Indian-American Minal Patel Davis receives the Presidential Medal for her work against human trafficking

Minal Patel Davis was recognised by the White House for her contribution towards combatting human trafficking in Houston.

Indian-American Minal Patel Davis, Special Advisor on Human Trafficking to the Mayor of Houston was honoured with the “Presidential Medal for Combatting Human Trafficking” by the White House.

The medal was presented to her by the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the presence of US President Donald Trump at the White House on Oct 17, 2018.

After receiving the award, she said, “My parents came here from India. I was the first one in my family born in the US, so to end up in the Mayor’s office a few years ago, and then to now end up in the White House, it was unbelievable.”

Minal did her BA from New York University and went on to do her MBA degree from the University of Connecticut. In 2015, she was appointed as special advisor to the mayor of Houston. Since then, she had played a vital role in combatting the human trafficking menace in the city.

Through her strong policies, she has made a large impact on the local human trafficking and has enhanced the system to address it. To further tackle this, Minal is now implementing Mayor Turner’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Plan. It is the first comprehensive municipal response to the issue of human trafficking by the US city.

Minal has represented Houston city’s human trafficking policies at many local, national and international panels. She has also been a speaker at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit. Recently, Minal travelled to India and Canada at the request of State Department to discuss municipal leadership to curb human trafficking.

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