*Please note, this event is taking place at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PST / 6 PM UTC
Join Atlas Free for a time-sensitive discussion on how survivors can access the over $200 million the US government seized from Backpage.com. Learn more about the remission requirements and how to access pro bono legal aid. To meet the upcoming application deadline on February 2, 2026, we encourage anyone interested to join.
About the Panel:
- John Cotton Richmond, Moderator
- Sarah Byrne, Attorney and Founding Member of the National Survivor Law Collective
- Carissa Phelps, Attorney and Founder of Runaway Girl, Inc.
- Melissa Snow, Executive Director of the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
More About the Panelists:
Sarah Byrne is a partner with Moore & Van Allen PLLC in Charlotte, N.C. where she leads the firm’s Human Trafficking Pro Bono Project, representing survivors of sex trafficking, forced labor and child sex abuse, and assisting organizations with human trafficking prevention and compliance programs. At the national level, Sarah is a frequent conference speaker and advocate for legislative change in support of trafficking victims. She is a founding member of the National Survivor Law Collective, a national network of trauma-informed lawyers providing legal aid to survivors. With a unique focus on the intersection of human trafficking and the financial sector, she works with both survivors and banks on the Survivor Inclusion Initiative, a United Nations-originated program that increases survivor access to financial services. Sarah’s direct representation of survivors as crime victims informs her institutional trainings and advice on human rights.
Carissa Phelps, JD, MBA is a California attorney, author, and survivor advocate who has led anti-trafficking initiatives for nearly two decades. She earned her JD and MBA from UCLA and her BA in mathematics, summa cum laude, from California State University, Fresno. As founder of Runaway Girl, FPC, she strengthens community responses to trafficking while building pathways for survivor leadership. Her memoir, “Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time,” and the award-winning documentary “CARISSA” chronicle her journey from juvie to justice. Phelps supports survivor leaders to transform systems, while planning with them for long-term wellbeing.
Melissa Snow, with over 20 years of leadership experience, is a seasoned expert in designing and executing impactful prevention and response strategies for child exploitation, sex trafficking, and violence. She specializes in trauma-informed care, program development, and stakeholder collaboration across government, nonprofit, and tech sectors. Melissa is a trusted advocate for children, with a proven ability to navigate complex challenges and drive systems-level change. As the Executive Director at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), she oversees the Child Sex Trafficking Team, which provides vital analytical support to law enforcement on child sex trafficking reports received by NCMEC. Additionally, Melissa is the architect of the Child Sex Trafficking Recovery Services Team, which offers specialized support to child welfare professionals when children go missing and trafficking concerns arise. Melissa has consistently demonstrated her expertise in designing and leading innovative, trauma-informed, and survivor centered programs that have had a lasting impact on the fight against child sex trafficking. Her strategic approach is focused on not only preventing exploitation but also supporting the recovery and empowerment of survivors. Before joining NCMEC, Melissa served as the Child Victim Program Coordinator at the FBI, where she developed and managed critical programs to support child victims of trafficking and abuse.