New York, October 27, 2007-----A team of delegates from Africans In America, Inc. led by the Chairperson of the Board, Ms. Beatrice Okezie and Professor Leah Lapidus will speak at a major Human Trafficking Conference at Drew University, New Jersey, United States titled, ‘THE GLOBAL AND LOCAL CROSSROADS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING’.

The conference sponsors include; Pan-African Studies Department, Women’s Studies Department, Presidential Initiatives Fund of the Drew University faculty. Student sponsors include; Kuumba, Women’s Concerns, Ariel, Amnesty International, Black Ministerial Caucus and Graduate Students Association, the Drew Diversity Committee, Drew African Students Association (DASA). Other community sponsors include; The Links Incorporated, and Zonta Clubs.

Organizations scheduled to present at the conference include; Polaris Project, Vital Voices, Africans in America, Inc., The Emancipation Network and Nivasa Foundation.

The speakers include; John Miller (Keynote Speaker) former Ambassador-at-large on Modern Day Slavery and Senior advisor to Condoleeza Rice, Beatrice Fernando, Chiaki Nishijima, Theodore Romankow (NJ State Prosecutor), Wenchi Yu Perkins, Sarah Symons, Richard J. Estes, Beatrice Okezie and Professor Leah Blumberg Lapidus.

Africans In America team comprises of sought-after speakers on global human trafficking and related causes. They had spoken at various law enforcements, academic institutions, media and other forums.

Beatrice Okezie brings survivor’s experience on the global effort to eradicate global human trafficking. Lured from African nation Nigeria into United States in 1989, she spent 9 years of slave condition /captivity in Bronx, New York City from age of 13 to 22 (1989 to 1998); raised 4 children, cooked, washed cloths with hands, cleaned inside and outside of a 3 bedroom private house without pay. She suffered horrendous physical, emotional, financial abuse and exploitations.

At age 19, she was allowed to work in near-by fast food restaurants (Wendy and Burger King) and her captors seized all her pay-checks for 2 consecutive years. Her captors constantly searched her box and seized all tips and money found in her possession, as well.

Her cry during another severe beating in August 1998 attracted the attention of neighbors who called the local police. That was how she left her captors’ household, while they seized her documents and personal belongings.

Ms. Okezie did not get any help from the Nigerian community in New York City who are well aware of her ordeals, except one fellow that stepped forward and helped.

Her attempts to get replacement documents from the US authorities alerted the federal law enforcement of her horrendous ordeals in the hands of her captors (Nigerian naturalized citizens of United States).

She cooperated with the US law enforcement in the investigation, trial and conviction of her captors (husband and wife) in 1999/2000.

She enrolled in college and graduated in 2003 with B.S. Accounting.

Beatrice Okezie is a co-founder of Africans In America, Inc. and Chairperson of the Board. The organization is advocating raising awareness and providing comprehensive direct services to the victims as ways to end the scourge of human trafficking.

Professor Leah Blumberg Lapidus Ph. D., ABPP is Emeritus Professor at Columbia University. In particular, she brings more than 30 years of continuous full time faculty expertise, and teaching research, clinical services and supervision of clinicians in training.

She is an internationally recognized expert in mastery of stress, trauma, and facilitation of resilience in the United States and other countries. Particularly, Professor Lapidus had been consulted by UN/Red Cross during major disasters. Professor Lapidus resume is rich on national and international human right causes.

She has a total of 133 refereed Ph.D. dissertations with internationally relevance and a major focus on demonstrating the effectiveness of various programs she and her students had developed to increase the individual family and community functioning of adults and children who experienced a variety of international, national, or local stress and human rights violations.

Professor Lapidus had led United Nations delegation to Thies, Senegal. She also had worked on African human trafficking victims stranded in United States.

Professor Lapidus is a Board member of Africans In America, Inc., Principal Investigator and Director of Clinical Services.

The human trafficking conference scheduled to take place at Drew University, New Jersey in November 2007 is coordinated by Peggy Romeo.