She has leveraged her expertise as the Executive Director of A Way Out Ministries in 2021.
MEMPHIS, TN, September 13, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Kaitrin Elizabeth Valencia, Esq., has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Valencia is an attorney, author, grant writer, educator, and nonprofit founder who has leveraged her expertise as the Executive Director of A Way Out Ministries in 2021. A veteran organization founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1992, the ministry's mission is to stop the sexual exploitation of women, trafficking, and pornography by advocating for legislative changes, conducting outreach to venues for sexual exploitation and operating Memphis' first long-term residential program for sex trafficking survivors. The nonprofit notably takes a holistic approach to address various spiritual, financial, mental health, and other issues young women face.
Adding to her credentials, Ms. Valencia has been the president and chief executive officer of Skyway Railroad since 2017. Based in Eads, Tennessee, the nonprofit charitable organization now works alongside A Way Out Ministries to target modern-day slavery. Their website features the 82-page book, "Voices Outside the Stadium: Face to Face with Human Trafficking Outside Major Sporting Events." Published by Ms. Valencia in 2018, the riveting book documents real encounters of trafficking at major sporting events. All proceeds go back to the organization to help save lives. A well-written author, she published her second book, "Waiting - I Hate It!: Lessons Learned Waiting on God," in 2019. Kaitrin has conducted outreach throughout the Unites States in strip clubs, massage parlors, hotels and on the streets, and has thousands of heart wrenching encounters with the darkest of humanity.
Apart from her work in the nonprofit sector, Ms. Valencia found success as a freelance grant writer and consultant as the founder of Kaitrin Valencia in 2005. She has specialized in writing grants for nonprofit organizations and government agencies looking to secure third-party funding.
Looking toward the future, Ms. Valencia aims to continue growing the ministry, serving more women, and raising $5 million to building a campus on over 80 acres in West Tennessee. She also aspires to become more involved in legislative and policy work and is currently working with the state legislatures to enact a law to combat child pornography.
Ms. Valencia is the former Executive Director for the Chicago Dream Center between 2013 and 2016, a Christian nonprofit comprising 15 ministries and a social enterprise business focusing on outreach and human trafficking. Ms. Valencia also taught as an adjunct professor of juvenile delinquency courses at the City Colleges of Chicago from 2015 to 2016. During an earlier stage of her career, she worked in law as a deputy chief attorney and legal advocate in the juvenile probation department at the Circuit Court of Cook County between 1999 and 2013.
As a civic-minded person, Ms. Valencia has contributed her expertise to the Juvenile Intervention and Faith-Based Follow-Up, a nonprofit court-referred intervention program in Memphis, as a member of its board of directors and later as their operations manager. She served in the same board capacity at Salem Christian Elementary School in Chicago.
Ms. Valencia graduated from Ohio Northern University with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and sociology in 1996. She subsequently received a Doctor of Jurisprudence with a focus on education and juvenile law from the Chicago Kent College of Law in 2003. While pursuing her law degree, she completed an internship with the Law Offices of Chicago-Kent from 2002 to 2003. Ms. Valencia has been admitted to practice law in Illinois and Tennessee and throughout her tenure has been active in many Bar Associations. She also received ministerial credentials in continuing education in biblical foundations from Global University in 2021 and her faith is her driving motivation in all she does.
Affiliated with several relevant organizations, Ms. Valencia is active as a member of the Memphis Bar Association, and the Tennessee Bar Association. She is also a charter member of the Zeta Sigma chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity and a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and Alpha Phi Sigma.
In recognition of her hard work, Ms. Valencia was the recipient of a Cook County National Women's History Month Award from the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2001, a Public Service Award from the Illinois State Bar Association in 2003, a Bar and Gavel Award from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2003, and a Partner and Justice Award from the Lawndale Christian Legal Clinic in 2013. She has also been featured in various media outlets for her nonprofit work, including the Moody Radio Morning Show during Super Bowl outreaches in 2016. She is regularly sought after in the faith community and other realms, to train and speak about the atrocities and realities of human trafficking.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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