Ambassador Susan Coppedge is the most recent ambassador for the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (commonly referred to as JTIP).  JTIP is responsible for producing a report that grades countries on the effectiveness of their efforts to combat human trafficking.  This report, called the Trafficking in Persons Report or TIP Report, has been published annually since 2001.  It has come under scrutiny in recent year for its perceived politicization, for example upgrading Malaysia during Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations and upgrading Cuba while the US was re-establishing diplomatic ties.  Ambassador Coppedge will speak about the challenges of the TIP Report, its successes and usefulness as a diplomatic tool, and the future of the trafficking movement.  Ambassador Coppedge was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Georgia before she was appointed Ambassador, so she brings a prosecutorial background to the issue of trafficking as well.

Please join us!  Light refreshments will be served.  RSVP here.