Dr. Susanna Southworth is dedicated to ending human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Through her law firm, Restore the Child, PLLC, she represents victims of abuse, online exploitation, child sex abuse material (CSAM), and sex trafficking. Susanna has appeared in several complex sex trafficking cases against internet platforms, hotel brands, franchisees, and operators as a team member of the human trafficking litigation team for Levin, Papantonio. Susanna’s mission is for her clients to experience a new beginning to a life free from the pain of past abuse while receiving maximum recovery for their harm. Since obtaining her license in 2004 to practice law in Washington State, Susanna has advocated for vulnerable populations in several areas of the law, including, immigration (removal defense and U visas for victims of abuse), criminal (excluding sex offenses), and guardianships and estate planning. Further, she holds certifications in collaborative law and basic mediation training and she is a pro tem judge for Pierce County District Court.
Susanna serves survivors of child sex trafficking in her leadership as immediate past president of the Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Ending Sex Trafficking. (Currently, she is the Secretary for Rotary District 5030 and a board member of the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS), and she is actively working with RAGAS to bring an 8th focus area of Human Rights to Rotary International.) In addition, she serves on the national board for CHILD USA and formerly served on the board for the Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS).
Susanna has a heart for mentoring youth and a passion for education, which she invests in as a Lecturer for the Division of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs for the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science with Emphases in Comparative Politics and Public Administration Subfields from The University of Utah and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas Law School.
Susanna passionately believes that trafficking prevention education that is trauma-informed is key to ending child sexual exploitation. To this end, she has completed a Certificate Program in Traumatic Stress Studies with the Trauma Research Foundation. Susanna has presented training to government and nonprofit entities across the country to educate on child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Susanna strives to end child sexual exploitation through prevention education, empowering youth in higher education, and powerful but trauma-informed advocacy for her clients.