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Houston’s Minal Patel Davis Gets Presidential Medal for Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative
Picture Courtesy: www.houstontx.gov
Minal Patel Davis, who is the Special Advisor on Human Trafficking to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, received the ‘Presidential Medal for Combating Human Trafficking’ in the White House last week.
The White House has honored an Indian-American woman with a Presidential Medal for her work on combating human trafficking in Houston.
Minal Patel Davis, the special Advisor on Human Trafficking to Houston Mayor, received the ‘Presidential Medal for Combating Human Trafficking’ in the White House on Oct. 17, 2018, by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. President Donald Trump was also present at the ceremony.
“It was unbelievable,” Davis said after winning the award which is the country’s highest honor in the field.
Davis was appointed to her post in July 2015 and has made a significant local impact on human trafficking in the city policies and changes to the system, according to city and media reports.
“My parents came here from India. I was the first one in my family born in the United States, so to end up in the Mayor’s office a few years ago, and then to now end up in the White House, it was unbelievable,” she said after being honored.
News agency PTI said, Davis is currently implementing Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Plan, which is supposed to be the first comprehensive municipal response to human trafficking by a large U.S. city.
The City of Houston and the city’s mayor congratulated Davis on her win.
We can’t say enough about Mayor @SylvesterTurner’s special adviser on human trafficking, Minal Patel Davis. Today, she and her team were recognized by city council.
She received a presidential medal at the White House last week for her work to combat human trafficking. pic.twitter.com/QirsKSJ8vL— City of Houston (@HoustonTX) October 17, 2018
Davis has presented Houston city’s approach at several local, national, and international events, the news agency said adding she has earlier spoken at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit and recently traveled to India and Canada at the request of the State Department to discuss municipal leadership in human trafficking with government officials.