Ava Kamdem is a student at the School of General Studies at Columbia University studying psychology, Social Impact Fellow and Global Thought Scholar with Columbia World Projects. For the Center for Justice Ava is the Development Operations Associate, managing and optimizing organizational development to increase funding revenue and streamline systems and processes. Ava is a formerly incarcerated survivor of human trafficking that has devoted her academics to studying disenfranchised groups to cultivate capital and change narrative. Ava has used her lived experience to advocate for others who share her lived experiences, by assisting federal agents in recovering victims, and consulting with homeland security to have alternatives to incarceration for women engaging in prostitution. Ava publicly shares her story, teaches and consults with NGO’s, has created outreach programs and served on the Human Trafficking Survivor Leadership Council of Texas. Ava plans on going onto graduate school to study ways to create organizational economic opportunities for disenfranchised groups.
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