Walking Together Toward Freedom: Human Trafficking, Social Justice, & the Catholic Call to Human Dignity

St. Martin de Porres Lecture on Social Justice

Walking Together Toward Freedom: Human Trafficking, Social Justice, & the Catholic Call to Human Dignity

Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 4:00 PM, Dominican Center Rm 218

Human trafficking is a profound violation of human dignity, violating persons created in the image of God by treating them
as commodities. Through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, trauma-informed practice, and spirituality, Danielle will explore how we are called to encounter those impacted by exploitation with compassion and a fierce commitment to justice, working against systems that perpetuate the demand for exploited persons.

Danielle Heitmann Grossano, MA, MSW, LICSW, is a trauma therapist, social worker, and anti-human trafficking advocate whose work is grounded in the Catholic faith and a commitment to human dignity and social justice. A graduate of Boston College’s dual master’s program in Social Work and Theology and Ministry, she is also a temporarily professed lay Dominican. Danielle spent five years providing clinical care to survivors of human trafficking and currently serves as Legislative Co-Chair of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking.