Full article by Benjamin Thomas Greer and Nathan DiPillo, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, August 28, 2024.
In this feature article, a subject matter expert in the field of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and an emergency manager warn of the looming emerging threat that human trafficking poses after natural disasters. Disasters inherently come with known and unknown threats, and traffickers capitalize on the vulnerability these events create to exploit victims.
Listen to expert insights on how properly trained emergency management and disaster responders are uniquely positioned to identify, prevent, and mitigate exploitation before and after an emergency.
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Benjamin Thomas Greer
Benjamin Thomas Greer, J.D., M.A., is a subject matter expert in the field of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Before joining Cal OES, he served as a special deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. He led a team of attorneys and non-attorneys in a comprehensive report for the California Attorney General entitled “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012.” He has published numerous Law Review and International Journal articles on various aspects of trafficking and has presented or lectured in 12 counties. He is a federally recognized human trafficking training expert by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC-TTAC) Training & Technical Assistance Center and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA-NTAC) Training and Technical Assistance Center; helped California draft and negotiate Memoranda of Understanding with the Mexican Government, draft and lobby anti-trafficking legislation (both domestically and internationally), and plays a prominent role as a contributing or advisory board member on two international peer-reviewed Anti-Trafficking Journals. Aside from his work with Cal OES, he is a Research Associate for the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking and recently graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master’s Degree Program, where his thesis, “Connecting the Dots of an Opaque Crime: Analyzing California’s Human Trafficking Task Force Information Sharing Framework and Practices,” was a finalist for Outstanding Thesis Award, Cohort 2001/2002.
Nathan DiPillo
Nathan DiPillo currently serves as a California Governor’s Office appointee assigned to the California Office of Emergency Services as a Critical Infrastructure Analyst in the State Threat Assessment Center. Before state service, he functioned as a critical infrastructure specialist with the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He also spent over 15 years with the Transportation Security Administration, where he assisted in standing up the agency with policy development, training, and recruitment. He has over 25 years in the emergency management and security industry, beginning as a resident firefighter/emergency medical technician. He also served with the California State Military Department, and Army National Guard in the 223rd Training Command ending his career as a Sergeant First Class. During that time, he served in many units, finishing his career attached to the 102nd Military Police Training Division in an Opposition Force Unit. He currently serves on a small-town planning commission and assisted in coordinating an emergency family communications group in his local area. He possesses a Master of Emergency Management/Homeland Security from the National University and other Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and military certifications.
