Lisa Goldblatt Grace

Lisa Goldblatt Grace is Massachusetts' first Statewide Human Trafficking Director within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. She is also the Co-founder and former Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice, a groundbreaking, nationally recognized initiative founded in 2002 to stem the tide of the commercial sexual exploitation of adolescents. My Life My Choice developed a unique continuum of evidence-based, survivor-led services spanning service provider training, exploitation prevention programming for youth at disproportionate risk, direct services to young people impacted by commercial sexual exploitation, and policy and advocacy work. The organization’s efficacy has been demonstrated both in the field and through research, serving as a model for programs across the country.

Ms. Goldblatt Grace has spent more than three decades working with marginalized young people in a variety of capacities. Her professional experience includes running a long-term shelter for teen parents, developing a juvenile court diversion program, and working in outpatient mental health, health promotion, and residential treatment settings.

In her current role with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ms. Goldblatt Grace helped lead the development of the state’s first five-year strategic plan to address human trafficking through a collaborative, survivor-informed process that brought together individuals with lived experience, state agencies, law enforcement, researchers, and service providers.

Ms. Goldblatt Grace regularly serves as an advisor to legislators, policymakers, funders, law enforcement, district attorneys, and nonprofit organizations working in the commercial sexual exploitation, youth development, and public health fields. She is widely recognized for her expertise in policy, program development, fundraising, and survivor-centered systems change, and is a sought-after public speaker and field leader.

Ms. Goldblatt Grace has served as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Office on Trafficking in Persons and was a primary researcher on the 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services national study of programs serving human trafficking victims. She currently serves as Co-chair of the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking Subcommittee on Human Trafficking, and is a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Unaccompanied and Homeless Youth, the National Center on Child Trafficking Advisory Board, and Shared Hope International’s National JuST Council.

Ms. Goldblatt Grace is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and holds master’s degrees in both social work and public health.

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