Published
February 18, 2025
On February 4, 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted Tackling Human Trafficking at Large Sporting Events to highlight the role of the business community in raising awareness about human trafficking at major sporting events.
Michael Billet, senior director of policy research in the Employment Policy Division at the U.S. Chamber, kicked off the program and said that large sporting events like the Super Bowl are not the cause of human trafficking. Rather, they draw large numbers of spectators that may cause an uptick in trafficking.
Lori Cohen, chief executive officer at Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT), moderated a panel with Thomas Ruck, senior engagement manager at DHS’s Blue Campaign, and Eliza McCoy, vice president of programs & impact at the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) Foundation, on what the hotel industry is doing to combat human trafficking.
The hospitality industry’s efforts are led by the AHLA Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) campaign. The campaign has two components: raising awareness for prevention and empowering survivors.
NRFT has supported trafficking prevention training for hotel employees through a partnership with PACT, and the training has been taken more than 1.8 million times. In addition to providing training, the campaign provides grants to organizations that support the development and economic independence of survivors through the NRFT Survivor Fund.
Ruck informed the audience that DHS’ Blue Campaign supplements private industry efforts, for example, by providing toolkits to raise awareness.
About the authors
Michael Billet
Michael Billet, director of policy research for Employment Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, keeps members and internal Chamber policy staff abreast of pending labor, immigration, and health care legislation, as well as federal regulatory and subregulatory activities. He is also responsible for planning the Chamber’s annual workplace and community wellness forum.
