Katherine Chon

Director, Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP)

Katherine Chon is the founding director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) and senior advisor on human trafficking at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OTIP is part of the HHS Administration for Children and Families, responsible for developing strategies and implementing programs to prevent trafficking, increase victim identification and access to services, and strengthen the health and well-being of survivors. OTIP also collaborates with government and nongovernment partners to raise public awareness, identify research priorities, and inform policy recommendations to strengthen the Nation’s public health response to human trafficking.

As director, Katherine leads the office, determines eligibility of services for survivors of human trafficking, and supports the HHS Task Force to Prevent Human Trafficking. As senior advisor, Katherine serves on multiple federal working groups on human trafficking, gender-based violence, child exploitation, and resilient supply chains. She is the federal executive officer of public-private collaborations, including the National Advisory Committee on the Trafficking of Children and Youth in the U.S. and the Joint Forced Labor Working Group. 

Prior to her government service in 2012, Katherine was the co-founder and President of Polaris. Katherine received a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University with the distinction of Delta Omega, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Brown University.