Ms. Theresa Flores is a licensed Social Worker with over 30 years of experience. She holds a Master’s in Counseling Education from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Ball State University. A survivor of domestic child sex trafficking, Ms. Flores was exploited in an underground crime ring in an upper-middle-class suburb outside Detroit from age 15 to 17. Her personal experience has fueled her lifelong mission to fight human trafficking.

In 2009, she was appointed to the Ohio Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission and has testified before the Ohio House and Senate in support of key legislation, including laws that eventually bore her name, such as the “Theresa Flores Law” in Michigan, which eliminated the statute of limitations for trafficked children. She was present in the Oval Office for the signing of the SESTA/FOSTA legislation alongside other advocates and lawmakers.

Ms. Flores is the founder of The SOAP Project (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution), launched in 2010, which has distributed over a million bars of soap labeled with the National Human Trafficking Hotline across the U.S. The initiative has contributed to the rescue of numerous victims. She also organizes free annual retreats and monthly support groups for survivors.

Currently, she serves as Assistant Investigator with Global Centurion, researching the health consequences of trafficking among survivors. Her work informs systemic healthcare recommendations.

Flores is the author of four books, including The Slave Across the Street and Slavery in the Land of the Free. Her story has been featured in the documentary The Girl Next Door and on national media including The Today Show, CNN, and Dateline. She has received multiple awards, including the Courage Award from Ohio Governor John Kasich and the University of Dayton’s Christian Service Award.