Category: DSW Newsletter #19 (October 2020)

Ariela Moscowitz is joining DSW as the director of communications. We are thrilled to welcome an incredible nonprofit professional with years of experience advocating for social equity on behalf of marginalized communities to our team. Ariela is committed to changing hearts, minds, and ultimately, laws to protect sex workers and trafficking survivors.

For the past seven years, Ariela has worked at Americans for Immigrant Justice as the director of community relations. Americans for Immigrant Justice is a nonprofit law firm based in Miami, dedicated to protecting the human and legal rights of immigrants through a combination of direct service, advocacy, and impact litigation. As director of community relations, she managed all of the organization’s development- and communications-related activities.

Ariela has a long history of working with marginalized groups and “a particular interest in working to promote access to justice for those who might otherwise be denied it.” She has previously worked as an advocate at domestic violence shelters and at an organization providing emergency, transitional, and permanent housing to unhoused women and children. Ariela currently lives in Miami, FL, with her son.

DSW’s Kaytlin Bailey will be departing the organization at the end of the month to more directly focus her energy on her burgeoning production company, Old Pro Productions, Inc., which aims to “tell better sex worker stories.” This month Bailey is relaunching her podcast, “The Oldest Profession,” which she originally created in 2017. By the time she joined DSW as communications director in 2018, Bailey had drawn a committed audience inspired by her irreverent humor, honesty, and wit.

Old Pro Productions produces “The Oldest Profession” in addition to Bailey’s one-woman show, “Whore’s Eye View,” which is currently in development. Additionally, the production company has spearheaded a national art build — partnering with local sex workers in five major U.S. cities — culminating in a virtual event on January 25, 2021, the anniversary of the first sex worker-led protest in the U.S.

While we are sad to say goodbye, DSW could not be more excited to see where Bailey’s work will take both the organization and our movement. Her tireless advocacy, public performances, personal essays, and op-eds, featured in various local and national publications, have raised awareness and made this issue accessible to a broader audience of allies. As a former sex worker, Bailey will continue to push people in power to listen to sex workers and stop the arrests.

Keep up with the latest news and entertainment from Old Pro Productions by signing up for its newsletter. You can also support the podcast on Patreon, where you’ll find exclusive content, event invites, and merchandise.

DSW’s Melissa Broudo received the Lou Sullivan Award from the National Trans Visibility March (NTVM) for her outstanding commitment to defending the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals and communities throughout her legal career. The NTVM Torch Awards is an annual event that “recognizes distinguished achievements and honors individuals whose work has impacted the lives of TGNC communities across the nation.” Those who are recognized have demonstrated excellence in challenging the social structures that disenfranchise TGNC communities, through advocacy, journalism, policy work, education, and public service.

Broudo’s work demonstrates her commitment to human rights, harm reduction, and the empowerment of all, particularly regarding gender equity and diversity. She decided to attend law school with the distinct goal of fighting for the full decriminalization of consensual adult prostitution. Earning her Juris Doctor (JD) from Georgetown University Law School and her Master of Public Health (MPH) from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, Broudo has dedicated over 20 years to advocating for sex workers and survivors of human trafficking.

As a senior staff attorney at the Sex Workers Project (SWP) at the Urban Justice Center, Broudo won the first-ever vacatur motion for a survivor of human trafficking and provided technical expertise on these critical motions throughout the state and country. She co-founded the Sharmus Outlaw Advocacy and Rights Institute (SOAR) with longtime colleague and friend Crystal DeBoise (now also with DSW). SOAR furthers policy, advocacy, and capacity building efforts that support the rights of sex workers and survivors of human trafficking. Broudo has been a board member of Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S.) since the organization’s founding in 2016. Through her work at SOAR, G.L.I.T.S., and other organizations, Broudo has been featured extensively in the media regarding sex work and #MeToo, the NYC Stripper Strike, and the criminalization of sex workers. She is a tireless advocate for policies that further a rights-based approach to the sex industry.

The intersection between sex worker rights and LGBTQ rights, specifically TGNC justice movements, is significant. TGNC individuals, particularly trans women of color, are overwhelmingly profiled as sex workers, suffering the most severe consequences of criminalization and stigma. Whether litigating to vacate the convictions of trafficking victims or speaking about gender diversity and sexual liberation, Broudo never fails to center those who are most impacted. She accepted the award at the virtual ceremony with words of unity and strength for those fighting for justice at this challenging moment.

Broudo was honored alongside other notable leaders such as Alphonso David from the Human Rights Campaign, Aryah Lester from the Transgender Strategy Center, Taylor Chandler from Us Helping Us, JT Perez from Alianza of New Mexico, and so many more.