July 2021 Chapter Meeting - Break the Silence: Anti-Human Trafficking

Bernadette Rixner currently serves as Outreach Coordinator for the Siouxland Coalition against Human Trafficking. She previously served as Co-Chair of the organization for 4 years. Prior to that, she held various positions on the Board of Directors of the Sioux City Diocesan Peace and Justice Commission, and as its Coordinator, in 2014, she coordinated a conference for about 300 people on the issue of human trafficking. The following month she convened a group of people who had attended the conference and who had expressed an interest in addressing the problem. That was the beginning of the Siouxland Coalition against Human Trafficking, which was incorporated as a 501©3 non-profit the following year.

Bernadette has spent most of her adult life as a social justice advocate, most recently focusing primarily on human trafficking. She has a BA in Political Science from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Siouxland Coalition against Human Trafficking’s efforts are geared to education and prevention. As such, it does not provide direct service, but works with local groups and service providers to both help victims and survivors and to determine and try to fill gaps in service. Its mission statement is to “work toward abolishing all forms of human trafficking through education, advocacy and collaboration.”