2024 AATN Breakfast

Thursday, September 26th, 2024

Westin Kierland Resort

6902 East Greenway Parkway Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Registration and Networking starts 7:00 am

Program starts promptly at 8:00 am

Meet our Keynote Speaker - Tanya Alegria

Tanya Alegria grew up in the challenging backdrop of Los Angeles, California. Her mother’s battle with addiction plunged Tanya and her three siblings into a world of abuse, neglect, and homelessness. At just 18, and five and a half months pregnant, her son’s father was tragically gunned down, due to gang warfare, once again leaving her homeless.

For the next 11 years, Tanya fought an uphill battle; she was caught in the grip of addiction, enduring frequent periods of homelessness, affiliated with a street gang, and trying to provide for her children. It was a relentless struggle, but her unyielding faith in God would eventually guide her towards a pivotal moment.

At 30, at 1am in the morning, Tanya started on a life-changing journey. With her four children and unbeknownst to her, carrying her fifth, she boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Arizona. This journey marked the start of a new life Tanya had never dared to imagine possible.

In a small Arizona town, surrounded by the unwavering support of her sister and a community that believed in her, Tanya began the difficult process of healing her own life and that of her children. She has now been in recovery for 18 years, and uses her story as a beacon of hope for countless others on their own paths to recovery.

Tanya’s purpose has crystallized through her experiences – to serve others in their times of need, reminding them of their inherent value and worth in this world. Having traveled through the most challenging terrains of life, Tanya has dedicated over a decade in her career, supporting vulnerable populations, from at-risk youth to those battling addiction, mental health issues, and survivors of human trafficking.

Today, Tanya stands as the Program Coordinator for the Arizona Human Trafficking Hotline at the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research with Arizona State University. She believes in the profound power of the human experience, and she channels her journey’s lessons into creating a safe space within our society for the people she serves. Making sure they are seen, heard, respected, and, most importantly, encouraged to pursue the life they deserve.

Tanya believes there is a strength that resides within each of us, waiting to be awakened and shared with the world. Tanya hopes to relate the transformative power of resilience and the enduring capacity of the human heart to heal, grow, and give back. With love, support, encouragement and care from others, healing is possible.

With Special Remarks by Ernie Allen

Ernie Allen is a global expert on public-private partnerships; the digital economy; the Dark Web; and child protection including child abuse and exploitation, sexual violence, human trafficking, and child abduction. He frequently speaks to global audiences on these issues and is an advisor to governments, law enforcement, technology companies, NGO’s, the Vatican and others.

In 2014 he was appointed by then-Prime Minister David Cameron to serve as Chair of the United Kingdom’s global initiative to combat online child abuse and exploitation. He continues to chair the expanded WePROTECT Global Alliance which today includes technology and other private sector companies, NGO’s, UNICEF, Interpol, over 100 countries, and others.

He was an organizer of the Vatican’s World Congress: Child Dignity in the Digital World where Pope Francis spoke about the growing victimization of children online and continues to head the Vatican’s Child Dignity initiative today. And he worked with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior to create a new global interfaith effort. He was co-chair of the Interfaith Alliance Forum held in Abu Dhabi that brought together faith leaders to create an interfaith campaign to protect children.

More than 40 years ago child abduction and victimization was largely unrecognized and unreported. Mr. Allen led the effort to create a comprehensive response to the problem and create a national resource center. He was the architect and co-founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and served the organization for close to 30 years, first as Chairman and then as President and CEO. To extend the effort globally, he founded the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and served simultaneously as its President and CEO.

Mr. Allen is the author of numerous book chapters and articles. He has served as adjunct or visiting faculty for numerous universities and was Amberg-Helmholz Visiting Faculty at the Mayo Clinic.

His work has been widely recognized including by four U.S. Presidents, many members of Congress; two U.S. Attorneys General; the U.S. Department of Justice; the FBI; the Secret Service; and other U.S. federal law enforcement agencies, the Australian Federal Police, Interpol, the British Parliament and others. He was called “one of America’s foremost social entrepreneurs” by President George W. Bush, and named “Executive of the Year” by Non-Profit Times for reuniting 5,192 displaced children with their families following Hurricane Katrina. He was named one of the Most Influential People in Security by Security Magazine, and was honored by the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit. In 2021 he was awarded the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Mr. Allen has received numerous awards including being the first male to receive the prestigious Sandra Day O’Connor Voice for Women Award from the Arizona Foundation for Women, and he received Attorney General Eric Holder’s Award for Meritorious Public Service, the top public service award granted by the U.S. Department of Justice. He received the Award for Excellence in Public/Private Partnership from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General. He received the Dalla Parte dei Bambini award from Il Telefono Azzurro in Milan, Italy and was the first recipient of the Champion for Children Award from INHOPE in The Netherlands.