The Organization for Prostitution Survivors is seeking members for its Board of Directors.

About the Organization

OPS is a survivor-founded and -led organization that facilitates recovery from the harms of prostitution through survivor-centered, trauma-informed services that empower our participants and community to heal from, and end, this system of gender-based violence.

OPS provides female-identified survivors of the sex trade of all ages individualized and supportive wrap-around services, ranging from harm-reduction to exit services. OPS emphasizes empowerment through community-building and individual agency, and uses a three prong model to address the harms of the commercial sex trade (focusing on services, education, and survivor empowerment.) OPS sees the sex trade as a form of gender-based violence and works to counter the impacts of the sex trade by providing survivor services, educating the community to prevent violence from happening, and empowering survivors through mentoring and hiring practices to take leadership roles in non-profits and seats at policy stakeholder tables. We know that to respond to a violence we need to do so from a lens which is culturally competent, and addresses both the aftereffects of that violence as well as prevention.

OPS has recently relocated from Seattle to Burien, and serves survivors throughout King County and Washington.

OPS is dedicated to building accountability by integrating survivors at every level of the organization, implementing trauma-informed policies and practices, and prioritizing the hiring and leadership of people who are survivors, female-identified, and people of color.

About the Board

The OPS Board of Directors guides the organization and the three Executive Directors in their work to support survivors, advocate for policies, and provide outreach and education to the community. The Board of Directors provides support around budget, fundraising, human resources and developing connections throughout the community. The Board of Directors is a working board, and regularly participates alongside OPS staff in organizational decision-making. Due to COVID-19, board activities are all occurring remotely.

Board Duties

• Attend monthly board meetings

• Participate in OPS committees which include: human resources, events and outreach, and finances

• Support OPS across organizational activities including: fundraising through grant-writing, cultivating individual and organizational donors, providing guidance around Washington labor laws, event-planning, advocating for issues related to OPS and survivors through local, state, and national policies, and other non-profit management

• Cultivate and recruit board members, volunteers, and staff

• Promote racial justice, the elimination of violence against women and gender-based violence, economic equity, and LGBTQ+ rights through continued learning and engagement around these issues and their intersection with OPS services

OPS is particularly interested in recruiting board members who:

• Have lived experience with the sex trade

• Prioritize and work towards racial justice

• Have a background in one or more of the following professional skills: employment law; fundraising and grant-writing; finances; human resources; event-planning; prior board affiliations

• Share in OPS’s mission to facilitate recovery from, and end the harms of, the sex trade, and create progress towards a world free from all forms of oppression and exploitation.

To apply

Complete a board application and send it along with a current resume or CV to info@seattleops.org.

Next steps

We will schedule times to connect one-on-one with applicants to discuss their interests and answer questions and board recruits will have the opportunity to join one of our meetings prior to being voted in