Fighting to prevent human trafficking and help survivors get access to long-term support
Age: 39
Job Title: Director of Operations for Alberta Centre to End Trafficking in Persons and Founding Director of HERizon Healing Society
When Linea Xaysana began her career in corrections at the Edmonton Young Offender Centre at the age of 20, she never guessed where it would take her. In fact, she wasn’t much older than many of her charges. In time, Xaysana realized that many young people in the corrections system were themselves victims of crime, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking. She worked her way up in the justice system until being named the Government of Alberta’s manager of anti-human trafficking initiatives, a branch whose creation she advocated for in the first place. “It was a huge win,” she says.
During her time with the ministry, Xaysana helped develop the Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act and advocated for the creation of 19 anti-trafficking recommendations (18 of which were ultimately adopted by the Alberta government). But working in corrections drew Xaysana’s focus to the gaps facing human trafficking survivors — notably, challenges finding long-term counselling.
Many survivors don’t report crimes in the first place, meaning they never qualify for therapy subsidized through Victims Services. If they do, counselling sessions are often capped at a certain amount — leaving many survivors stuck mid-recovery. Paying out of pocket is often expensive. “You’re breaking this relationship with a survivor who’s finally just getting to the point where they’re feeling capable of getting a job or maybe starting to rebuild their own personal life.”
Seeing how survivors fell through the cracks, Xaysana launched HERizon Healing Society, a charitable organization connecting survivors of human trafficking and intimate partner violence with barrier-free mental-health services and cultural healing. “I want to be able to provide that barrier-free support through a therapeutic lens,” she says.
In January, Xaysana left her full-time role with the Alberta Government and now works as director of operations for the Alberta Centre to End Trafficking in Persons, liaising between trafficking survivors, law enforcement, community groups and government to advocate for stronger anti-trafficking policy and survivor resources. Working directly with survivors in a non-profit capacity “hits her heartstrings” in a way government work sometimes didn’t. “I need that kind of direction in my career and my life.”
This article appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Edify
