The HRRC was established as a volunteer coalition in 2005 in response to the growing recognition and alarm over the prevalence of human trafficking in the Greater Houston Metropolitan region. Due to our rapidly growing organizational size and proliferation of protection/prevention projects, HRRC became a 501(c ) (3) in December of 2007.

MEET THE STAFF OF HRRC

Executive Director: Maria A. Trujillo, MA

Maria A. Trujillo serves as the Executive Director of the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition Ms. Trujillo comes to HRRC from Washington, DC where she spent 4 years working as a Project Associate and Volunteer Recruiter for an international development non-profit named Health Volunteers Overseas.  While in DC, she obtained her Master’s degree from American University in International Communications.  Ms. Trujillo also has a BA in International Relations from Claremont McKenna College, located in Claremont, CA.  Ms. Trujillo has travelled to over 20 countries including significant time spent living in France, Israel and Japan.  Ms. Trujillo first learned about the issue of human trafficking in 1996 while working on a year-long research project on sweat shops and the use by major corporations of slave labor in developing countries.  She was further educated on human trafficking through her international affairs studies and gained a deeper understanding of the issue through her various travels overseas and seeing the problem firsthand.  While living in DC she took on a leadership role with the grassroots community group, DC Stop Modern Slavery, which also focuses on raising awareness in the community about human trafficking.  Ms. Trujillo is currently a member of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, which is the local, Houston-area law enforcement task force on human trafficking.  She has also been appointed by the Attorney General of Texas to serve on the state-wide Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force.

Project Director: Steven M. Goff

Steven Goff graduated from Sam Houston State University with a degree in Psychology in 2006. While obtaining his degree he traveled to Thailand, Costa Rica, Japan, and Aruba researching and participating in organizations that fight Human Trafficking. After graduating from College, he started a non-profit organization called Redeemed Ministries to fight human trafficking and to reach out to people involved in the commercial sex industry.  He spent 5 months in Aruba where women were brought from Colombia to work in bars as prostitutes. Steven worked to connect the local churches to help equip these women to find alternative work and lifestyle. After his time in Aruba, he returned to Houston, TX where he accepted the position as the Project Director of Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Counseling.

Coalition Manager: Kendra Penry

Kendra Penry is the Coalition Manager for the Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition. Ms. Penry’s formal education in human trafficking is from the George Washington University where she received her Master’s Degree in International Affairs and Conflict Resolution. While in DC, she worked for the Mississippi Consortium for International Development as a Program Assistant. Ms. Penry designed and implemented projects for participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US Department of State. These projects covered a range of topics including human rights, combating human trafficking, civil law, and environmental protection. Her interactions with international visitors dedicated to eradicating human trafficking and exposure to the myriad groups and organizations working here in the US motivated her to find a way to engage more fully in the issue. Prior to her time in DC, she received her BA in International Studies from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia where she focused her education on poverty and grassroots movements and was first exposed to the prevalence of human trafficking around the world. While a student, Ms. Penry took part in a human rights delegation to El Salvador to examine effective measures to promote human rights in a post-conflict country and saw first-hand the situations that can cause individuals to become victims of human trafficking. Upon returning to the United States, and wanting to better understand the issue, she explored domestic trafficking through a research project examining her home state, North Carolina. Because of her continual exposure to the pervasiveness of human trafficking both in the US and overseas, Ms. Penry actively sought a way to join the anti-human trafficking effort and joined Houston Rescue and Restore Coalition in 2010.