Melea Stephens is a practicing marriage and family therapist and an activist leader against sexual exploitation in her home state of Alabama. She is the founder of the Alabama Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (ALACESE) and Rescue Innocence Movement (RIMovement.org), a non-profit created to protect this generation of children from the harms of sexual exploitation through prevention, education, and legislation.

Since 2012, Melea has organized several city and statewide events and public awareness campaigns. Through the Rescue Innocence Movement and with the help of NCOSE and local leaders, she has been instrumental in the launch of the nation’s fist emergency unit for pediatric survivors of sex trafficking at UAB Hospital. Melea often speaks publicly on topics such as the public health crisis of pornography and currently serves on the advisory team for Camille Place, a residential treatment program for female survivors ages 6-19.

Melea received her BA in Human Development and Family Studies from Samford University and her MA in Marriage and Family Therapy from Abilene Christian University. She resides in Birmingham, AL with her loving husband and two children.