THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW – Jessica Johnson
Johnson began Virginia Stop Modern Slavery three months ago as a grass-roots movement with the goal of getting lawmakers in the commonwealth to recognize human trafficking as a specific crime. Her desire to fight human trafficking started nearly 10 years ago when she was an intelligence defense contractor working in the Balkans. Virginia Stop Modern Slavery is part of D.C. Stop Modern Slavery.
What inspired you to start a Stop Modern Slavery branch in Virginia?
I was a defense contractor in the intelligence community and became disillusioned with the profession after being laid off three times in the last five years. I had been interested in human trafficking for years after working in postwar Kosovo. I fell into a funk after the last time I was laid off and started looking into anti-human-trafficking groups. I soon discovered D.C. Stop Modern Slavery and found them to be the most collaborative and professional group of people I had ever worked with. When I started asking questions about human trafficking in Virginia, I discovered there weren’t many answers. I started this group to start answering those questions.
Why Virginia?
I bought a home in Annandale and I found myself living in a wealthy county, but in a community where poverty was evident. It was in that poverty that I found a lot of indicators of human trafficking in the vulnerable population. Virginia has uniquely different politics from D.C. and so we felt a separate group was necessary to deal with the issue there.
Is you background in intelligence helping you?
I worked in counterterrorism, counterintelligence and security operations. I understand how criminal networks work and I know how to deal to law enforcement professionals. I have respect for them and they have respect for me, so that helps. But I’m also trained to find intelligence gaps and fill them. I’m able to ask the questions we need answered to learn more about human trafficking to develop the intelligence we need to fight it.
— Freeman Klopott
