“Everybody has to write on a topic they hate because you’re going to be talking about it for a long time, and there’s nothing more I hate than human trafficking,” said Christoffersen, a Tobis Fellow at UC Irvine’s Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality.
Christoffersen took a topic she loathed and turned it into a more than eight-year crusade to educate the public on an issue that isn’t isolated to other countries.
“People have no clue that it is an issue in the United States,” said Christoffersen, who earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies and master’s in public administration from Cal State Long Beach. “I saw that as a big gap and realized there needed to be some research on human trafficking in the U.S.”
Her passion to bring awareness to this issue is a big reason why Christoffersen is a finalist for the Press-Telegram’s Amazing Women award in the category of education.
“What is most amazing about Lyndsey is she is committed to educating people,” said her mother Lynda Christoffersen, who nominated her daughter for the recognition. “She uses her profession for a purpose, choosing to write on difficult and obscure topics to bring attention to them.”
An award-winning debater, Christoffersen became interested in human trafficking after it was brought up in a debate round. Christoffersen, who was already doing research on immigration and day workers, shifted her focus. Her dissertation, “City of Slaves: Local Regulation of Human Trafficking,” is a case study on human trafficking in Los Angeles County.
Since earning her doctorate from UC Irvine, Christoffersen has published numerous papers on human trafficking and cofounded the Long Beach Human Trafficking Task Force in 2011. Her Tobis project resulted in a book called “After Slavery: Stories of Survival & Pain After a Life of Human Trafficking.” She’s working on a human trafficking manual geared toward nonprofit workers and educators.
She also pens a blog in her spare time called the “Human Trafficking Hub,” which helps to break down the complicated issues of human trafficking, and maintains the blog’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to educate people on how they can do their part to fight human trafficking.
“The blog makes it relatable,” she said. “People can learn from it and make a difference.”
Before working at UC Irvine, Christoffersen was at Chapman University, who she taught classes on gender and propaganda and was the Director of Forensics. During that time, the speech and debate team won numerous top rankings, including being the top university at the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association’s 2013 Fall Championship Tournament.
Her mother recalls Christoffersen buying clothes for a girl who was homeless and couldn’t afford an outfit for a debate tournament. The student went on to win recognition for her speeches.
“She truly thought teaching was not just about giving information, but about mentoring students to be the best people they could be,” her mother said.
