2002
On February 14, 2002, the Polaris Project was officially founded by Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman, two seniors from Brown University. After learning about the existence of a brothel near their college, these two individuals began to envision a society where modern day slavery is eliminated. Their vision became a reality through the Polaris Project, which today, is a leading non-profit working to stop human trafficking. Their key developments include a national, toll-free hotline where they receive information or reports regarding human trafficking, advocating for more legislation, raising awareness, and training law enforcement to deal with trafficking issues ("Founding").