By Madeline Condor | Staff Writer
In her role as Europe strategy director for Unbound Now, former Baylor student Allison Byrd is leading the organization’s crisis response in Ukraine by serving survivors of human trafficking and working with regional law enforcement.
Unbound Now is a multinational nonprofit with 11 locations globally. Its mission is to protect, identify and advocate for victims of human trafficking — motivated by its “faith and passion about mobilizing communities, including local law enforcement, churches and professionals across industries to identify and respond to human trafficking in their city.”
In June, Byrd gave a TEDxTAMU Talk to discuss her time in Poland. She explains her experiences on the Poland-Ukraine border before diving into the necessary question of “Why live? Why be alive in the first place?” She then discusses the value of finding a cause that is so important that it’s worth dying for.
Byrd said her passion for fighting human trafficking began when she was 12 years old after attending a lecture.
“I heard a speaker talk about the global scourge of human trafficking and … went home and started reading our U.S. federal government reports on human trafficking and studying what was going on domestically, internationally, in terms of addressing this issue,” Byrd said. “[Then] I started volunteering within Unbound Now. I did a variety of things that they would let me do … and became very compelled to stay involved in the work.”
Byrd attended Baylor from 2018 to 2020, during which she participated in the Baylor in Washington program. She then went to Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs. She is currently pursuing her law degree at Texas A&M University School of Law.
During her time at Georgetown, Byrd worked as an intern in the Office of Economic Initiatives in the White House. While there, she aided in the White House Human Trafficking Summit and the annual meeting of the president’s interagency task force to monitor and combat human trafficking.
Byrd emphasized that students can get involved in the battle against human trafficking.
“I’ve heard it said that it takes a whole-of-society response to address a whole-of-society problem,” Byrd said. “The issue of human trafficking affects every sector, and it takes all of us — whether you’re a business student, a nursing student or a political science major — to understand the issue and be committed to fighting it. For example, 80% of trafficking victims will see a medical professional while they’re being exploited, so nurses and ER doctors are on the frontlines of increasing victim identification and giving people a way to safety. That’s a field that might not first come to mind when we think about trafficking, but it’s really important. … Whatever you’re studying, it’s a great time to inform yourself of what’s going on in our state or your home state and how you can be involved.”
Omaha, Neb., junior Grayson Shirey, a member of Baylor’s chapter of International Justice Mission, said human trafficking isn’t like it appears in movies.
“A lot of people don’t realize that it can happen right under your nose, like in families and schools,” Shirey said. “It’s just so prevalent everywhere, so raising awareness of it is so important — especially [on] college campuses where it can happen, and a lot of people don’t know that.”
Byrd said this year, Unbound Now has had the opportunity to serve 653 survivors of human trafficking — a 20% increase from previous years.
“There’s nothing like getting to be part of this work together so the victims can get the best care that they need,” Byrd said. “That’s really special. I’m really proud of that. … And that ties to one of [Unbound Now]’s main values, which is victim-centered. Everything we do is for the good and the betterment of the survivors we serve.”
Byrd ended her TEDxTAMU Talk by saying, “Life is finite. We will all cross the finish line. So how will you give your life?”
