A panel discussion on human trafficking awareness will be presented in two separate programs Thursday, Jan. 12 on the campus of Seminole State College. A program for SSC students, SSC employees and area high school students will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Jeff Johnston Fine Arts Auditorium. The event is free, open to the public and being held in honor of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Another panel discussion on the topic will be the featured program of the Seminole Chamber of Commerce’s monthly forum luncheon. Forum will be at noon Thursday in the Utterback Ballroom of the Haney Center. Cost for the luncheon will be $10, payable to the Chamber at the door.

The panel discussions are sponsored by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women and the SSC Help Center. Panelists for the morning session include Co-Founder and Director of Communications and Development of the Dragonfly Home Melissa Eick, Drug Intelligence Officer for the Oklahoma region of the Texoma-High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program Mike Hoskins and Chief Agent for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Craig Williams.

In addition to her role at The Dragonfly Home, a human trafficking survivor services agency, Eick is also a member of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women Advisory Council and a member of the Commission’s Human Trafficking Committee. Melissa specializes in educating the public on the complexities of human trafficking and the needs of survivors through writing, speaking and diverse avenues of digital and social media. Melissa participated on the Oklahoma Human Trafficking Task Force, serving as Co-chair of the Training and Awareness Committee, as well as serving on the Conference Planning Committee. Melissa holds a JD from the University of Tulsa and is a licensed attorney.

Hoskins is a member of the Overdose Response Strategy, a collaboration between public health and public safety, created to help local communities reduce drug overdoses and save lives by sharing timely data, pertinent intelligence and evidence-based strategies. He began his career with the Oklahoma City Police Department, retiring as a Major in 2014. He served as Commander of the Special Investigations Division; (Criminal Intelligence Unit, Gang-VICE-Narcotics, and other units), the Director of Training & Recruiting and commander of the Tactical Operations/ Negotiations Unit. He is a graduate of the US Air Force – Air War College/ National Security Forum, FBI National Academy, Senior Management Institute for Police, and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development program. Hoskins served on the Advisory Council for Oklahoma’s Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, Executive Board of the FBI – Joint Terrorism Task Force Board as well as the Oklahoma FUSION Center Advisory Board and Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s Human Trafficking Committee.

Williams currently oversees the Marijuana Enforcement Teams and the Human Trafficking sections within the state’s Bureau of Narcotics. Williams attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University, as a Parson’s Scholar, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1996. He recently completed a master’s degree in education leadership, also from Southeastern. Williams’ interest in law enforcement began with an internship at the Durant Police Department. Williams then spent 10 years working for the Ardmore Police Department before accepting a position with OBN. He has worked in a variety of assignments ranging from patrol, special response team leader, detective, narcotics investigator and field training officer. He holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certification from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. Williams is a Past President of the Association of Oklahoma Narcotic Enforcers. He instructs on a variety of topics including use of force, firearms, clandestine laboratory investigation, officer safety and human trafficking. Williams is active in several professional associations including the Association of Oklahoma Narcotic Enforcers, the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Chamber Forum panelists will include Eick and Karrisa Hodge, president and founder of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Chahta. Hodge has worked for the Choctaw Nation for six years and is a certified public speaker, trainer and coach. She is also a part of the Oklahoma City Matriarch as well as 1 of 20 chosen across America to participate in Native Organizers Alliance 2022 Training. She is currently working with the Human Trafficking Training Center in Missouri to provide training for Tribal police and community officers with a goal of locating missing individuals before they are murdered.

Both programs will be introduced by Dr. Nyla Kahn who was appointed a Commissioner of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women by Senator Greg Treat in March 2019.

Khan is an Oklahoma Humanities Scholar presenting public talks statewide, including at women’s correctional facilities, where she focuses on education and women’s empowerment. She also serves on the Oklahoma Governor’s International Team. She is a member of the Harvard-based Scholars Strategy Network and remains an active member of the multicultural, multinational and multireligious Women’s Interfaith Alliance. She has served on the board of Generation Citizen, a nonprofit organization seeking to empower the younger generation through civics education.

She received her Ph.D. in English Literature and her Masters in Postcolonial Literature and Theory at the University of Oklahoma.

For more information about the morning program at Seminole State College, contact SSC Social Sciences Professor Christal Knowles at 405-382-9207 or c.knowles@sscok.edu. For information about the Seminole Chamber of Commerce Forum luncheon, contact the Chamber office at 405-382-3640.