VIDEO
An Evening of Hope, Healing & Freedom Join us for a luminous evening celebrating the strength and resilience of women who have overcome the darkest chapters of their lives and the community that helps them rise.
The Love & Light Gala benefits Magdalene House of Austin , a two-year therapeutic residential program that provides safe housing, trauma-informed care, and life-skills programs for women recovering from human trafficking and exploitation. Together, we’re creating pathways to freedom and lasting change.
Keynote Speaker Elizabeth “Liz” Stein is a survivor leader, human trafficking specialist, advocate, and public speaker whose work focuses on survivor-centered policy reform, institutional accountability, and the prevention of sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Previously, Stein served as a Survivor Mentor and Child Policy Associate, supporting individuals impacted by human trafficking and contributing to systems-level reform. Drawing on both professional expertise and lived experience, Liz works at the intersection of survivors, systems, and policy. She has presented and provided training to a broad range of audiences, including service providers, attorneys, law enforcement, policymakers, advocates, nonprofit organizations, and other professionals working with survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking. Her work emphasizes the importance of incorporating survivor expertise into the development of policies, procedures, training, and organizational practices, and recognizing survivors not simply as recipients of services, but as essential partners in shaping the systems designed to serve them.
Liz has become a prominent public voice in the fight for transparency and accountability in the Jeffrey Epstein case. She publicly disclosed her identity as a survivor following Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction in 2021 and has since advocated nationally for survivor-centered justice, government accountability, and meaningful transparency. She was an advocate for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which became law in November 2025, and continues to speak publicly about the responsibilities of institutions to protect survivors while pursuing accountability. She is a recognized advocate and analyst on sex trafficking and has provided commentary on both systemic trafficking issues and the Epstein case for national and international news outlets, including BBC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNOW, and Netflix.
Her work is grounded in the belief that survivors should have a meaningful role in shaping the policies, practices, and systems that affect their lives. Through speaking, training, and policy advocacy, Liz brings survivor expertise into conversations about sexual violence, human trafficking, institutional accountability, and systemic reform.
Why It Matters Every ticket, every table, and every bid directly supports women rebuilding their lives through Magdalene House of Austin’s life-changing programs: therapy, education, professional development, and long-term community support.
This gala isn’t just an event. It’s a declaration:
Love heals. Light restores. Freedom is possible.
Be Part of the Light Reserve your table or ticket today and help illuminate the path toward freedom for survivors of trafficking in our community.
Because when we gather in love and light, transformation begins.
