. She has held many leadership positions at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC.
Alexandra Levy Yelderman
Of Counsel
Alexandra Yelderman serves as special counsel to the Human Trafficking Legal Center. Formerly the center’s senior staff attorney, Yelderman has spent the past decade directing data research and developing seminal resources for attorneys and advocates handling human trafficking cases.