LifeWay Network achieves its mission through the combined efforts of many passionate and dedicated individuals who work together to build a world in which human trafficking is abolished and every survivor is strong, connected and free. Our work is supported by hundreds of volunteers, partner agencies, sponsors, and our committed board of directors.
Chloe brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of fundraising to LifeWay Network. With her extensive background in connecting donors with meaningful causes, Chloe has successfully led numerous fundraising campaigns, helping us achieve our charitable goals. She is a true advocate for change and believes in the power of collective action.
As the director of education, training and advocacy, Josephine Crisostomo is responsible for advancing LifeWay Network’s educational and advocacy initiatives. A graduate of Syracuse University with a background in community engagement and mental health, Josephine has focused throughout her career on ensuring that New Yorkers have access to culturally responsive services and information to make informed choices on their health. Before joining LifeWay, Josephine worked at the New York City Mayor’s Office implementing social-emotional and trauma-informed crisis management programming for youth, parents and educators.
As the director of finance and technology, Jeannie Colangelo is responsible for managing the fiscal and system functions to ensure smooth and efficient operations of the organization, as well as support organizational growth and program development with financial planning models. Jeannie also leads the development of the organization’s technology roadmap, including the identification of appropriate systems to meet growing organizational needs. Jeannie left the corporate world for LifeWay Network because of her strong desire to help women who have been trafficked become strong, connected and free. Jeannie has a bachelor’s degree from Purchase College.
As the executive director, Alison “Ali” Boak (she/her/hers) is responsible for overseeing all day-to-day functions of LifeWay Network, including its safe housing and education programs, development, finance, human resources and strategy. As the lead public advocate for LifeWay Network’s mission, Ali works to champion LifeWay’s impact across its programs and the anti-trafficking field as a whole. Ali began her anti-trafficking work when she discovered that traffickers were recruiting children and youth out of the schools, universities and orphanages where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright Scholar in the Baltic States.
For more than 25 years, Ali has worked alongside survivors of all forms of trafficking to develop innovative, survivor-driven approaches to prevent and address human trafficking across the United States, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia.
As a pioneer in the anti-trafficking movement, Ali cofounded several organizations, networks and coalitions at the forefront of the anti-trafficking field today, including the International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), Freedom Network USA, the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force, and the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group. Most recently, Ali served as the inaugural director of the Global Center on Human Trafficking at Montclair State University.
Ali graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany with a B.A. in political science, international affairs concentration, and earned a master of public health (MPH) degree from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, the Division for Population and Family Health. She also holds a certificate in mentoring supervision from Fordham University.
Founder
Since 2006, Sr. Joan S. Dawber, SC, has been engaged full-time in working to abolish human trafficking. As the founder of LifeWay Network, her focus has been establishing safe housing for human trafficking survivors in the New York area and educating the general public on this important issue. Sr. Joan’s contributions to the abolitionist movement have been lauded by numerous organizations, including St. John’s University, who awarded her their Caritas Medal in 2014; Pax Christi Metro New York, who presented her with the Sister Christine Mulready Peacemaker Award in 2015; and New York’s New Abolitionists, who named her as one of their own in 2014. A member of the Sisters of Charity Halifax, Sr. Joan is a former co-chair of the New York Coalition of Religious Congregations to Stop Trafficking in Persons, serves on the Sisters of Charity Global Concerns Resource Team, and is a board member of the US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking.