Catherine Chen is the CEO of Polaris, a leading anti-trafficking organization in the United States. She is a veteran anti-trafficking strategist who has spent nearly two decades building innovative social justice programs to address the systemic failures and inequities that are at the root of sex and labor trafficking. As a first generation Chinese-American, Catherine brings a deep commitment to racial and gender justice and economic equity and has a long track record of building up leaders who have lived experience.
Catherine was previously Polaris’s chief program officer, where she spearheaded the organization’s 10-year vision for reducing and preventing human trafficking at the magnitude of the problem. Prior to joining Polaris, Catherine spent seven years at Humanity United, where she led the foundation’s Human Trafficking and Labor Migration team as Director of Investments, building an extensive program to address trafficking and labor exploitation of South Asian migrant workers. Earlier in her career, she served as the inaugural global Anti-Trafficking and Child Protection Advisor for Save the Children, working across 17 countries to address child exploitation and led a nationwide training and technical assistance program for U.S. Department of Justice anti-trafficking task forces.
Catherine has a B.A. in human biology from Stanford University, and a Masters degree in public health from Columbia University.
