our story
Having lived experience navigating the child welfare system and successfully transitioning out, our founder Meiko Taylor was driven to help other young people build strong, successful futures. In 2015, she launched The Power Project to partner with community organizations and deliver intervention programs and workshops that guide underserved youth toward their career and life goals.
Through this work, we discovered that some of the youth we served were being exploited through human trafficking. Committed to addressing victimization and social issues impacting our young people, The Power Project expanded its mission, launching culturally responsive prevention programming designed to raise awareness, empower youth, and disrupt recruitment into trafficking.
Based in Los Angeles County and serving clients nationwide, The Power Project serves the community through two core programs:
CHILD SAFETY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION PROGRAM
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Serves: School-age youth in grades 6–12, along with the adults who support them — including teachers, administrators, social workers, and parents.
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Focus: Prevent sexual violence, dating violence, online exploitation, labor trafficking, and sex trafficking.
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What It Does: 1) Increase community awareness of child human trafficking; 2) Teach how to recognize signs of recruitment and trafficking; and 3) Provide practical safety tips to help prevent exploitation.
YOUTH SUCCESS PROGRAM
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Serves: high school-age youth in grades 9–12, Transitional-age youth 18-21
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Focus: Supports students in exploring career paths and taking practical steps to reach their goals.
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What It Does: 1) Engages youth in thoughtful discussions to help them see beyond their current situation; 2) Guides them in setting goals and tracking their progress; and 3) Empowers them to create and follow a plan for their future.
To date, The Power Project’s team has a combined experience training over 30,000 people.
Our team
ceo
california
Meiko Taylor
Meiko Taylor is a passionate leader, youth advocate, and founder of The Power Project. Drawing on her own experience in the child welfare system and over a decade of working with youth in foster care and on probation, Meiko transformed her journey into a mission to help young people reclaim their power.
While working directly with youth victims of human trafficking, she developed a deep passion for prevention. As a filmmaker, Meiko created a hip-hop film and prevention training program to educate teens about the tactics traffickers use to recruit them — and how to stay safe.
Her work garnered the attention on a national anti-human trafficking organization and she was tapped to head their Prevention Department. In just two years, Meiko grew their program from serving just 300 youth to training over 26,000.
Now at the helm of The Power Project, Meiko is a nationally and internationally sought-after speaker and has partnered with major agencies like the Department of Children and Family Services and United Healthcare. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago and an MBA.
Community engagement specialist
california
Deniz DeLaMora
Deniz is passionate about empowering others, specifically youth and women. After much prayer and self development work Deniz knew that her life's mission was to move people and to remind them of their power.
Over the course of her career, Deniz has worked with first generation college students, teen moms, young men and women of color, nonbinary young people, and girls who were survivors of human trafficking. She has a passion for serving under-resourced communities. She hopes to not only inspire young people to aim for what seems unattainable, but to really help nurture self love and ignite what's already inside of them through the power of social media and community engagement.
Deniz holds a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Psychology from San Diego State University and attended the Integrative Psychology Master’s Program at Sofia University.
Community education Manger
ILlinois
Jackie Pawlan
Jackie first became involved in the fighting against human trafficking while working with youth experiencing homelessness. A Social Worker by trade, she has spent her professional career serving youth from under-resourced communities; specifically, addressing challenges with mental health and transitioning into adulthood.
Jackie’s mission has been to normalize vulnerability through human connection, a language which can translate to both youth and adult learners alike. Through education, Jackie strives to create safe spaces, safe people, and communicate to youth they are not alone.
Jackie holds a B.A in Sociology, a MSW with a specialization in mental health, and is a licensed social worker in the state of Illinois. Jackie is also finishing her clinical hours to obtain her LCSW.
community education specialist
ILlinois
Desi Bennett
Desiree began her career serving clients directly. She has worked with youth as a crisis worker helping them navigate challenges they were facing. Desiree also has experience working one on one with youth and their families; helping to build their skills to achieve and maintain resiliency.
Desiree has a passion for making a difference in the lives of vulnerable populations. After working directly with clients for the past 5 years, she explored other avenues of helping vulnerable populations. She became interested in The Power Project because she resonated with the mission. She felt that she could better serve her community by helping to raise awareness about human trafficking and educating staff that work directly with youth.
Desiree attended Michigan State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Leadership and Integrative Learning through the Bailey Scholars Program. Desiree is currently pursuing a Master's in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
