BIO

Dana Michea Marquez

For more than fifteen years, I have been involved in local advocacy work and outreach to women in prostitution and poverty. I am a co-founder of Genevieve’s Purses, a Victory Outreach ministry that helps women out of prostitution, homelessness, and drug use. Most recently, I took on the organization of a robust panel discussing human trafficking prevention in south Texas, inviting, and securing speakers who are leaders in human trafficking advocacy in local and state government. On January 30, 2020, nearly 200 people attended the Texas A&M Human Trafficking Prevention Panel. In addition to the panel of speakers, I brought together a resource fair of 15 agencies to provide resources to our students and the public to engage in human trafficking prevention efforts, self-advocacy, and awareness.

I am grateful for the recognition my advocacy work has earned, including my role as a 2020 Newman Civic Fellow. The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are change makers and public problem-solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. Fellows are nominated by their president or chancellor based on their potential for public leadership. As part of my fellowship, supported by President Cynthia Teniente-Matson at Texas A&M-San Antonio, I am in the planning stages of Texas A&M-San Antonio’s second Human Trafficking Conference and Panel scheduled for January 2021 with Cyntoia Long Brown as our keynote speaker.