Presenter Bio
Laura Hackney is a human rights advocate and full-stack software engineer from Atlanta, GA. She is the CEO and Cofounder of AnnieCannons, a national organization dedicated to training, preparing, and connecting individuals who have experienced human trafficking to sustainable careers in tech. Laura helped to build AnnieCannons’ Coding Training Program and develop AC’s internal portfolio of software products. Prior to AnnieCannons, Laura managed the Program on Human Rights at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute. She also worked as the Senior Research Associate for Stanford’s Anti-Trafficking Project in the Mekong Sub-Region and was a Program Associate for the Freeman Spogli Institute’s International Policy Implementation Lab. Laura is passionate about the intersections of human rights, technology, and education. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.
Start Date
9-6-2025 1:00 PM
End Date
9-6-2025 1:30 PM
Field of Study
Non-Profit
Abstract
AnnieCannons believes that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution. Yet in the anti-trafficking movement, data about survivors is often collected without survivors. Co-founder and CEO Laura Hackney will discuss how reclaiming data can transform systems of care accountability, and prevention. She will share lessons learned from the development of ResourceFull, a digital platform led and co- designed with trafficking survivors to safely connect individuals to trustworthy services and track outcomes across fragmented care systems. There are ethical, technical, and human-centered challenges of collecting and of using data in a space where safety and trust are paramount, and AnnieCannons navigates these to prioritize survivor privacy and autonomy. The session will include insight into how data can be a tool of empowerment (rather than extraction) driving both service improvements and systemic change, and how survivor-led data systems can determine patterns, close service gaps, and support policy advocacy rooted in dignity, agency, and real-world efficacy.
Included in
Computer Engineering Commons, Nonprofit Studies Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Social Statistics Commons
Reclaiming Data to Transform Anti-Trafficking Systems
AnnieCannons believes that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution. Yet in the anti-trafficking movement, data about survivors is often collected without survivors. Co-founder and CEO Laura Hackney will discuss how reclaiming data can transform systems of care accountability, and prevention. She will share lessons learned from the development of ResourceFull, a digital platform led and co- designed with trafficking survivors to safely connect individuals to trustworthy services and track outcomes across fragmented care systems. There are ethical, technical, and human-centered challenges of collecting and of using data in a space where safety and trust are paramount, and AnnieCannons navigates these to prioritize survivor privacy and autonomy. The session will include insight into how data can be a tool of empowerment (rather than extraction) driving both service improvements and systemic change, and how survivor-led data systems can determine patterns, close service gaps, and support policy advocacy rooted in dignity, agency, and real-world efficacy.
