IJM Vice President of Government Relations Holly Burkhalter presented testimony on behalf of the coalition Action Group to End Slavery at the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking’s recent Panel Discussion on Human Trafficking. Fellow panelists included U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Ambassador-at-Large Mark Lagon, actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Julia Ormond, Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker and Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves, along with caucus founders Rep. Thelma Drake (R-VA), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH). She presented the coalition’s recommendations to congressional staffers on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, slated for reauthorization this year.

Before joining the IJM team, Ruth E. McGinn worked on Capitol Hill and then served in an integral role at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the government agency tasked with managing the 1.8 million members of the federal civil service. As the special assistant to the director, she prepared presentations, speeches and congressional testimony, reports for the president and Congress, and assisted the director in the daily management of a dynamic agency with over 3,600 employees and an annual budget in excess of 261 million dollars.