FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Recognizing the systemic inequities that put Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ youth at higher risk for exploitation than their peers, Meredith Harper Houston established The Swan Within in 2016, using her dance training to heal youth that had been exploited, abused, and neglected.

An abuse survivor herself, Meredith utilizes the therapeutic elements of dance to help students heal, reclaim their power, and discover their strength.

As a speaker and community leader, she works tirelessly to inform her peers about the reality of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and interrupt misconceptions the general public has about sexually exploited youth.

Meredithharperhouston.com

Public Health Communications & Creative Content Lead

During her experience with the organization she has performed a wide range of content creation as well as assisting in data analysis, and revision of content to continuously refine The Swan Within’s program model to better align with the vision and values of its core.

Her passion for public health advocacy got solidified in California State University, Long Beach, where she completed her studies in Health Science and Public Health.

Working and volunteering in a number of nonprofit organizations for the benefit of underrepresented communities intensified her desire to ensure positive outcomes for youth and families in need.

Traice Webb-Bradley is a licensed clinical psychologist and currently works as a national psychologist peer reviewer and subject matter expert for Optum Health Behavioral Solutions (formerly United Behavioral Health). She graduated Magna Cum Laude with her B.A. degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University where she was invited to Phi Beta Kappa in 2001.  She also earned masters and doctoral degrees in Counseling Psychology at University of Missouri-Columbia. She has special interest in working with people of color and women regarding trauma, identity, and sexuality issues, including sexual decision-making. 

Dr. Webb-Bradley has also worked closely with key community services and agencies to increase awareness and prevention of mental illness in the black community. She is especially grateful for the opportunity to serve the mental health needs of the Ferguson community in the immediate aftermath of the death of Michael Brown in 2014. She has published works in the journals of Sex Education; Culture, Health, & Sexuality; and the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender. She believes that mental health care should be accessible to all. As such she authored a grant through the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and provided a free, weekly support group to survivors of sexual trauma for 3 years. She is the former president of the St. Louis chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists and has received awards and recognition for her community service.  

Dr. Webb-Bradley currently lives in Los Angeles, California, but is proud of her midwestern upbringing in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is married and has one daughter.

Passionflix Founder, TOSCA MUSK, is a multi-award winning filmmaker known for her directing, producing, writing, executive producing of feature films and leading-edge content. In 2017, Musk co-founded Passionflix , the premium streaming entertainment platform that produces and distributes empowering, fun and passionate movies for audiences of all ages. Recently featured in WWD and TechCrunch , Tosca Musk launched her career at Alliance-Atlantis, Canada’s largest producer and distributor of feature films, becoming the Director of Development at Sela Ward’s Magnolia Films. She then moved into production, as Los Angeles Segment Producer for TV Times, and subsequently stepped into her debut directing role with the feature film Puzzled. This marked the beginning of over 20 feature films, television movies, and web content.

Her television movie, Holiday Engagement , provided Hallmark Channel with it’s highest-rated Sunday night movie in the network’s history, and her family feature, Simple Things garnered nine awards, including three “Best Picture” Awards, and “Audience” Award. Musk’s web series, Tiki Bar TV, was used by Steve Jobs to promote the iPod with Video in his 2005 Keynote speech and held the ranking of #1 downloaded video on iTunes for over 3 months. It is still considered to be a pioneer of web series.

A true believer in the motto, that with focus and determination, an individual can create the opportunities they want, Tosca mastered the craft of feature film producing, honed the art of motion picture directing and now has added the digital chalice, building a dynamic, new platform (Passionflix) that delivers empowering, inspiring and entertaining content to the world - with an express focus on the romance community. A mother of four-year-old twins, Tosca, like her mother, Maye Musk , is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment. Tosca actively supports the Kitchen Community, founded by her brother Kimbal Musk, the ongoing work of her brother Elon Musk, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.