JODY WILLIAMS RESUME OR CV
Jody Williams
msjodywilliams@gmail.com
(702) 488 1127 Telephone
Curriculum
Vitae for Jody Williams
Past
Experience
Taking a special “equivalency exam” I was able to leave high
school and enter community college at 16 years of age. My father
stole my college money however, forcing me to find part-time work to
continue my education. My goal was to become a psychologist and
writer. I found a cocktail waitress job at a local nightclub which
turned out to be a front to launder prostitution and drug money for a
“generational” family spoken of by Richard Pryor. He speaks of
coming from a family where his mother was a prostitute, and his
grandmother the madam.
With Richard's entertainment connections – it was natural to think
of a club where they could explain where all the money was coming
from. The “family” as we called them explained they wanted
someone to train who would be able to lease houses in areas such as
Bel Air, and open business accounts that would have been impossible
in the racist environment that existed back in the late 1970's.
I
was white, with an innocent face, a gift of sounding professional and
articulate, plus I looked good in a business suit. Thus I was
trained in all aspects of the “business and administration” to do
with their operations. Especially useful as they were expanding
their money-laundering operations into establishing record companies
featuring artists they'd get to appear at the club. The early 1980's in Los Angeles, California had two “madams” -
myself and Alex. When she was arrested – the media dubbed her the
“Beverly Hills Madam”.
Turning on me, I was arrested shortly
after where the media nicknamed me the “High Tech Madam” because
I was the first brothel they'd encountered with a computer that I
used as a database to screen clients, and undercover surveillance
equipment that would record everything that went on in my
establishments.
One of the main reasons for all this security was because I was
witnessing trafficking on a wide-scale level in many forms. I was
witnessing our government trafficking in women in connection with
both the Iran Contra situation where the CIA was selling cocaine
through the gangs of south central to raise cash to buy guns for the
Contra's. The other was women our government was giving as “gifts”
during our oil negotiations that were very big during the 1980's.
Prostitutes were also used to blackmail people that were getting in
their way, as well as screening out possible undercover agents.
To create a “demand” for the cocaine, parties were being
arranged with the Hollywood elite. The south central gangs couldn't
possibly introduce the freebase product at Beverly Hills parties full
of celebrities – so these men would contract with our “escorts”
to carry the drugs like mules, as well as introduce their use at
these parties. This led to not only more sales of the product, but
also made for movies glamorizing it which in turn increased the
demand higher by making it appear “cool”.
When I was arrested in 1984 – I had a lot of people who wanted me
dead. So too were a lot of women in our industry turning up dead and no one doing anything about it. Mothers were protesting in the streets about the numbers of prostitutes being founded dead in alley's while LAPD did nothing and even they were ignored. For reasons such as this, I took the warehouse I'd once used as an adult theater and converted it into the first safe house for adult sex trafficking victims in history. I was then framed as this being an illegal brothel and arrested on a charge of pimping.
Because they gave me a $50,000 bail, I wasn't able to explain to the media what this warehouse really was. They just saw all the security and surveillance equipment and dubbed me the "High Tech Madam" in the press. I had received a call from a woman asking for help to escape her pimp and drug dealer who had just beaten her to a pulp. I took her to the now safe house to recuperate and be safe. After making sure she was safe, I then went home. It turned out she was on probation and the cops had her do this to frame me into the arrest. The truth all came unraveled out and I was not convicted of pimping.
However, while I was being held on bail a lot of people got scared what I might say to the police. The DA kept asking me to rat someone out in exchange for my case being dropped. To make sure I survived – I refused to testify against anyone (who would believe me anyway). The police confiscated all of my property, over $250,000 in cash, cars, furs, jewelry, etc. I was, and still am, the only highly publicized madam I'm aware of that walked away with only probation for my sentence which was for fraud in the end! To try and convince me they could “protect” me if I did testify as to what I witnessed – the DA changed my name to the male spelling of “Rene Le Blanc”.
Because they gave me a $50,000 bail, I wasn't able to explain to the media what this warehouse really was. They just saw all the security and surveillance equipment and dubbed me the "High Tech Madam" in the press. I had received a call from a woman asking for help to escape her pimp and drug dealer who had just beaten her to a pulp. I took her to the now safe house to recuperate and be safe. After making sure she was safe, I then went home. It turned out she was on probation and the cops had her do this to frame me into the arrest. The truth all came unraveled out and I was not convicted of pimping.
However, while I was being held on bail a lot of people got scared what I might say to the police. The DA kept asking me to rat someone out in exchange for my case being dropped. To make sure I survived – I refused to testify against anyone (who would believe me anyway). The police confiscated all of my property, over $250,000 in cash, cars, furs, jewelry, etc. I was, and still am, the only highly publicized madam I'm aware of that walked away with only probation for my sentence which was for fraud in the end! To try and convince me they could “protect” me if I did testify as to what I witnessed – the DA changed my name to the male spelling of “Rene Le Blanc”.
However, they failed to change my mother's name whose
case was joined to mine. It was that kind of carelessness that was
exactly why I refused to testify. Years later Gary Webb came forward validating the very things I'd witnessed. So too did Chuck Barris with his memoir "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and Rick "Freeway" Ross. Gary Webb was found dead from two shotgun blasts to the head. Even the coroner said it couldn't be a suicide for that reason, but it was still classified as a suicide.
Yeah and so was Jeane Palfrey's death too. That's why her lower legs were found with bruises according to her coroner's report. Something not said in the news when blasting it as a suicide when she was found hung in her mother's backyard shed. She'd gone to her mother's that evening to protect her. Jeane told me a man had been following her "all day long". In fear someone might try and harm her or her mother, she elected to go stay with her mom to keep herself, and her mom, safe from harm. Jeane was preparing to hold a press conference to release more names in her "Black Book" which was not released to prove "john's" names, but the names of the men who had been forcing her to engage in being a madam at the request of our own government using her service for political reasons. Her "Black Book" was to prove THOSE men who were using her and not allowing her to retire the industry - not that of customers of hers.
Yeah and so was Jeane Palfrey's death too. That's why her lower legs were found with bruises according to her coroner's report. Something not said in the news when blasting it as a suicide when she was found hung in her mother's backyard shed. She'd gone to her mother's that evening to protect her. Jeane told me a man had been following her "all day long". In fear someone might try and harm her or her mother, she elected to go stay with her mom to keep herself, and her mom, safe from harm. Jeane was preparing to hold a press conference to release more names in her "Black Book" which was not released to prove "john's" names, but the names of the men who had been forcing her to engage in being a madam at the request of our own government using her service for political reasons. Her "Black Book" was to prove THOSE men who were using her and not allowing her to retire the industry - not that of customers of hers.
Founding
Accomplishments
August 1, 1987 – wrote to Alcoholics Anonymous General Office for
permission to adapt “Steps” to the program of “Prostitutes
Anonymous”. Permission was granted. Formed a “mentor board”
of founders from other 12 step programs, people who worked at the
head offices of 12 step programs, people who had been sponsored by
founders of 12 step programs, and people from the Holocaust Support
Group and the Vietnam Veteran's PTSD program to advise me how to run
an “effective” 12 step program.
August 3, 1987 – installed our first 800 number that became our
first “hotline” phone for anyone wanting to leave any part of the
sex industry to be able to call for help 24/7 and speak to another
recovering person who was not connected with law enforcement. Our
hotline has answered over 500,000 calls to date whereas Polaris has
answered 70,000 to date according to the article we saw.
August 15, 1987 (Day of Harmonic Convergence) - 1st
Prostitutes Anonymous meeting in Tarzana, CA. We had 30 men and
women in attendance. Over ½ of the people in that room that day are
still in “recovery” from sex work today that we're personally
aware of.
1987 – started the first ever HIV/AIDS outreach into the sex
industry in Los Angeles, California with the support of the CDC,
(Center for Disease Control), UCLA, GLASS, (Gay and Lesbian Social
Services), Los Angeles Health Department, the LAXpress Newspaper, and
COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics). We were proud to be able to
train ex-sex workers who would be present when another sex worker was
told they were in fact HIV positive. They would then become that
person's “advocate” and guide them to resources we had identified
for them for housing, medical, jobs, counseling, food, etc. -
anything they might need even if it was just late night coffee to
help them ease through the transition of finding out they were
“positive”. Back in the 1980's this was almost always a death
sentence within two years at most.
1988 – Dr. Joyce Wallace had an RV and started distributing clean
needles, condoms and our flyers to street prostitutes in New York.
We received a lot of calls from those flyers and still are in regular
contact with women who came to us through that outreach project. Her
program transformed into the FROST Project operating in New York
today.
1988 – the first “alternative to sentencing” became available
to prostitutes in Los Angeles County thanks to a committee put
together by then Mayor Tom Bradley, and then Sheriff Sherman Block,
and the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women using
“Prostitutes Anonymous” meetings and ideas they allowed me to
present. This program allowed for early release from jail, and/or
to substitute jail time with attending PA meetings for those who had
been arrested for their 1st offense for prostitution.
This dove-tailed into the opening of a special “wing” in the Via
Avanta Program in Los Angeles, California whereby pregnant HIV
positive prostitutes with children under the age of 18 years old
could receive residential treatment while receiving special medical
care and while being allowed to keep and raise their children with
them in the facility. This had never been done before and was truly
ground-breaking. We were also able to connect this into a “release”
program where we'd have an ex-sex worker pick up women released from
jail so they wouldn't have to “walk to the bottom of the hill”
known for where pimps used to wait to pick up women who were coming
out with no where to go.
1989 – the committee I was asked to be on by then Mayor Tom Bradley
to put together the HIV outreach and the alternative to sentencing
program for prostitutes developed into the “Los Angeles City AIDS
Coordinator's Office” which spearheaded the development of a
comprehensive multi-prong effort to combat AIDS. After presenting
them with enough testimony and research to back up my “points” -
the city acknowledged what I was telling them was a barrier to
effectively fighting HIV within the sex industry and put the ACO
together to overcome these obstacles. The first being that no sex
worker was going to come forward openly for training or testing if
they were afraid of being arrested, nor would their clients.
This is
why the City Attorney's office got involved. The second was that if
you informed a sex worker they were in fact HIV positive – one
couldn't expect them to “shut down shop” immediately because this
person still had to pay rent, and especially pay for medical care.
Since most sex workers don't have private health insurance, and make
too much money to qualify for state health insurance – this was a
real barrier that had to be addressed. So they needed to be provided
with housing, food and medical while they were going through job
re-training. So the work we started in 1988 developed into what
became the ACO in 1989.
August of 1989 – relocated to Allentown, Pennsylvania to help found
the “Lehigh County Program for Female Offenders” with Ruth
Wernick. The womens' jail there was holding 2,000 prostitutes in a
dorm built to hold only 200. The program was designed to reduce the
number, and recidivism, of female prostitutes there. A comprehensive
program was put together where selected women were moved into a
residential home where they attended “Prostitutes Anonymous”
meetings, as well as receiving counseling, job training, drug
treatment, and parenting classes.
Within a year, we eliminated the
need to build a new jail and had decreased the recidivism rate from
87 % to down below 16 %. Our only “failures” were with the
“dual-diagnosed” in the program. I had to move back to Los
Angeles in 1990 because of getting married and pregnant – so I took
my hands off the wheel of this project. It folded but was reborn as
the “Program for Women and Children” which in 2007-2009 only had
a 20-25 % recidivism rate. But from reading their website – it
looks like they incorporated much of our earlier program which worked
then as is working now. We emphasized viewing exiting the “life”
as one the whole family culture had to address if one were to be
successful at leaving. It's almost impossible to give up a life “on
the streets” when your mother, or daughter, or aunts, etc. are
still “out there”.
1990 – was asked by Paige Latin, a “sponsee” of mine to help
her write a grant to open a crisis drop-in center and residential
program for prostitutes to exit the sex industry in Vancouver,
Canada. Evidently one had not existed before – but there was an
epidemic of serial killers targeting prostitutes. The SPACE
(Substance and Prostitution Alternatives Counseling and Education)
was created because 10 prostitutes were sardined into her studio
apartment afraid to “work the streets” because of these killers.
I wrote the program, trained the staff, and the grant applications.
The program was funded and opened in 1991. Paige had to go visit her
ailing father who soon passed in 1992. It became the PACE program
that exists today in 1994. Paige and I have both removed our names
from the PACE program once it was taken over with a “harm
reduction” focus instead of an exit focus.
1991 – incorporated “Prostitutes Anonymous” in California
1991 – copyrighted the “Prostitutes Anonymous” Recovery Guide
“Sold Out”
1991 – James Crossen, PhD, director of the Addictions Studies
Program at Mission College in California starts the first ever
training program for counselors, therapists, social workers, etc.,
who work with people trying to recover not only from drug and/or
alcohol addiction in his “Addictions Studies” program he founded
– but also from the sex industry and/or trafficking. He added a
complimentary course in the “neurology of trauma” to further
explain the issues I was addressed from a medical/neurological point
of view, as well as how treatment works within the mind and body from
a neurological point of view as well. He also explained how trauma
alters one's very neurological system – and any treatment plan must
address these changes if it is to work.
1994 – relocated to Nebraska where we bought property and set up a
series of “safe houses” along with half-way transitional housing
for those wanting to escape traffickers from the large urban cities.
1995 – changed name to “Sex Workers Anonymous” after unanimous
“group conscience” vote. Wrote to AA's General Office notifying
them of name change and requesting permission to adapt steps to new
named program. They consented.
1996 – sold the property (our wards had gotten onto their feet and
were doing very well) in Nebraska and relocated to Nevada to assist
those calling us from the legal brothels needing assistance to
escape. They are not allowed to leave the brothels on foot, and
there are no cabs for them to leave with either. Law enforcement is
too spread out in Nevada to be able to reach where the brothels were
– so we came to Nevada to be able to pick up those wanting to leave
and transition them out of the sex industry.
2006 – assisted Sharnel Silvey, from A Scarlet Covering, to
starting the first alternative sentencing project in northern Nevada
for prostitutes. This program operated successfully for a year.
Sharnel had been a madam at the Mustang Ranch legal brothel.
September 2007 – announced the formation of NCAST and released the
findings of the report commissioned by the State Dept. and prepared
by Melissa Farley, and myself, entitled “Trafficking in Nevada –
Making the Connections”. This report explored the connection
between the legal brothels, and sex industry, and trafficking in
Nevada. I wrote three chapters in the book and presented the
findings at the international press conference – as well as at UNLV
the next day.
October 2007 – after disconnecting from NCAST and Melissa Farley -
founded “Trafficking and Prostitution Services” as an alternative
to handle activities outside the boundaries of what a 12 step program
can do appropriately (like how the National Council on Alcoholism was
born so AA didn't have to violate their steps and traditions to
advance the cause and treatment of alcoholism).
February of 2013 – George Flynt, the lobbyist for the Nevada
Brothels Association, appeared at the Nevada legislature to ask if
they could expand into downtown Las Vegas to open more brothels. We
had an SWA member appear after him speaking about her “true life”
experiences working at a Nevada legal brothel within the last year.
No one else appeared to oppose. This event was televised and
recorded. The brothels bid was denied. This poor advocate came home
to find her power, TV, cable, internet and phone all disconnected for
three days – the same thing which had happened to me after I'd
given our press conference at what connections the legal brothels
have to sex trafficking in Nevada. Within a week she further found
everything in her apartment robbed and her life threatened. She is
now living safely in California – still out of the sex industry
today. The Mob Museum went up in the place of where the brothel
would have been, along with the arts district and farmers market.
2013 – started the “Stop Sex Traffick Talk” radio show. Over
17,000 “listens” to date.
2013 – international Phone Conference Meetings for Sex Workers
Anonymous started weekly.
2014 – became a 501c3 tax-exempt “non-profit”.
December 2014 – co-founded “SWAN” the program for parents,
spouses, children, and other “loved ones” who care about someone
leaving the sex industry and/or a trafficking victim.
TV
Appearances (Interviews)
Geraldo Talk Show (4x)
Sally Jesse Raphael Talk Show (4x)
Jerry Springer Talk Show (3x)
Maury Povich Talk Show (2x)
Donahue Talk Show
Joan Rivers Talk Show (2x)
Vicki Lawrence Talk Show
Christina Ferrari Talk Show (2x)
Ricki Lake Talk Show
Good Morning America
Good Morning Los Angeles
Good Morning Boston
Good Morning Chicago
60 Minutes
20/20
Inside Edition
TV
(Other)
Weekly Cable Series about “Prostitutes Anonymous” in Los Angeles,
California and Philadelphia. In this series – we'd interview a
different member of Prostitutes Anonymous each week.
Educational Seminar on Cable about the “neurology of addiction,
trauma and prostitution” co-presented with James Crossen, PhD (240
minutes long). This was for his students at the Addictions Studies
program at Mission College.
James and I recorded a weekly talk series on cable TV talking about
how to work with men and women coming out of sex work specifically
with PTSD and how trauma can mimic “addictive” patterns.
Frances Nuyen, the actress from the Joy Luck Club, recorded our
public service announcements for 15 second, 30 second and 60 second
TV broadcast commercials, as well as audio commercials.
Documentary
Channel 9 Documentary about “Prostitutes Anonymous” and my life.
Radio
Interviews
Michael Jackson – ABC National Radio
Gloria Allred – ABC National Radio
Tom Becca – KOIL Radio (Nebraska)
Live
Speaking
National Council on Sexual Addiction Convention – Keynote Speaker
Sexaholics Anonymous International Convention – Keynote Speaker
(2x)
Sexaholics Anonymous Philadelphia Convention – Keynote Speaker,
Workshop Leader
Narcotics Anonymous Special Conference - Lecturer
Radar Institute – Sexual Addiction Student Lecture
UCLA – Human Sexuality and Psychology Lecture (3x)
Los Angeles City College – Psychology Lecture
Pierce College – Psychology and Criminal Law Lecture (2x)
Los Angeles Valley College – Human Sexuality and Psychology Lecture
Mission College Addictions Studies – Drug and Alcohol Counselor
Students
Sybil Brand Institute for Women – Inmate Presentation
Lehigh County Womens' Jail – Inmate Presentation
Philadelphia Womens' Jail – Inmate Presentation
Atlantic City Womens' Jail – Inmate Presentation
Via Avanta Residential Program for Women – Client Presentation
Tarzana Treatment Center – Client Presentation
Cry Help – Client Presentation
Impact House – Client Presentation
COYOTE – Los Angeles, California
Mary Magdalene Project – Los Angeles, California
Genesis House – Chicago, Illinois
Project Rainbow – Omaha, Nebraska
Salvation Army – Atlantic City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago,
and Philadelphia
UNLV – panel on “Trafficking in Nevada” where I spoke, along
with Melissa Farley, PhD, and two members of “Prostitutes
Anonymous” (the name they came in with us was PA), who went on to
form their own programs to help prostitutes.
Staff
Training
Tarzana Treatment Center (Tarzana, Palmdale, Lancaster, Reseda and
Long Beach Branches)
Impact House (California)
Cry Help (California)
Lehigh County Program for Female Offenders (Pennsylvania)
Corrections Officers – Los Angeles California
Corrections Officers – Allentown, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
HIV Testing Site – W. Hollywood, Hollywood, Van Nuys, Northridge,
E. Los Angeles and Long Beach
GLASS (Gay and Lesbian Social Services) – Los Angeles, California)
Advocate Magazine – W. Hollywood, California
“Underground” Gay Men's Bath Houses – San Fernando Valley,
California
Private Swingers Clubs – California
Various strip clubs, peep shows, adult theaters, and incall/outcall
services
HUD – Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
Methadone Clinics – Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and
South Central Los Angeles
Via Avanta Residential Program for Women – Los Angeles, California
Movies Based on Myself and Work
“Those Secrets” - Blair Brown and Mare Winningham released 1991
“Fighting for my Daughter” starring Lindsey Wagner released 1995
News
Interviews
Los Angeles, California – Channel 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 13
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Channel 7
Atlantic City, New Jersey – Channel 3
Print
Articles/Interviews
Playboy – News Release
Chic Magazine – Article
Salon Magazine – Series
Los Angeles Times
Daily News
NY Times
Review Journal
City Life
Las Vegas Weekly
Dear Abby
Cindy Adams
Books
1991 - Wrote the “Prostitutes Anonymous” Recovery Guide entitled
“Sold Out” after interviewing 2,000 men and women, from various
countries, including legal and illegal parts of the sex industry,
both in and out of the sex industry about the “recovery process”.
2004 - “The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene” by Jane Schaberg.
2007 – Three chapters on pimps and brainwashing was included in
Melissa Farley's book “Trafficking in Nevada” published after her
report was done commissioned by the state department on the same
subject.
2009 – John Quinones from ABC's “What Would You Do?” flew to
Las Vegas, Nevada, where he interviewed me along with members of “Sex
Workers Anonymous”, watched how we work and wrote a whole chapter
about us in his book “Heroes Among Us”.
2012 - “Girls, Women & Crime” by Lisa Pasko.
2013 – “Somebody's Daughter” by Julian Sher – has a quote
about a program where the clients attend weekly “Prostitutes
Anonymous” meetings.
2014 – Wrote the “SWAN” handbook and updated the “Recovery
Guide” for SWA to reflect what we've learned about our program
since 1991.
2014 – Quotes from interviews about “Prostitutes Anonymous”
appears in a positive light in the book “Leaving the Sex Industry”
by Susan Oselin.
2014 – “Women, Sex & Addiction” by Charlotte Kasl has a
listing to reach our program.
Special
Certifications
1996 - Certified by the FBI as an “expert in brain washing by
pimps” so I could testify in a trafficking case as to how this pimp
had these women convinced they were acting of their own free will
when in fact they were not. The process pimps used to brainwash
their victims is almost identical to the process religious cults use
to brainwash their members with the addition of the sexual trauma
added. The defendant heard I was testifying and made a plea bargain
immediately.
Special
Mention
Beating the Brothels: In 1988, Joe Conforte, the owner of the
Mustang Ranch legal brothel in Nevada, announced he wanted to open
brothels all over California. Joe was asked if he would create
special programs for the prostitutes much like dancers or athletes
have. For example, special workers' comp programs, disability,
retirement, and vocational rehabilitation programs. I also wanted
the women to have a “union” with one of their own as a
“representative” to advocate for them. He refused to discuss any
of these ideas and put up $1,000,000 into a PR company to make sure
he'd “win the vote” of Californians. Because the FCC had a law
at the time in place requiring all political issues have a “counter”
opinion airing alongside them – all of this TV, radio and print
interviews had to be up “against” someone.
No one else would
“oppose” Joe but myself – so I was the only one who appeared in
any of his interviews “up against” him that year. When the votes
came in – he lost. So I beat out a million dollar PR campaign with
my mouth! Joe also was bragging during this year that he had a
“study that proved no brothel prostitutes had HIV” during a time
when HIV was very much on people's minds in the 1980's. I however
did some digging and discovered that not only had Joe “bought”
that research – but it was “rigged”. The current testing at
the time took six months to incubate – however he was testing at
only four months time with no follow-up testing. Therefore, no one
would show up “positive”. He stopped bragging about that test
after I exposed it a few times for what it was.
Sexaholics Anonymous: Many people were saying that prostitution was
a form of “sexual addiction” back in 1987 when I started our
program. I didn't believe that because I had worked as a madam so I
didn't think sex had anything to do with our issues. Many men and
women I knew in the sex industry weren't having sex with anyone so I
really didn't believe that – but what “proof” did I really
have? So I contacted the founder of Sexaholics Anonymous. This was
the first 12 step program for sexual addiction founded by Roy K. and
their members were “johns” who couldn't stop “consuming” the
sex industry. So it wasn't just about not stopping themselves from
having sex in SA – it was that they couldn't stop buying
prostitutes, purchasing porn, running up extensive 900 phone sex
bills, etc.
In order to fully understand “sexual addiction” from
their perspective, and also to understand the “john's” view of
their disease and the related solution, I spent one year going to SA
meetings and being sponsored by Roy also. I spoke at their
conventions and learned everything about their issues as I possibly
could. I heard the stories of their attempts at quitting – whether
it was caused by being arrested, or found out by the wife, or being
robbed, etc. So I feel very familiar with what “works” to help
them stop acting out vs. what doesn't after this year, 20 years of
friendship with Roy, and talking to 1,000's of SA members on a
one-on-one level.
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