Pepperdine News and Events

Pepperdine University Hosts Lecture Series On Victims of Human Sex Trafficking

The Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) is proud to host its third installment of the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series with speaker Dr. Lois Lee, a pioneer saving children who are victims of human sex trafficking.

Dr. Lois Lee is the founder and president of Children of the Night, a nonprofit organization she started in 1979 to service abused and neglected children. Dr. Lee has utilized her background as a scholar and a social policy expert to protect and advocate for voiceless children. Her organization provides a 24-hour hotline that receives 10,000 calls per year and is staffed by employees who are trained to communicate with law enforcement, rescue children and prepare children to testify in court.

In 1981 she opened the first walk-in crisis center for children in Hollywood, which became the model for other domestic and international programs aiding street children. In 1992 she open the Children of the Night home, accommodating up to 24 residents to provide shelter, education, case management and recreational outings in a nurturing environment.

In the last two decades, Dr. Lee has raised over $40 million to provide services to these children in need, as well as college placement for many of the program’s graduates who have gone on to become lawyers, executives, educators and professionals in various of fields.

In her lecture, Dr. Lee will be addressing common misnomers, critiquing public policy and educating the audience on how individuals can bring awareness to and invoke positive change upon the dire circumstances surrounding this neglected demographic.

The lecture event will take place on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7p.m. at the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus. Admission is free, but space is limited. ToRSVP, please visit http://gsep.pepperdine.edu/deans-lecture/; call 310-568-2344 or email vjahn@pepperdine.edu.

Generously sponsored by Mr. Don Rice and Dr. Susan Rice (EdD ’86), the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series brings leading agents of change to the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). The series was created to discuss the challenges and leadership opportunities in communities across the world and to support the GSEP mission of educating students to inspire lasting change in their own communities by leading lives of service, purpose and leadership. Dr. Rice is a member of the Pepperdine University Board of Regents and the director of the GSEP Board of Visitors.