Sarah Jakiel has been with Polaris Project since 2007 and currently serves as the Deputy Director and a member of the Executive Management team.  Ms. Jakiel has been working in diverse capacities on the issue of human trafficking since 2004.  In her current role, she is responsible for Polaris Project’s national programmatic efforts, including oversight of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline, the National Training and Technical Assistance Program (NTTAP), and Polaris Project’s Direct Victim Services program. Sarah also acts as the lead on all international capacity building efforts and serves as the liaison to Polaris Project’s operations in Tokyo, Japan.

Ms. Jakiel managed the creation of the U.S. National Hotline and advises other countries on local, national and regional efforts to build effective anti-trafficking response mechanisms. She has conducted human trafficking training with dozens of audiences ranging from social services and criminal justice to community coalitions. Her specific areas of expertise include training, developing collaborative partnerships, strategic planning, and leadership and management training.

Immediately prior to joining Polaris Project she was working as a Researcher in the Professional Training department of the U.S. Institute of Peace.  Ms. Jakiel has B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs from American University where she focused  her graduate research on both transnational and domestic human trafficking—looking specifically at links between local, state, and federal agencies working on the issue.