Polaris Project is one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and Japan, with programs operating at international, national and local levels through our offices in Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; Denver, CO; and Tokyo, Japan.  Polaris Project is one of the few organizations working on all forms of trafficking and serving both citizen and foreign national victims of human trafficking.

Polaris Project is committed to combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and to strengthening the anti-trafficking movement through a comprehensive approach.

Polaris Project's programs aim to address the issue of human trafficking on a daily basis and create long-term social change.

Polaris Project's Fellowship Program is a formalized leadership development effort focused on training future leaders to serve in the anti-trafficking movement.  Based out of Polaris Project's Washington, DC headquarters office, the Fellowship Program is nationally recognized as one of the premiere leadership development programs exclusively focused on the issue of human trafficking and on providing young adults with training and on-the-ground practical experiences in the anti-trafficking movement.

For more information regarding fellowship positions, please visit the Polaris Project website at: http://www.polarisproject.org/content/view/51/70/

Polaris Project was founded in 2002 by Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman while they were in their senior year at Brown University.

Katherine and Derek started their efforts by searching for ways that average community members could take action against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

Katherine and Derek officially launched Polaris Project on V-Day, February 14, 2002. In the following years, the organization gained momentum as more and more people joined to dedicate their time, skills, talents, passions, and ideas.

Polaris Project celebrated its five-year anniversary in February 2007 as an organization that had become a widely recognized name in the anti-trafficking movement and has grown to a professional staff of over 30, with five local offices in the United States and Japan. Its staff, fellows, volunteers, partners, and supporters are all joined together in the spirit of a modern-day Underground Railroad, where community members from all walks of life can each take a stand to support the collective overall vision for a world without slavery.

Operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, Polaris Project serves as a national first-responder to human trafficking cases across the United States.  Our trained multi-lingual staff respond to victim crisis calls and tips about potential trafficking situations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, coordinating law enforcement and service provider intervention to get victims to safety.   

Polaris Project’s local programs conduct direct outreach to victims of trafficking and provide them with specialized services to help them rebuild their lives.  Our staff are on-call 24/7 to respond with law enforcement when a human trafficking case is uncovered, and provide immediate assistance to any victims that are identified.  Our Washington, DC office also provides long-term shelter through one of the only transitional housing programs in the United States for both foreign national and domestic trafficking survivors.   

Polaris Project is involved in local task forces and national coalitions with law enforcement, government officials and other service providers to foster community-wide responses that suppress trafficking.  Through our Training and Technical Assistance Program we consult and enable legislators, Federal government agencies, key local leaders, foreign delegations and service providers to combat trafficking and respond to victims more effectively.  

Polaris Project’s U.S. Policy Program works to improve federal, state, and local legislative policy related to human trafficking and to ensure that current and new laws are being implemented successfully.  To support policy-makers, our staff provide briefings, feedback on policy proposals, and policy resources, including an up to date monthly report on state anti-trafficking legislation.  

At Polaris Project, we believe that involvement of people like you is essential for bringing about immediate and long-term change on a local and national level.

We use our on-the-ground knowledge of the issue and current anti-trafficking efforts to inform the actions that we urge you to take, ensuring that your actions will fill critical gaps in the anti-trafficking movement and bring about real change.  

Sign up to join us in taking steps towards ending modern-day slavery.  We'll send you email updates about human trafficking and new opportunities for you to make a direct impact on the lives of human trafficking victims.  Just click on the join us button at the top right corner of our main site.

Check out our fundraising projects and start your own fundraising page to help support our programs to serve victims of human trafficking.