Executive Chair
Samantha Salamon
[email protected]
Samantha Salamon, Esq., serves as the Chief Counsel at Asian Services in Action, Inc. In 2017, Ms. Salamon began representing human trafficking survivors as ASIA’s Staff Attorney and was promoted to the Ahimsa Manager in 2018, and then promoted again in 2023 to Chief Counsel. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work, and a law degree from Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she founded the Muslim Law Students’ Association. She has a passion for assisting vulnerable populations and believes that personal growth occurs most when working and helping others. After living and working abroad as an attorney in Dubai, Samantha understands the struggles an individual faces when dealing with unfamiliar cultural experiences and aspires to help people to her best ability obtain and protect their rights, from a legal perspective. Currently, Samantha is the Chair of the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission’s Legal & Legislative subcommittee and the Executive Chair of the Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking. Samantha has been chosen as a 2023 Fellow for the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Fellowship Program and a 2024 Ohio State Bar Association Leadership Academy.
Engagement Chair
Sean Dawson
[email protected]
Sean graduated from the University of Akron with a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling and is currently the Corporate Director of Clinical Services for Beyond Healthcare. He is an Independently Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with Supervision Designation and Licensed Professional Counselor. He is also a visiting lecturer as a member of the adjunct faculty for the Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy program at the University of Akron. Sean has worked with Human Trafficking Survivors and Agencies that work with survivors since 2009. He has provided trainings on Human Trafficking awareness, Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care, Family Systems Engagement and Mental Health Treatment, and other related topics. He is also an active member of the Summit County Suicide Prevention Coalition as he recognizes that victimization and risk overlap and also is a member of the Summit County Juvenile Court- RESTORE court advisory board. Sean is passionate about collaboration and getting diverse systems to work together to accomplish larger goals.
Finance Chair
Amanda Smith
[email protected]
Amanda is the Advocate Supervisor of the Ahimsa department at Asian Services in Action, Inc. (“ASIA”). Amanda graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Criminal Justice and minors in Human Development/Family Studies and Non-profit Management. Amanda is passionate about advocating for domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking survivors. She has a wealth of experience helping survivors, including providing on-scene crisis intervention at the Victim Assistance Program, advocacy in hospitals and schools for the Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina Counties, and culturally specific services to survivors to help them with their trauma at her current position in the Ahimsa department at ASIA. Amanda strives to help eliminate barriers and advocate for culturally-specific survivors. In her role as supervisor, Amanda encourages and emphasizes self-care and sees to it that the advocates practice self-care to lessen burnout and compassion fatigue. Amanda is a registered advocate through the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA) and facilitates the monthly Immigrant and Refugee Ohio Coalition (IROC) to End Sexual Violence, educating and encouraging conversation around specific issues facing survivors from the immigrant and refugee communities.
Administrative Chair
Megan Vermillion
m[email protected]
Megan Vermillion is the Director of the Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina Counties at Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center. Megan earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from The University of Akron. Joining the Rape Crisis Center in January 2018, Megan believes in building a strong continuum of care for survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking. Her passion lies in disrupting cycles of trauma and breaking down barriers that prevent survivors from accessing vital support services.
Megan holds leadership roles as the Chair of the Summit County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and serves as the Chair of the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Coalition in Medina County.
Actively engaged in combating human trafficking in Ohio, Megan sits on the Attorney General’s Public Awareness Committee for Human Trafficking and Hope and Healing serves as the lead victim service provider for the Summit Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, serving Summit, Medina, Stark, and Portage Counties. Through these efforts, Megan aims to strengthen community connections, advocate for systemic change, and educate the public alongside her dedicated team at Hope and Healing.
Creative Development Chair
Nikki Crawford
[email protected]
Nikki Crawford (She/They) is a proud transgender woman who works as The Education and Outreach Manager at Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center. Nikki is a graduate of The University of Akron with a degree in Psychology and a Minor in Family Services. At U.A. Nikki began their advocacy journey volunteering at Hope and Healing and The RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline during the lockdown period of Covid-19 in 2020. Nikki is an outspoken and passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, survivor voices, and giving space to share the voices of people whose voices are often oppressed and suppressed. Nikki spends her time in the community learned how to rebuild trust in communities with historical and systematic oppression, bring awareness to sexual education and sexual violence awareness, as well as aiming to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place to eradicate sexual and domestic violence entirely. Nikki believes in an intersectionality approach to ending human trafficking by providing outreach, education, and direct service to areas of people who have vulnerabilities to be targeted by traffickers before harm begins. By addressing people’s day to day needs and struggles in their individual lives we can remove the ability to exploit people who may have otherwise been exploited. Currently Nikki sits on the boards for The Summit Sexual Assault Response Team and Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking as well as an involved member of The Ohio LGBTQ+ Taskforce.