Our Team

Ambassador Susan Esserman founded and leads the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. She is Co-Chair of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force Labor Trafficking Committee as well as Chair of the Prince George’s Human Trafficking Task Force Labor Trafficking Committee. In addition to leading the Center, she is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, a Washington, D.C.- based international law firm, where she served as Chair of the International Trade Practice and in firm management and co-founded the firm’s Women’s Forum. She leads the firm’s pro bono program on behalf of survivors of human trafficking and has represented many human trafficking survivors. She has received numerous awards and recognition, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Justice for Girls Empowerment Award and the National Journal’s Outstanding Women’s Lawyers List, recognizing the 75 most outstanding women lawyers in the nation. Ambassador Esserman held four senior positions in the Clinton administration: She was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (with rank of Ambassador) and Assistant Secretary of Commerce. She also served in the role of General Counsel at two agencies – the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce. She has served on a number of nonprofit boards with a women’s rights and international focus. She was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Oliver Gasch, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia. Ambassador Esserman is a graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Michigan Law School.

Heidi Alvarez, MA, MBA, is a distinguished leader in the fight against human trafficking with over a decade of experience in non-profit organizational development. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. In her role as COO, Heidi is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the SAFE Center’s operations, human resources, finance, and administration to ensure that the SAFE Center processes are streamlined and efficient. As Chief of Staff, Heidi advises the Center’s director to develop and implement the center’s strategic plan. Throughout her career, Heidi has demonstrated a commitment to collaborative efforts and strategic planning, working with teams to develop effective solutions for combating human trafficking. Her expertise extends to grants writing and management, staff development and supervision, and fiscal management, ensuring the efficient operation of the SAFE Center’s initiatives.

Heidi has played pivotal roles in local taskforces in Maryland and Virginia, raising awareness and providing crucial training to professionals within and outside of the anti-trafficking field. Her dedication to advocacy and education has made a significant impact on communities and organizations striving to address this pressing issue. Prior to her role at the University of Maryland SAFE Center, Heidi provided vital social services advocacy at Polaris Project and the University of Denver, specializing in support for survivors of human trafficking, victims of torture, and asylum seekers. She also has experience overseeing social services coordinators at affordable housing properties in Washington, DC, demonstrating her versatility and dedication to serving vulnerable populations.

Heidi holds an MBA from the University of Maryland Smith Business School, MA in International Development from the University of Denver and a BA in International Relations from Connecticut College, grounding her work in a solid academic foundation and a deep understanding of global issues. Her combination of academic knowledge, practical experience, and compassionate leadership make her a driving force in the fight against human trafficking and an asset to the SAFE Center.

Rosa “Delmy” Alvayero, MSW-LCSW-C joined the SAFE Center as the Director of Clinical Services in July, 2019. Delmy is a social worker, immigrant, and community activist with over a decade of experience working in the nonprofit sector and social and behavioral health systems. Prior to joining the SAFE Center, Ms. Alvayero served for ten years at the Maryland Division of the Latin American Youth Center where she developed, implemented, and evaluated programs using a positive youth development approach. She also served as a clinician at Mary’s Center, a multi-site, integrative, healthcare clinic, where she worked one-on-one with a range of clients as they navigated their medical and social-emotional needs. Ms. Alvayero’s professional approach emphasizes the importance of connecting somatic practices with experiences of trauma, especially in cases of children, youth, and families who have been impacted by migration, displacement, and other forms of oppression. She specializes in challenges related to depression, anxiety, and trauma, including PTSD, attachment, anger in children, and family reunification. Ms. Alvayero completed a Master’s degree in Clinical Social at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, with a dual track in Program Management and Clinical Work and a sub-specialization and Certificate in Maternal and Child Health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Certificate in Women Studies, both from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jatnna Gomez, LBSW is the Director of Equity and Community Engagement at the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Survivors of Human Trafficking. Ms. Gomez brings more than a decade of experience working with vulnerable communities in Maryland and the District of Columbia. She has worked with vulnerable youth, victims of gender-based violence, immigrant population, BIPOC-led community organizations and other groups. Ms. Gomez has worked with various victim services, public health, healthcare, and youth enrichment organizations to provide programming, advocacy, education, crisis intervention and program leadership.

In her current role, Ms. Gomez serves as a community leader for the SAFE Center by overseeing efforts in community events, education, prevention, and initiatives. She advises senior SAFE Center leadership, coordinates diversity and inclusion trainings for SAFE Center staff, and works with the different teams to use an equity and inclusion lens to evaluate SAFE Center policies related to personnel, programs, and clients. Ms. Gomez currently chairs the Prince George’s County Human Trafficking Task Force Victim Services Committee and is a member of the Freedom Network USA Steering Committee. Ms. Gomez serves as a Commissioner in the Prince George’s County Commission for Women. Ms. Gomez is currently pursuing her Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law.

Mayra Herrera, MSW, is the Director of Social Services at the UMD SAFE Center. As a bilingual social worker, Ms. Herrera oversees comprehensive social services to SAFE Center clients and supervises a team of case manager advocates who provide crisis intervention, intensive case management, victim advocacy, and basic needs for sex and labor trafficking survivors. Ms. Herrera has eleven years of expertise in the nonprofit sector in a variety of roles including program management and evaluation, community organizing, and direct services to at-risk populations in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Prior to joining the SAFE Center, Ms. Herrera supervised a team of 20 case managers at the Latin American Youth Center/Maryland Multicultural Youth Center for the Promotor Pathway Program. Ms. Herrera is highly experienced in evidence-based models to intervene in gang activity, increase family reunification, and engage disconnected youth and adults. Ms. Herrera received a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in Baltimore.

Vasu Moodley currently serves as the Director of Economic Empowerment for the SAFE Center. Vasu has over 21 years’ non-profit experience in South Africa, India, and the United States with special focus on community development and adult basic education for social change. As the Business Manager of CV Projects SA, Vasu led the establishment of the Ikusasa Development Trust, a nonprofit organization that spearheaded the S3Village Integrated Development Project. Vasu was the former Acting Director of Operation Upgrade of South Africa, a literacy nonprofit that was awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Confucius Prize for Literacy in 2008. Vasu is a former Trustee of the James Nxumalo Education Trust, and a former advisory board member of the Family Literacy Project. He has also served as a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Umhlanga between 2012 – 2019. Vasu holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Politics and History from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (previously University of Natal).

Allison Norris, Esq. is the Legal Immigration Services Director at the SAFE Center. Most recently, Allison served as a Supervising Attorney at Catholic Charities, where she led a team of attorneys and managed a large caseload of family and humanitarian applications, specializing in asylum and removal defense. Previously, Allison worked at Americans for Immigrant Justice, where she coordinated the legal program at an Office of Refugee Resettlement emergency shelter housing thousands of unaccompanied minors. She later represented children who were released from custody, advocating for them various immigration and custody matters. Allison also held an endowed position at Americans for Immigrant Justice bringing federal impact litigation on behalf of detained immigrants in South Florida.

Allison earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Miami. She is fluent in Spanish and is a member of the Florida Bar.

Jackie Alas supports the SAFE Center as an Bilingual Intake Coordinator. She has over ten years of working in the medical field, providing direct services and community organization. Before joining the SAFE Center team, Jackie worked at Adventist Healthcare, where she was the Care Navigation Community Healthcare Worker. She has served as the patient advocate and liaison between the patient and the inpatient care team, a vital role in which she participated in interdisciplinary rounds by providing a voice for her patients. Jackie is pursuing her associate degree in Public Health from Howard Community College.

Shoshanna Allaire is an Office Manager working with the SAFE Center and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB). She earned an associate degree in Finance in 2017, an associate degree in Business Administration, Management, and Operations in 2018, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University Maryland Global Campus in 2021. Ms. Allaire’s professional background includes working in various supporting roles within University System of Maryland universities as well as Howard Community College. She has volunteered on numerous committees including College Counsel, the Executive Support Group, the Middle States Periodic Review, the Safe Zone, the Power of Two, and managed the Giving Tree for several years.

Julia Aviles Zavala, LBSW, supports the SAFE Center as a Bilingual Case Manager and Regional Navigator for Prince George’s and Montgomery County. She has six years of work with CASA and three years of paralegal experience in immigration. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and is a first generation American who takes pride in her Mexican and Honduran heritage. Julia is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she obtained her B.A. in Social Work and Psychology. She is currently a student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she is pursuing her MSW.

Sophie Aron joined the SAFE Center staff in June, 2019 as a Research and Program Coordinator. In this role she will help develop and support the SAFE Center’s state and local task force work, public health research and program implementation, and survivor leadership programming. She also works to support the Center’s crisis intervention team. Before joining the SAFE Center in her current role, Ms. Aron interned for a year at the Center in a similar capacity while pursuing her Masters in Social Work. She has also completed an internship with social workers at a D.C. charter school and served a year of AmeriCorps conducting conflict mediation in Montgomery County middle and high schools. Ms. Aron has spent a year in India, Vietnam, South Africa, and Argentina studying healthcare systems and how trauma affects access to public healthcare systems. Ms. Aron earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and her BA in Anthropology from Hamilton College.

Melany Castro is a Senior Data Program Specialist for the SAFE Center. Prior to joining the SAFE Center, Melany worked as a Senior Paralegal with Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition where she provided Know Your Rights presentations, legal screenings, and direct services to children in the Office for Refugee Resettlement facilities in Maryland and Virginia. She also served as a database administrator where she managed technical support needs, data reporting and analytics, and staff education on data storage best practices and PII protection. Before working at the CAIR Coalition, Melany worked for Microsoft as an IT support specialist, with over eight years of experience in the information technology industry. She also served as the Information Technology Industry Council’s Latin America Global Policy Graduate Fellow, where she drafted recommendations for stakeholders that advanced market access and innovative capacities for ICT companies in Latin America. Melany holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from Cleveland State University. In May of 2020 she graduated from the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Masters program, specializing in security and development, at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. 

Ciara supports the SAFE Center as a Case Manager. She brings six years of experience in direct services, which include crisis intervention, suicide intervention, and case management. Ciara’s most recent positions include being a Case Manager at St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore and a Crisis Intervention Counselor at the Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. Ciara is pursuing a Master of Science in Counseling from Walden University.

Ashley Greene supports the SAFE Center as an Economic Empowerment Coordinator, working with trafficking survivors to secure employment, education, and housing, and connecting clients with the tools and resources necessary to lead self-sustaining lives. Ms. Greene joined the SAFE Center in January 2021, bringing with her nearly a decade of experience as an employment specialist, during which she developed high-level skills in client relations, pre-employment assessment, and interpersonal communication. Her past work includes job counseling and coaching at non-profits and social service providers, as well as experience in community health as a patient account representative. Ms. Greene also brings to the SAFE Center team over 3 years’ experience working with Columbus House Shelter to fight against homelessness, where she supported clients’ transition back into the community. She has also worked with the re-entry population as an advocate, supporting them as they reenter society. Ms. Greene plans to continue her work in the Workforce Development field at the SAFE Center developing new partnerships to provide employment to trafficking survivors.

Kinicki Hughes supports the SAFE Center as a Senior Housing Services Specialist, a role in which she leads the development of our housing advocacy and services program, aimed at helping survivors secure safe housing or shelter. With over 10 years of experience working in residential programs with survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and a background in public health and advocacy, Kinicki is committed to improving the lives of survivors through comprehensive support services.

Most recently, Kinicki worked with the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) as both a Director of Residential Programs and an Advance Practice Provider, offering coaching and technical assistance to staff, delivering trauma-informed care for survivors, and overseeing strategic initiatives and partnerships to enhance safe housing programs. Before her time at DASH, she served as a Residential Director and Victim Advocate at HopeWorks of Howard County, and coordinated services for individuals living with HIV in roles at both the Baltimore City Health Department and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

Kinicki is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Social Work at Troy University.

Ashwini Jaisingh, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, has more than 10 years of experience working on immigrant and worker rights issues, including domestic worker rights, wage theft, and labor trafficking. Prior to joining the SAFE Center, Ms. Jaisingh was a staff attorney at the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition (TASSC) International, where she represented torture survivors in asylum cases and family petitions, while also tracking immigration policy changes and engaging in advocacy efforts. Before beginning law school, Ms. Jaisingh spent six years as an organizer at CASA de Maryland, where she worked with community members, including dozens of labor trafficking survivors, on immigrant and worker rights campaigns. She earned her JD from American University Washington College of Law, and her BA in Anthropology and Spanish from Georgetown University. She is fluent in Spanish.

Tanejah Jones, MSW, LCSW joined the SAFE Center as a Prevention Social Worker in September, 2020. Tanejah’s primary role is to help develop, implement and manage the Prevention Project that will be presented in high schools within Prince George’s County. In addition to the prevention project, she is also providing clinical, crisis intervention, and individual and group therapy services at the Center. Ms. Jones completed a Master’s degree Clinical Social Work from Simmons University in Boston, MA. During her time at Simmons she interned with Dove, Inc., a community domestic violence organization as an outreach and education specialist. Her role was to go into the community, local middle schools and high schools to present about domestic violence and the warning signs of an abusive relationship. Additionally, she interned at the Centers for Violence Prevention and Recovery (CVPR) at Beth Israel Medical Center working with survivors of domestic violence, community violence, sexual assaults, and human trafficking. At CVPR she also worked one-on-one and facilitated groups with survivors of violence using trauma-informed care. Tanejah has a passion for prevention work and enjoys working within the community.

Connie Kratovil-Lavelle, JD, Senior Legal Advisor, is building and expanding the SAFE Center’s pro-bono and low-bono attorney networks to seamlessly connect our clients to attorneys when our clients have family law, landlord/tenant, criminal justice, labor and employment, and legal issues other than or in addition to immigration. An attorney, collaborative law practitioner, and mediator, Connie has 20 years of experience developing and managing legal service programs for non-profits. She established a legal service and social justice organization that promotes the peaceful resolution of conflicts through collaborative law and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, provides pro bono and reduced fee legal services to persons of low and moderate income, and offers restorative justice services. Prior, Connie served for 10 years as executive director of the Department of Family Administration within the Maryland’s Judiciary Administrative Office of the Courts in Annapolis. Her work included developing policy and programs promoting best practices in family law cases, promoting family court reform in the State; managing all Judiciary domestic violence programs and projects; and developing programs that expand the use of alternative dispute resolution in domestic and juvenile cases. Connie developed the first collaborative law program on-site in the Maryland courts for family law and probate cases, called the Expedited Collaborative Process. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Maryland Legal Services Corporation Award for improving the civil legal services delivery system in Maryland; Maryland Access to Justice award for developing programs within the Maryland Judiciary; the Women’s Law Center of Maryland Access to Justice award, Civil Justice of Maryland award for developing a reduced fee legal service program, and the Daily Record’s Maryland’s Top 100 Women. 

Neil Mallon, LCSW-C is a clinical social worker with The Institute for Innovation & Implementation at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and a clinical field instructor and advisor to the University of Maryland SAFE Center. Mr. Mallon has over ten years of clinical and macro social work practice experience within a variety of service settings, including child welfare, mental health, immigration, staff training/development, research and evaluation. In his current role at The Institute, Mr. Mallon works extensively with Maryland’s public and private child welfare providers to support the implementation and integration of a functional assessment tool to support decision making, quality improvement initiatives, and outcomes monitoring for youth and families served by the state’s child welfare systems. He is also the clinical field instructor for social work student interns at the SAFE Center and advisor for case management related policies and practice protocols. Mr. Mallon has assisted in the development of the Center’s trauma-informed and survivor-centered approach to practice and serves as a liaison to the State’s public and private child serving systems to support cross system collaboration in service delivery for domestic minor victims of trafficking. Mr. Mallon earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Towson University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Áine McLaughlin is a Senior Strategic Communications Specialist and works with the SAFE Center and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB). She received a Bachelor of Arts in English, Writing and Studio Art from Loyola University Maryland in 2014, and completed a Master of Library and Information Science at University of Maryland College Park in 2020. Ms. McLaughlin’s professional background includes working as a field organizer and communications professional with both local and national labor unions and affiliated nonprofits.

Caroline Raschbaum, Esq., Senior Immigration Attorney, has extensive experience representing detained unaccompanied children in removal proceedings, asylum interviews, state court, and T visa and other immigration applications to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prior to joining the SAFE Center, Ms. Raschbaum worked as a senior attorney with Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, where she led a team in providing legal screenings, Know Your Rights presentations, and direct services to children in Office for Refugee Resettlement facilities in Maryland and Virginia. Ms. Raschbaum also led the Detained Children’s Program’s efforts to manage the arrival and legal services of Unaccompanied Afghan Minors on a national scale, and developed programmatic strategies to mitigate the effects of the Migrant Protection Protocol (“Remain in Mexico” program) on unaccompanied minors. Ms. Raschbaum earned her JD from American University Washington College of Law and BA in Sociology and Hispanic Studies from The College of William and Mary. She is fluent in Spanish.

Julie Resendiz, LMSW, supports the SAFE Center Behavioral Health team as a Bilingual Therapist. Her professional experience includes an internship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where she provided ongoing therapy for active service military members to address PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma, family and relationship issues, and readjustment issues. Most recently, Julie worked for the Primary Care Coalition as a Behavioral Health Care Manager, providing short-term therapy and case management services at two community clinics in Montgomery County: Proyecto Salud and The Muslim Community Center. She graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore with a Masters in Social Work in 2021.

Majaella Ruden is a Policy and Programs Advisor to the Director of the University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. Majaella plays an important role in the SAFE Center’s labor trafficking prevention work and labor rights collaborations in Maryland. She works with the SAFE Center’s leadership team to build community and business partnerships as well as to identify and apply for potential funding opportunities. Majaella is leading outreach to local embassies and consulates in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region as part of the SAFE Center’s community outreach and prevention work. She also works on a number of policy issues that inform the SAFE Center’s policy advocacy and supervises graduate and undergraduate student research projects. Majaella earned her Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Justice Studies from Wellesley College.

Jannina Santana is the Paralegal for the Legal Services Team at the UMD SAFE Center. She has over 7 years of experience as a Paralegal in various firm settings. During her five years at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP, she assisted in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) pro-bono cases. She is fluent in both Spanish and English. She is currently attending Prince George’s Community College to earn her Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies.

Karina Velasco is a bilingual licensed bachelor level social worker. Karina has extensive outreach, recruitment, and advocacy experience working with Latino youth and families. Karina has worked with the immigrant community in different capacities over the past decade, beginning with her work as a youth leader with CASA de Maryland helping bring change and educational opportunities for undocumented students through the passage of the Maryland Dream Act. She also served as the Outreach Specialist and later Case Manager for the Adelante youth program at the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC) in Langley Park, MD. Karina has most recently worked with unaccompanied minors and victims of human trafficking, providing home assessments and case management services through Bethany Christian Services. Additionally, Karina worked with CASA de Maryland as a Community Youth Organizer where she led and encouraged young adults to take part of community change and support initiatives in immigration, health, and education.  Ms. Velasco received dual-associate degrees in General Studies and Mental Health from Montgomery College in 2013 and later earned Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2017.

Susan Wallendorf, MS, supports the SAFE Center as a Case Manager. Ms. Wallendorf received a BA from the University of Baltimore in 2019, where she majored in Human Services Administration, with a Victim Studies minor. She went on to receive her master’s in Criminal Justice from the University of Baltimore in 2021, where she also earned a trauma-informed care certificate as part of her studies. Ms. Wallendorf has a professional background in victim assistance and case management and has worked in direct services in both the public and private sectors, including roles with the Baltimore County Health Department and the University of Baltimore’s Second Chance College Program. Her past work has focused on program coordination, victim services and peer recovery, among other areas. She has undergone extensive training in victim assistance, including completion of the Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland, which provides participants with an advocacy-based overview of victimology, victim rights, and victim assistance.