Curriculum Vitae

Melissa Hope Ditmore

P.O.Box 20853
New York, NY 10009 USA

Email: mhd at melissaditmore com
Homepage: http://www.melissaditmore.com

Profile

Skilled policy analyst and researcher, specializing in policy analysis, qualitative methods and mixed methodologies;
Skilled trainer on HIV/AIDS, health, human rights, and human trafficking;
Author and editor of numerous publications related to gender, sexuality, and HIV; and
Ten years experience of advocacy on gender, sexuality, and health issues, especially HIV.

Education

Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center, Department of Sociology (1997 – 2002)

My thesis explored the consequences of the conflation of trafficking and prostitution in international and U.S. domestic policy.
- 2000-2001 co-recipient of the Helena Rubinstein Dissertation Proposal Award.
- 1999 research award recipient from The Jewish Foundation for the Education of Women.
- Presented policy analysis and research at various symposia, conferences and universities.
Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture, and Society, 1998
New York University Master’s Program in Human Sexuality, 1994 – 1995, entered doctoral program.
B.A. Linguistics, Cornell University, 1992

Experience

Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Behavioral Sciences Training, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., July 2009 – June 2010
- Writing journal articles based on qualitative data including ethnographic and interview data;
- Conducting research, primarily qualitative research, including ethnography, and analyzing clinic-based medical data, in Cambodia; and
- Writing grant proposals
Researcher, Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Project supported by the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, March 2008 – April 2009
- Conducted a global consultation in four languages with sex workers to assess what is necessary for good participatory practice (GPP) in clinical trials addressing HIV/AIDS prevention;
- The next stage of this project will assess ways forward for GPP at a trial site in Thailand, using qualitative research methodologies such as ethnographic and focus group methodologies;
- Use of online research tools and recruiting participants online and in person;
- Analysis of data;
- Some translation;
- Report writing; and
- Writing grant proposals
Team Leader, Association for Progressive Communication Women’s Networking Support Programme, US Research Team, May – December 2010
- Investigating the ways women in the US use the Internet to seek information about sexuality;
- Use of online research tools and recruiting participants online;
- Analysis of data;
- Report writing; and
- Proposal writing
Research Consultant, AIDS Fonds Netherlands, January – March 2009
- Writing publishable report including a literature review of effective HIV prevention and recommendations for scaling up HIV prevention efforts with sex workers, including
- Travel to developing world locations with significant rates of HIV
Interim Director, Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project, August – November 2008
- Producing “The Use of Raids to Fight Trafficking in Persons” report based upon ethnographic and interview data, including but not limited to writing and editing text and supervising production;
- Speaking with current and potential SWP funders regarding upcoming work and potential for funding;
- Writing grant reports to funders;
- Recruit and train staff;
- Weekly reviews of status of current and upcoming SWP projects;
- Updating and coordinating transition for ongoing policy projects and funding concerns with new Director, especially during the first month of the Director’s employment;
- Coordinating joint NGO advocacy letter to national media outlets;
- Receive and review resumes for SWP Director position, and provide input on candidates; and
- Administrative and financial duties
HIV/AIDS and Gender Consultant, Asian Development Bank, September 2007 – December 2008
- Writing country reports from India and Tajikistan for gender mainstreaming and HIV-prevention efforts on ADB infrastructure projects.
- Research on HIV-prevention and gender mainstreaming needs and efforts related to ADB projects in India and Tajikistan. Conducting, coding and analyzing interviews.
- Hiring and supervising assistants and staff in India and Tajikistan.
- Recommending HIV-prevention methods for infrastructure projects in Tajikistan.
- Evaluating HIV-prevention efforts for infrastructure projects in India.
Research Methods Trainer on Respondent-Driven Sampling, UNAIDS, November 20 – 25, 2007
- Teaching workshop on respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and analysis to researchers and program officers in Khartoum, Sudan.
Research and Training Consultant, Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project, September 2006 – July 2008
- Writing and conducting a national report on the effects of anti-trafficking policy and implementation on outcomes for prosecution in the US;
- Collecting and analyzing ethnographic and interview data;
- Developing interview protocols for sex workers, trafficked persons, service providers and law enforcement;
- Conducting interviews. Some translation involved; and
- Training interviewers and interview coders
Trainer and Workshop Planner and Facilitator, Sexual Health and Rights Project of the Open Society Institute and the Network of Sex Work Projects, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 30 – April 3, 2007
- Planning and organizing meeting of 35 sex workers and advocates (committee);
- Facilitation of workshop about human rights and sex work; and
- Resource production about rights violations
Producer, Taking the Pledge (video), online at tinyurl.com/taking-the-pledge
- Conceptualization and storyboard;
- Hiring all personnel;
- Conducting on-camera interviews;
- Some translation involved;
- Coordination of video production and duplication;
- All distribution;
- All fundraising.
Senior Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Women and Society, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, October 2003 – May 2006
- Writing and editing policy analysis and ethnographic articles and reports about migration, health, and HIV; and
- Participating and presenting at CUNY events on research and methodological issues.
Editor-in-chief, Research for Sex Work, July 2004 – 2009
- Reviewing, selecting and editing articles and illustrations for annual publication;
- Introduced and implemented peer review process;
- Some translation involved;
- Fundraising for the entire budget of the journal;
- Prior to this I was on the editorial board of Research for Sex Work and had been a frequent contributor
Consultant, United Nations Population Fund, February – March 2006
- Writing national strategy for safe sex promotion policy in Bangladesh;
- Desk-based background research;
- Interviews and field visits related to safe sex strategy in Bangladesh
Research Consultant, Women’s Network for Unity, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, December 2005 – February 2006
- Documenting and analyzing effects of new policies addressing sex work and trafficking with ethnographic case studies from five provinces of Cambodia;
- Drafting one-year campaign plan to advocate for women’s human rights in Cambodia, particularly anti-violence efforts;
- Grant writing
Trainer and workshop facilitator, Asia Pacific Network of Sex Work Projects, Pattaya, Thailand, January 2006
- Facilitation of workshop for transgender sex workers;
- Resource production about hormones during workshop; and
- Documentation of workshop
Trainer and workshop facilitator and organizer, Abuja, Nigeria, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, November – December 2005
- Preparing workshop materials and agenda and selection of attendees;
- Facilitation of bilingual (French and English) international meeting of health projects, many involving sex work and HIV, in Africa;
- Issues addressed included human rights, research and ethics, violence and international policy; and
- Documentation of workshop
Workshop facilitator, STELLA, May 18 – 22, 2005, Forum XXX, Montreal, Canada
- Facilitation of bilingual (French and English) international meeting of sex workers. Some Bengali spoken as well
Research Consultant, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, March – May, 2005
- Researching and analyzing potential effects of microbicide use; and
- Writing and editing final paper presenting analysis
Editing Consultant, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, February – April, 2005
- Editing resource toolkit for sex workers and programs addressing sex workers; and
- Writing sections addressing traffic in persons for toolkit
Research Consultant, the POLICY Project, October – November, 2004
- Interviewing sex work projects with demonstrated efficacy in HIV prevention; and
- Analysis to determine the best approaches including policy to working with sex workers
- End project is a literature review by Carol Jenkins incorporating this analysis
Research Consultant, Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project, September 2003 – March 2005
- Design and implementation of research instrument, using ethnography and interviews; and
- Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data; and
- Writing final report, released March 2005
Editing Consultant, Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, June – July 2004
- Editing Making Sex Work Safe in the Asia Pacific
Research Consultant, Principal Investigator for Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project report “Revolving Door,” July 2002 – June 2003
- Design and implementation of research methodology and instrument, using ethnography and interviews
- Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data
- Writing final report, released June 2003 to national media coverage
Training Consultant, International Organization for Adolescents, New York City, October – December 13, 2002
- Creating training curriculum and materials for community-based organizations and law enforcement about trafficking in persons in the United States
- Implementing trainings
Editing Consultant, International AIDS Alliance, United Kingdom, September 2002
- Editing informational booklet for programs addressing workers in the sex industry in the developing world, including legal and policy approaches to the sex industry and HIV
Translation Consultant, Cabiria, Lyons, France, June 2001
- Translating annual report from French to English for health outreach project.
Advocate, Human Rights Caucus, United Nations’ International Crimes Commission, Vienna, Austria, July 1999 – October 2000
- Presenting research on the sex industry and traffic in persons
- Analysis of proposed policy addressing traffic in persons
- Preparing documents presenting policy recommendations
- Lobbying French-speaking delegates
NGO Consultant, United Nations’ Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery — Network of Sex Work Projects, Geneva, Switzerland, June 1999
- Presented recommendations based on policy analysis for addressing sex work as labor
- Negotiated on final legal document addressing traffic in persons
- Prepared documents presenting policy recommendations
Student Fellow, Institutional Research, City University of New York, March 1998 – November 1999
- Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programming using a large database;
- Produced statistical graphics and data presentation using Excel spreadsheets
- Coded large surveys
Research Assistant to Dr. Charles Kadushin
- Documenting, cataloguing, classifying and maintaining an academic archive;
- Maintaining database of archive resources and other materials
- The archive included items in English, German, French and Hebrew
- Database software was used for this task
Outreach Volunteer, Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, September 1995 – December 1998
- Performed pre- and post-test HIV counseling; and
- Facilitated needle exchange; and
- Made social, medical and legal service referrals; and
- Distributed nutrition and safe sex materials

Publications

Books

Historical Guide to Controversial Issues in America: Prostitution and Sex Work. (2010) Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Co-Editor, with Alys Willman and Antonia Levy, Sex Work Matters: Exploring Money, Power and Intimacy (2010). London: Zed Books.
Editor, Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work (2006). Westport: Greenwood Press.

Book chapters

“Prostitution.” (2010) Oxford Bibliographies Online: Criminology. London: Oxford University Press.
“Sex Workers’ Rights Moving Forward.” (2010) In Sex Work Matters: Power, Money and Intimacy in the Sex Trade, Melissa Ditmore, Antonia Levy, and Alys Willman, editors. London: Zed Books.
With Ronald Weitzer. (2009) “The Social Construction of Sex Trafficking: Ideology and Institutionalization of a Crusade.” In Sex for Sale, second edition. New York: Routledge.
“Sex Workers and Feminists Working Together” (2008). In Development with a Body: Making Connections between Sexuality, Human Rights and Development. Andrea Cornwall, Sonia Correa and Susie Jolly, editors. London: Zed Books.
“Sex Workers are Organizing in Kolkata.” (2007) In The Affective Turn: Theorizing the Social. Clough, Patricia with Jean Halley, editors. Chapel Hill, NC: Duke University Press.
“Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women,” “Network of Sex Work Projects,” “Palermo Protocol,” “Sex Workers Unions of Cambodia,” “United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery,” and “White Slavery Panics” entries for the Encyclopedia of Modern Slavery, Rodriguez, Junius, editor. (in press) ACL-CLIO.
“Prostitution” (in press, 2009). In Governing America. Paul Cunion and William Quirk, eds. Facts on File.
“Reaching Out to Sex Workers.” Reaching the Hardly Reached. (2002) Program for Appropriate Technology and Health. http://www.path.org/files/RHR-Article-3.pdf.

Journal Articles

Ditmore, M. H. and D. Allman (2010) “Implications of PEPFAR’s Anti-Prostitution Pledge for HIV Prevention among Organizations Working with Sex Workers. HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review. Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 64-65.
With Dan Allman (in submission). “Who Is Helsinki? Advice from Sex Workers for Clinical Research” Submitted to Health Education Research, March 2010.
With Lori Miller, Morenike Folayan, Dan Allman, Busisiwe Nkala, Lillian Mutengu Kasirye, Laia Ruiz Mingote, Gabriela Calazans, Rosemary Mburu, Fanelesibonge Ntombela (in submission). “How Ethical Is Your Clinical Trial?” (in press) International Journal of Clinical Practice, accepted March 2010.
With Choun Neth. “Unsafe Condoms.” Reproductive Health Matters 28 (November 2006): 171-173.
With Bebe Loff, Carol Jenkins, Cheryl Overs and Rosanna Barbero. “Unethical clinical trials in Thailand: a community response.” The Lancet 6 May 2005; 365: 1618-1619.
With Marjan Wijers (2003). “Crime, sex, money and migration: The negotiations on the United Nations Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.” Nemesis 4 (Utrecht, Netherlands).

Monographs

Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support for Sex Workers: Report on the State of the Art (2009). Amsterdam: Aids Fonds Netherlands. www.aidsfonds.nl/documenten/AID011-01%20Rapport%20AF_SOTA_web.pdf
With Susan Paxton. Intersections: Gender, HIV, and Infrastructure Operations Lessons from Selected ADB-Financed Transport Projects (2009). Manila: Asian Development Bank.
The Use of Raids to Fight Trafficking in Persons (2009). New York: Urban Justice Center. www.sexworkersproject.org/reports.
Structural Violence against Sex Workers in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Womyn’s Agenda for Change.
With Thukral, Juhu and Murphy, Alexandra (2005). Behind Closed Doors. New York: Urban Justice Center. www.sexworkersproject.org/reports.
With Thukral, Juhu (2003). Revolving Door. New York: Urban Justice Center. www.sexworkersproject.org/reports.

Letters

Correspondence. (2005) Response to Joep M. A. Lange. Public Library of Science and Medicine 2(10): e347.

Reviews

Book Review: Siddarth Kara: Sex Trafficking. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Women’s Review of Books
Book Review: Laura María Agustín: Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry. London: Zed Books, 2007.
Carolyn Nordstrom: Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the Contemporary World. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007. Theoretical Criminology (2008): 253-255.

Newsletters

Editor in chief (2006). Research for Sex Work 9. Thematic issue on sex work and law enforcement.
Editor in chief (2005). Research for Sex Work 8. Thematic issue on interactions involving sex work and law enforcement.
“Sex Work and Trafficking” (2007). New Internationalist.
“New U.S. Funding Policies on Trafficking Affect Sex Work HIV-Prevention Efforts World Wide.” (2005) SIECUS Report. 33 (2) 26-29.
How immigration status affects sex workers’ health and vulnerability to abuse: A comparison of two countries (2002). Research for Sex Work 5. www.med.vu.nl/hcc/artikelen/ditmore5.htm
Report from the USA: Do prohibitory laws promote risk? (2001). Research for Sex Work 4. www.med.vu.nl/hcc/artikelen/ditmore.htm
With Penelope Saunders. Sex work and sex trafficking (1998). Sexual Health Exchange number 1. www.kit.nl/information_services/exchange_content/html/1998_1_sex_work.asp

Peer reviewing

Abstract reviewer, International AIDS Conference (2010, 2008, 2006)
Routledge (2010)
Zed Books (2009)
Culture, Health and Sexuality (2009)
International Migration (2009)
Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality (2005) special issue on sex work
Law and Policy (2006)
Reproductive Health Matters (2009, 2006)
Research for Sex Work (2004, 2003, prior to becoming editor)
Sexualities (2006) special issue on The Cultural Study of Commercial Sex
Signs (2007)
University of California Press (2006)
University of Illinois Press (2006)
Michigan State University’s Women and International Development Publication Series (2005)
University of Minnesota Press (2005)

Presentations and guest lectures

October 23, 2009. “Anti-Trafficking Policy and its Effects at Home and Abroad.” Invitational meeting on responses to human trafficking from feminist, immigrant labor and sex worker rights perspectives, University of California-Santa Barbara.
October 19, 2009. “Anti-Trafficking Policy and its Effects at Home and Abroad.” Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
June 7, 2009. “Good Participatory Practice and Research Ethics with Marginalized Populations” for Dan Allman and Melissa Ditmore. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality “The Business of Sex” conference. St. Petersburg, Florida.
August 4, 2008, International Conference on AIDS, Mexico City. “The UNAIDS Guidance Note on Sex Work and HIV.” Oral presentation with Dan Allman and Meena Seshu for Andrew Hunter, Elena Reynaga, Friedericke Strack, Sylvia Mollet, Ruth Morgan Thomas, Cheryl Overs and the Global Working Group on HIV and Sex Work Policy.
August 8, 2008, International Conference on AIDS, Mexico City. “Sex work policy and HIV.” Presentation with Hivos grantees.
August 7, 2008, International Conference on AIDS, Mexico City. “Sex work, not Trafficking.” Presentation to members of Strategies from the South.
August 8, 2008, International Conference on AIDS, Mexico City. “Raids and HIV vulnerabilities among immigrant women in the US.” Poster presentation.
August 4, 2008, International Conference on AIDS, Mexico City. “Raids and vulnerability to HIV: A meta-analysis of reports of raids affecting sex workers.” Poster presentation.
April 5, 2007. “Sex Tourism.” Guest lecture at Vanderbilt University.
December 14, 2006. “Gender and Migration: The Gap between Policy and Reality”. Faculty talk for the department of Gender and Development Studies at the Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand.
August 15, 2006, International Conference on AIDS, Toronto Canada. Skills building session, “Sex work, HIV and politics.”
August 14, 2006, International Conference on AIDS, Toronto Canada. Symposium chair, “Sex workers, HIV and human rights: What can be done?”
August 13, 2006, International Conference on AIDS, Toronto Canada. Satellite session, “’Is US AIDS Policy Restricting the HIV Response?”
July 13, 2006, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UNFPA, UNAIDS and the Government of Brazil Global Consultation on HIV and Sex Work. Session chair: Participation, coordination and network of sex workers.
June 21, 2006, London, United Kingdom. “Condom Promotion for Sex Workers.” Condom workshop sponsored by Reproductive Health Matters.
April 8, 2006, Barnard College, New York, New York. Workshop on violence against women, co-facilitated with Andrea Ritchie. Scholar & Feminist Conference, “Engendering Justice: Prisons, Activism and Change.”
March 30, New School University, New York, New York. Sex Work Matters: Beyond Divides. Panel Chair: “Opportunities and Challenges in Sex Work Activism and Research.”
March 23rd, 2006, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law Ninth Annual Symposium: Sex Work Explored: Rethinking the Laws Regulating Prostitution
March 15, 2006, College of Staten Island. “Sex Work as Labor.” Women in Film Series.
September 29, 2005. “Hysterical policy: Myth and morality in new policies addressing sex work and US federal funding.” Keynote speech at the 2nd National Conference On Prostitution, Sex Work, And The Commercial Sex Industry.
August 3, 2005. “Contemporary Issues Related to Trafficking in Persons.” Frankel Lecture series. Human Rights First, New York, New York.
January 26, 2005. “L’ethique dans les essais incluant des travailleuses du sexe” (Ethics in Medical Trials Including Sex Workers). Reunion Publique d’Information: Travailleuse du Sexe et VIH (Public Informational Meeting: Sex Workers and HIV). Lyon, France. Sponsored by Cabiria and Act Up (in French).
January 25, 2005. “L’experience des travailleuses du sexe dans les essais au Cambodge” (Experiences of Sex Workers in Medical Trials in Cambodia). Paris, France. Sponsored by Act Up Paris (in French).
December 13, 2004. “Is Anti-trafficking Inherently Anti-Sex Worker?” Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women meeting, Bangkok, Thailand.
November 16, 2004. “Policing sex work.” Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
July 14, 2004. Poster: “Autonomy and working conditions of indoor sex workers in New York City,” XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.
July 12, 2004. Poster: “Potential effects of new US funding policies on programs addressing trafficking in persons and sex work. ” XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.
July 5, 2004. Panel chair and presenter. “International Perspectives on Police Violence Against Sex Workers.” Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, Bangkok, Thailand.
May 2, 2004. “Sex Worker Activism and Government Repression in the US,” Out in the Sun: Legal Constraints and Possibilities in Protecting the Rights of Sex Workers, Hong Kong City University.
April 30, 2004. “Advocacy, Networking and International Cooperation,” Out in the Sun: Legal Constraints and Possibilities in Protecting the Rights of Sex Workers, Zi Teng Association, Hong Kong.
June 28, 2003, invited speaker about grassroots organizing at the 20th anniversary of the Feminism and Legal Theory Conference, Madison, Wisconsin.
June 23, 2003, “Hysterical Policy: Morality in new laws addressing trafficking and sex work” at the annual conference of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Washington, D.C.
March 28, 2003, “Men in Blue: Researching populations engaging in criminal activity” at Ethnography New York Style, Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
March 26, 2003, guest lecture on research methods when working with populations that have high levels of police contact at Hunter College, New York.
March 12, 2003, invited speaker, “Traffic Jams: Implementation of new US anti-trafficking law.” Trafficking, Migration and Tourism: Globalization and the Sex Trade conference, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
February 14, 2003, “Les Lois, Les Traveilleuses du Sexe et La Traite Humaine.” En Chaleur festival, Montreal, Quebec (in French).
February 11, 2003, presentation on collaborations by feminists and sex workers, Third Wave Foundation, New York, New York.
November 16, 2001, guest lecture addressing unanticipated ramifications of law enforcement at Fairleigh Dickinson School of Law, Carlsburgh, Pennsylvania.
October 15, 2001, guest lecture addressing the sex industry at CUNY Graduate Center.
November 9, 2000, guest lecture on trafficking in persons at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
October 11, 2000, presentation on UN efforts to address trafficking in persons to Cabiria, Lyons, France (in French).
July 15, 2000, assisting Dr. Penelope Saunders present her workshop on youth having sex for favors, International Conference on AIDS, Durban, South Africa.
November, 1999, guest lecture on structure of the sex industry, CUNY Graduate Center, New York.
October, 1999, guest lecture on legalities addressing sex work to Fairleigh Dickinson Law School, Carlsburgh, Pennsylvania.
June 21, 1999, “Addressing sex work as labor,” to the United Nations’ Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Geneva, Switzerland.
June 7, 1999 “Sex Work and HIV,” presented with Helen Cornman to National Organizations Responding to AIDS, Washington, D.C., on sex workers’ health issues and the ramifications of recently introduced legislation on trafficking in persons.
April 11,1999, “Labors of Lust” panel chair, Socialist Scholar’s Conference, New York City.
March 6, 1999, “Global Crises and the Sex Industry,” Eastern Sociological Society annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts.
November 20, 1998, “Prostitution Policy: What is Progressive?” at Brown University, sponsored by the Brown University Women’s Center.
June 12, 1998, poster session, “Prostitution Policy: What is Progressive?” at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research conference, Washington, D.C.
May 5, 1998, guest lecture at Hunter College criminology class, on the impact of legislation on the sex industry.
April 30, 1998, Network of Sex Work Projects representative to “Beyond Mumbai” conference on trafficking in women, Washington, D.C.
April 22, 1998, guest lecture at Columbia University graduate education class, on confronting stereotypes surrounding the sex industry.
March 22, 1998, panel chair, “Sex Workers Organize!” at the Socialist Scholars Conference, New York City.
March 6, 1998, paper, “The Continuing Theme of the Grotesque in Art and Literature” at “Terrains” graduate student conference at SUNY Stonybrook.
November 1997, National Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, on how the history and legalities surrounding prostitution affect stigmatization of sex workers.
April 1997, Eastern Regional Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, on visual objectification of sex workers.
March 1997, International Conference on Prostitution, on sex work and stigma, especially within the prostitutes rights movement.
Participated in panel on sex workers at SUNY New Paltz’s Women’s Studies conference, 1996, and at Princeton University’s Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and at Rutgers University Take Back the Night rally, all focusing on history and issues facing female sex workers.
1995 Eastern Regional meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality–presented workshop, “Confronting Stereotypes of Sex Workers.” I have presented this also at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Languages

Proficient French and German
Rudimentary Bengali, Japanese and Yoruba
Simple Spanish and Thai