Empowerment Through Purpose: Combating Human Trafficking Through a Passion Project with Alisha Merlo
How can a passion project become a life-changing force for good?
In this episode of The Girls of Grit, we’re joined by Alisha Rose Merlo, a veteran in the medical aesthetic industry with over 20 years of experience. Alisha shares her journey of transforming her dedication to ending human trafficking into a powerful mission.
Driven by personal challenges and a profound sense of purpose, Alisha took a bold step to tackle one of the world’s most urgent issues. She discusses her efforts to create impactful community education programs and collaborate with Generate Hope to support survivors. A standout achievement is her pro bono registry for laser tattoo removal, offering survivors a fresh start by erasing the physical and psychological scars left by traffickers.
Alisha’s story shows how passion and determination can turn a personal mission into significant societal change.
Tune in to learn how her work makes a difference and inspires others to make meaningful changes in their lives.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
05:05 The Catalyst: Personal Challenges and Faith
06:27 Discovering the Dark World of Human Trafficking
06:18 Taking Action: Education and Survivor Support
08:53 Innovative Solutions: Laser Tattoo Removal for Survivors
10:05 The Story Behind Alicia’s Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy
10:54 Finding Time vs. Making Time
09:13 How Solution-Focused Thinking Drives Positive Change
14:57 Inspirational Quotes and Books From Alisha
18:18 Final Thoughts and Inspirational Messages
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Transforming Personal Adversity into Purpose: Alisha discusses how her challenges and passion for community service motivated her to tackle the issue of human trafficking, turning personal adversity into a powerful force for change.
Creating a Pro Bono Tattoo Removal Program: Alisha shares the story behind establishing a pro bono registry for laser tattoo removal. This initiative helps survivors of human trafficking erase the physical and psychological marks left by their traffickers, offering them a fresh start.
Impactful Community Education Programs: Learn about the community education programs Alisha has developed to raise awareness and support for human trafficking survivors. Her efforts have made a significant difference in local and broader communities.
Collaborations for Greater Impact: Discover how Alisha’s partnerships with organizations like Generate Hope have enhanced her efforts to support survivors and drive systemic change.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“You can either sit here and cry about it and nothing will change, or you can use those tears to fuel the fire to make a difference.” — Alisha Rose Merlo
“I found time by removing things from my life that were not serving myself or others.” — Alisha Rose Merlo
“Everything that we do can be an act of worship and bring God glory.” — Alisha Rose Merlo
“Being solution-oriented can help you solve a problem even if your solution isn't the best idea, but it helps bring forth some discussion and conversation that's always needed to solve a problem.” — Cynthia Ficara
“When you throw some good out in the world and it comes back to you, then the next thing you throw up just gets better and better.” — Cynthia Ficara
“Don't just have the ugly no, have a solution to the problem.” — Anneliese Rhodes
“Life is short and it's important to be a good person.” — Anneliese Rhodes
Mentioned on the Show:
Beginners Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact, Liz Forkin Bohannon
Polaris Project: Organization with education and information on human trafficking prevention
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. They have amazing information on child sex trafficking and the growing crime of Sextortion which is another form of child sexual exploitation.
Learn more about Human Trafficking and how you can support the cause.
About Alisha Merlo:
Alisha Rose Merlo has dedicated over 20 years of her professional life to the medical aesthetic space. Her true passions lie in helping practices deliver next-level patient experiences, optimizing operational efficiencies, and boosting treatment and product sales. Working for leading organizations such as Obagi Medical Products and Medicis Aesthetics, where she spent 10 years of her career, she has been an award-winning sales professional and a well-respected practice consultant. Alisha is often asked to share her expertise on the podium at medical conferences, is a frequent podcast guest, and has been a contributing author in publications such as MedEsthetics Magazine, Modern Aesthetics, The Dermatologist, Executive Decisions in Dermatology, Plastic Surgery Practice, and Ask Us Beauty Magazine. She has also been featured in publications such as SDVoyager and Canvas Rebel.
Alisha is currently the Executive Director of Professional Relations for Colorescience®, where she contributes to sales, marketing, training, business development, clinical studies, and key opinion leader and society relationships. She considers her role the perfect blend of her experience and what fills her professional tank.
Alisha has a heart for community service, and this passion has led her to contribute her time and talents to efforts to end human trafficking and support survivors. She is the Chair of the North County San Diego Stop Traffic Walk, the Associate Director for the Coastline Dream Center Human Trafficking Prevention and Restoration program, and a founding task force member for the ASLMS New Beginnings Branding Tattoo Removal Program.
Alisha and her husband call beautiful San Diego home. She thrives on being outside and enjoys time at the beach, hiking, or taking walks with her two grandchildren (with the best SPF protection, of course).
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A Team Dklutr production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
The Story Behind Alisha’s Passion Project
Anneliese Rhodes: I want you to tell our listeners, Alicia, about your passion project, not only because it's very interesting, worthwhile, and important but also, what made you leap to get it started and jump into this? Because a lot of times we are just people, as individuals, we all have these great ideas or passion projects, but we're like, Oh, I don't know if I can do this.
I don't have the time. I'm just going to sit on it. I'm going to wait for the right time. But you just actively jumped in there and now you're just full force. And so I'd love for you to talk about that, but also kind of how you got into it.
Alisha Merlo: Absolutely. I'm going to start by saying I am an advocate of the anti-human trafficking movement.
And what does that look like? And what is the story behind that? I love telling, and everyone has their signature 2020 moments and memories, right? It was an unprecedented time and during that time, in that season of my life, we had, you know, what was going on in the world.
My husband was diagnosed with cancer, and my daughter-in-law and two grandkids are 6 weeks old and 16 months old coming to live with us because my son who was getting discharged from the military was stuck there because of the state of the world, everything was on a much slower pace.
So they were living with us. We had COVID, cancer, and a house full of kids in a small townhouse, but during that season, what I experienced was I could either sit here and be fearful and worry, or I could be grateful. And we all know that when you have a grateful thought that supersedes any fear or every worry or any anxiety.
So I just started being grateful and as I mentioned earlier, my faith is a huge part of my life. So I just kind of lifted it to God and prayed and said, God, you have given us so many lessons and I thank you for each one. What can I do in this world that can make an impact that doesn't bring me an immediate return of blessings or provisions?
I just want to leave a mark that will be a legacy and that will make the world better than when it came. And so he handed me human trafficking, I didn't ask for it but it kept coming up in very interesting ways. And so, as I was exploring and learning more about it, I was shocked and I like to say I was shattered because it's a very dark thing that occurs in this world.
And it's the second largest crime in the entire world behind drug trafficking. You can sell a person over and over again. There are almost 47 million people around the globe enslaved today and every four of them are children. So I was hearing these stories and having nightmares and I was crying.
I'm like, I don't think I could do this, this is way too dark and too deep. And I remember in that desperation, just God speaking to my heart and I like burning bush like Moses, but really in my heart to say, you can either sit here and cry about it and nothing will change, or you can use those tears to fuel the fire to make a difference.
And I was like, okay, message received. And so what I started to do is explore where and what are the areas in which I can make a difference. I saw two areas to make a difference. I'm not law enforcement, I wasn't going to go work for the government and go undercover and do operations, but I can talk.
God's given me the gift of speech encouragement and articulation, so I focused on education. I also focus on survivor support because even though only 1 percent of victims of sex trafficking get out of sex trafficking alive. I wanted to say I will go after the one and I will do whatever I can to support the one.
And so there are two things that I've done that I've been able to have an impact on. One of them is to be able to create a lot of San Diego County community education awareness events to let adults and youth understand what human trafficking is, how it happens, how to avoid it, and how to stay safe. That is the prevention piece.
The other part is working in partnership with a survivor program called Generate Hope. They have two homes in San Diego and one in Colorado, and they serve survivors who come to them from around the nation to be able to support them. Whether it's through fundraising or doing service work at their properties to help them and in helping bring them alongside me to get the word out.
So I've become a leader at the Coastline Drape Center Stop Trafficking Outreach, so that's where I do those things. I also am on the committee for Generate Hope to help support them for their events. And then, as I started working through this, I led some walks in our community and raised 130, 000 for education and survivor support.
I just was thinking, how can I find a way, is there a way that what I get to do every day in the field of aesthetics can match marriage with this passion project? It came to fruition and I got introduced to a former president of the ASLMS which is the American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery. The president’s name is Paul Friedman, his initiative was to create a pro bono registry of doctors who would do laser tattoo removal for survivors of human trafficking that were branded by their traffickers so one out of every two victims is branded with a tattoo by their trafficker.
And so this branding represents this psychological and physical capture. And so we created this registry and it needs an impact study that got published in a medical journal. We created this registry that now has hundreds of volunteers, and doctors that say yes, that when a survivor raises her hand and he or she is in a treatment program, and they're at that point in their recovery where they want to take this next step to have that brand removed, I just do it here.
It could be any part of the body, have that brand removed. The doctors are skilled and expert, high-level board certified, and the best devices out there. They can help walk them through that process and then we train the doctors how to work with this population using a tactic called trauma-informed care.
So really it's just been a blessing that I have been able to find time to use my skills to become a leader in this movement and then to be able to find ways to make an impact in my professional life and this passion project that I have.
Finding Time for Your Passion Leads to Meaningful Change
Cynthia Ficara: That is just fabulous. But I also think that you made the time. I mean, finding time and making time are two different things because you are passionate about it. You believed in it, it brought you to tears and you saw the impact. You said 1%, but the fact that you're like, I'm going to sit here and help that 1%, it is so inspiring. And yes, you made time. So many of us can sit here and make excuses. Well, I don't have time, I don't have the time or I want to do something like you could sit here and find every excuse in the book, right?
Alisha Merlo: Yeah, and I say only God can make time. We have to find time. And I found time by removing things from my life that were not serving myself or others.
I made a conscious decision, so you're right. Like there are only so many hours in the day and with intention, I did that. But when I did, I received so much more back than you know, watching Netflix. The biggest sacrifice I made now, it's not a sacrifice.
I'm happier for it not just because I have time to serve, but just because I'm not bombarded with things that are probably not great for my brain anyway.
Cynthia Ficara: While you're fueling your mind, body, and spirit, that's you know, I mean, that's it. It's all full circle and to find that creative space that you saw.
You know, laser and dermatology where you can bring that to that 1 percent that you're trying to help is phenomenal. And I applaud you for not sitting back, making an excuse, and getting up and doing something about it. So congrats to you.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, that's amazing and that's a great point. Sunny, you brought together your background, your current situation, and your job with the people that you know, and the context that you've known over the years. And then you bring it to this amazing cause that you're right. It's very scary and it's dark. I mean, listening to your story is scary to me because I have a younger daughter, but also, we all have daughters and they could be of any age, but we also know that it's out there and it's all over the news now. And I'm just impressed with what you're doing. I can't think of a better cause. I mean, that's just phenomenal, I was crying.
Leading by Finding Solutions Not Just Identifying Problems
Alisha Merlo: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share that with your listeners, because I think like you just said, it can be scary, but to know that we can be empowered and equipped to do something about it. And like I said, I have the joy of being a humble servant in this ministry.
I mean, this was given to me, I honor it and I have received tenfold back and fulfillment and joy in making change. I think one of the things too, for your audience, it's important.
When you see a problem, a lot of us love to point it out. We're really good in society at pointing out problems, but I've made it a personal approach to life, whether it's professional or in my personal life and my activities never come to point out a problem if you don't at least try to think of a solution.
Being solution-focused also allows you to elevate and it gives you critical thinking skills, and you do become out more of a leader, even if your solution to the problem is not the one that's chosen or selected that's okay, you're showing that you're a thinker and that you are creatively offering different ways to approach problems in this world. And I think we need more people like that, not more people just saying you're wrong without saying or without coming to the table with a solution that benefits the problem and those that are being impacted by it.
Cynthia Ficara: That's the true skill of a healthy leader, as you described earlier. That brings out the healthy in it and is encouraging. So being solution-oriented can help you solve a problem even if your solution isn't the best idea, but it helps bring forth some discussion and conversation that's always needed to solve a problem.
The Impact of Faith, Books, and Open Hands on Leadership
Anneliese Rhodes: I think with wrapping up, you know, a couple of things that we love asking our hosts are, are there any books that have influenced your life? You love to read, so maybe some of your career decisions or anything like that, we'd love to hear a book recommendation or two, and then along with that, or could be a famous quote, something that you live by.
And I do love what you said about not just having the ugly no but having a solution to the problem. So I do love that, but we'd love to hear more.
Alisha Merlo: So I'm going to share my favorite leadership quote of all time. Anybody who knows me has heard me say this before. It's by John Maxwell and if you do follow leadership, John Maxwell is like the guru of all leaders.
He has this one quote and I shared a lot with my peers in the pros that I just mentioned that I work with. It says leaders know the way, they go the way, and they show the way. So that's my favorite all-time leadership quote. The book I read every day is the Bible. So to be honest, I have read the Word every single day and I read it through for the past five years. Once a year, I do the whole Bible in a year, which is amazing. And my husband and I are very much in the Word together, and then I brought some books.
This one is good. It's by Liz Bohannon. It's called Beginner's Pluck, and she's a woman who created a company called Sekko Designs. I don't know if you've ever heard about Sekko Designs. They've moved into more of the model, the business model of you could be a representative and represent their wares and their garments that are all made by women in Uganda.
Cynthia Ficara: Wait a minute, I did hear about her. I didn't know she had a book.
Alisha Merlo: It's so good, so I put a card in here because here's a quote on leadership. I thought you guys just to get a taste of it, it says, there's nothing more humbling and awe-inducing and life-giving than standing alongside others, shoulder to shoulder, building something together that didn't exist before.
When I read books, I like to fold tabs, highlight, and tab markers in them. That's been a really good book. It's one of the lesser-known ones and I think she wrote it last year. So Beginner's Pluck talks about defining what pluck is and it's an attitude and the spirit about how to have an impact on something.
So I'd highly recommend that one, and then the other one if I could do one more, cause I was like foundational, this one. I'm not quite done with it, but I'm loving it. It's called the Sacredness of Secular Work by Jordan Rader. So that's a really good book. It's more of a faith-based book, but it talks about how everything that we do can be an act of worship and bring God glory. And that if we pursue everything we do, we don't have to be a pastor or a minister and evangelist on a corner that we're working for everything for the greater good of others. So that's the other one that I would recommend.
Cynthia Ficara: I'm actually going to read that beginner's pluck book because I'd heard a little blip about it, but the title didn't ring a bell til you mentioned Uganda, and then it clicked. And you know, I just really thank you for taking this time to speak to our listeners because I think something I've taken from this conversation is just how selfless you are.
And I think that it kind of grows over. So clearly you're good at your job, but now your passion project and your family like when you throw some good out in the world and it comes back to you, then the next thing you throw up just gets better and better. And I think you're just such a great example of that.
So thank you so much because this has truly been an enjoyable and inspiring conversation. And I'm glad that we have an opportunity for people to hear your story.
Anneliese Rhodes: Absolutely. You couldn't have said it better. I love this, you're so real, Alicia, you're brave and you're going against the grain in so many ways, and you're just pushing through and it's amazing.
And you are a leader whether you realize it or not, you've led a lot of people in your life.
Cynthia Ficara: Lisa, she's a healthy leader.
Anneliese Rhodes: A healthy leader, yes, you are. Fairtrade market, you might need to hashtag, but you know, just listening to you, it inspired me, Alicia, to be a better person, to be a better leader, to do more for the good of mankind because you know, life is short and it's important to be a good person.
Alisha Merlo: Can I leave you with one final thought that's a visual? Thank you for creating this space to have these conversations and being leaders yourselves, because again, you are the healthy leaders and you are empowering others with knowledge, information, and different life experiences from all of your guests in your busy life.
You have found the time to do this, but here's the visual to wrap it up. So if you hold your hands, let's say we're holding in our hands, our time, our worries, our fear, our money, all of these things are in our hands, right?
We can't actually receive anything else, right? If we let it go and open our hands, we can give them up, but we can also receive back. So when we clench to think so tightly, it's not just because we're using them, but we also don't receive something in return. So when we give that, we will receive something.
So I'll leave you with that.
Cynthia Ficara: That is fabulous. It's very powerful.
Anneliese Rhodes: I'm going to walk out with my hands like this, palms open, palms up, but everybody I love it. Thank you, Alicia, this has been phenomenal. Thank you so much.
Alisha Merlo: Thank you, ladies. I have loved this. I hope this exceeds expectations and hits home for people.
