Stephany Powell, Ed.D.
Senior Advisor on Law Enforcement and Policy
Dr. Stephany Powell’s unique insight into the world of sexual exploitation and trafficking gained through her thirty years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), coupled with her passion for education and her heart for community, make Dr. Powell an incredible leader in the movement to end sexual exploitation and as the Senior Advisor on Law Enforcement and Policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Dr. Powell retired from the LAPD as Vice Sergeant and accepted a leadership role at Journey Out in October 2013. In addition to her LAPD tenure, Dr. Powell is a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership and utilizes that singular combination in several ways. She created and facilitated Team Building and Executive Leadership workshops based on positive change dynamics for the Fire and Police departments. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. Dr. Powell uses her considerable skills and insight to educate the community about the complex and often misunderstood world of sex trafficking and to create positive change for its victims. Dr. Powell is a powerful speaker, a tenacious educator and advocate for change, and one of the premiere experts in this field. Dr. Powell has been featured on CNN/HLN as well as local media in the Los Angeles area. She has published a human trafficking youth prevention workbook and her workbook has been utilized on a national and international level.
Dr. Powell’s most notable and rewarding assignment as a police officer was being the Senior Lead Officer in Foothill Area, where she was a community officer, assigned to the Pacoima and Lake View Terrace Area shortly after the Rodney King incident. During that same time period she was awarded Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly. In 1995, she was selected as the Assistant Officer In-Charge of Media Relations Section and designated as the Department Spokesperson, assigned to the Office of the Chief of Police. During that assignment she served directly under Police Chiefs Willie William and Bernard C. Parks.