Afua Addo

Afua Addo is deputy director of programs & training with the Perception Institute and a justice and trauma informed consultant who formerly served as the manager of gender & family justice initiatives at the Center for Court Innovation. In this role she oversaw strategy, training, and continuum of support for NY State Human Trafficking Courts, NYC HTIC Service Provision Task Force, and served on the NY State Fatality Review Board and Close Rikers Initiative: Women & Girls Off Rikers. In 2016, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded $1 million to operate Project SAFE providing in-depth training and technical assistance on the impact of trauma on Black women’s criminalization and victimization relative to historical resilience. Afua also consults with A Call to Men, V-Day, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Afua got her start in criminal advocacy as coordinator of the Criminal Court Advocacy Division. She provided direct court advocacy and alternatives to incarceration to young adult survivors of domestic human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Afua began her career in healthcare and educational strategic planning with Health & Hospitals Corporation NYC and Department of Education, respectfully.

Over the last 20 years, Afua has served as an advocate while also pursuing art as a professional vocal/performance artist. In 2015, she participated in The White House roundtable on the impact of mandatory minimums on women and girl survivors, exploring the impact of criminalizing policies on African-American women and girls. She returned to the White House in 2016 to join the OVW in a discussion of Girls of Color and Intervening Public Systems: Interrupting the Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline. In addition to coordinating services for women and girls, she has partnered with various organizations to provide support for boys and young men of color survivors.

Afua serves on the board of Girls for Gender Equity and consults on a range of projects while providing individual mentorship to up and coming advocates. Afua continues to build on creativity and liberation!