Interview with Erin Williamson
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Highlights from this episode:
- The realities of working in anti-trafficking for over two decades.
- Learn about the real dynamics of trafficking.
- Why education and healthy relationship skills need to start earlier.
- How victimization affects all genders.
- How public health and community engagement plays a crtical role in protecting young people
Episode 255 of Public Health Careers
Erin Williamson is the Chief Programs & Strategy Officer at Love146, where she oversees national and global strategies focused on preventing child trafficking and supporting survivors through trauma-informed, evidence-based approaches.
She is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 20 years of experience across child welfare, anti-trafficking, and public health systems. Her career has spanned frontline advocacy, national systems design, policy engagement, and executive leadership. Before joining Love146, Erin played a key role in leading the National Human Trafficking Hotline at Polaris, helping shape how survivor services, referrals, and national response systems function across the U.S.
Erin’s academic pathway reflects her commitment to both practice and systems change. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Skidmore College, followed by a Master of Public Administration from American University and a Master of Social Work from The Catholic University of America.
Early experiences—including work with street-connected youth in Kenya—helped solidify her focus on child protection, prevention, and structural solutions. She then worked as a Development Director at Polaris (formerly Polaris Project), and held roles as Manager, Senior Associate, and Associate at ICF International.
At Love146, Erin began her tenure as Survivor Care Program Director, where she helped build the organization’s first survivor care program in Connecticut. Over time, she advanced into national leadership roles, including U.S. Program Director and Vice President of Global Programs and Strategy, before stepping into her current role as Chief Programs & Strategy Officer. Today, she helps guide prevention education and survivor support efforts that reach youth in more than 30 states.
In this episode, Erin reflects on the realities of working in anti-trafficking for more than two decades and why prevention, education, and skill-building are essential public health strategies. She discusses how trafficking is often misunderstood, the ways emotional vulnerability and unsafe environments increase risk, and why education around boundaries, relationships, and internet safety must start earlier.
The conversation also explores the role of public health in child welfare, the importance of community engagement, and the need to move beyond punitive approaches toward stronger investments in victim services and prevention. Erin shares insights on sustaining a long career in high-stakes work, including how she thinks about burnout, boundaries, and long-term impact.
Links from show
Practical parenting tips from anti-trafficking experts