Shining a Light on the Shadows
Public Awareness Campaign & Multimedia Storytelling | Commission for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities (CPPD)
Shining a Light on the Shadows is a public awareness initiative developed to raise awareness of sex trafficking involving people with disabilities and promote prevention, education, and advocacy. Through compelling visual storytelling, accessible educational materials, and community-centered messaging, the campaign seeks to illuminate an often-overlooked issue, amplify the experiences of vulnerable populations, and empower individuals and communities to recognize warning signs and take meaningful action. The project highlights the power of creative communication to foster understanding, strengthen protections, and inspire positive social change.
Exploring the Presentation
Selected slides from Shining a Light on the Shadows, highlighting how thoughtful instructional design, visual storytelling, and accessible communication can make complex topics more engaging and understandable for diverse audiences.
Learning Objectives
Outlines the presentation's learning goals, establishing a clear framework for understanding underreported populations, recognizing abuse, and exploring the role of protective services.
In Pursuit of Justice: Prioritization of Safety
Illustrates the importance of prioritizing individual safety throughout the protective services process, using visual design to communicate key considerations in responding to abuse.
Recognizing the signs
Explores indicators of abuse and neglect, helping learners identify potential warning signs and understand the importance of awareness, early recognition, and appropriate reporting.
Key Takeaways: Collaborative Efforts at the DPPC
Highlights the importance of collaboration across the DPPC's multidisciplinary teams, reinforcing how coordinated efforts contribute to protecting individuals with disabilities and supporting their safety and well-being.
Case Study: Jessica's Story
At the center of Shining a Light on the Shadows presentation was Jessica's Story, a fictional training scenario informed by multiple real cases involving the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC).
Developed for the One Mission Conference, the case study followed Jessica's experience to illustrate how individuals with disabilities may become vulnerable to sex trafficking, the barriers they may face in seeking help, and the ways the DPPC could respond to potential abuse and exploitation.
Through narrative storytelling and multimedia, the presentation guided participants through Jessica's circumstances, highlighting opportunities to recognize warning signs, report concerns, and understand the DPPC's role in investigation, intervention, and support.
This case-based approach helped translate complex protective services responsibilities into a practical, human-centered learning experience.
Jessica's Story is a fictional training scenario informed by multiple real cases involving the DPPC.
Part 1: Recognizing the Signs of Abuse
The first chapter introduces Jessica's circumstances and explores how individuals with disabilities may experience exploitation.
Part 2: The Pursuit of Justice
The second chapter explores the pursuit of justice following suspected abuse, highlighting the DPPC's investigative role and the importance of accountability, reporting, and coordinated responses.
Part 3: The Pathway to Healing
The final chapter focuses on the pathway toward healing and recovery, emphasizing the importance of survivor-centered support, access to resources, and continued care.
My Role & Creative Contributions
I led the instructional content development and storytelling components of Shining a Light on the Shadows, transforming complex information about abuse prevention, reporting, and protective services into an accessible, engaging learning experience.
My contributions included:
Instructional Content Development: Researched, organized, and developed all presentation content, translating complex information into clear, accessible educational materials for diverse audiences.
Presentation Design: Collaborated on the visual design of the slides, helping create a cohesive presentation that supported learning and audience engagement.
Scriptwriting & Storytelling: Wrote Jessica's story, developing a narrative that illustrated the journey from recognizing abuse to reporting, accessing protective services, and pursuing healing.
Voice-Over Narration: Created the voice-over narration for Jessica's story, bringing the scripted narrative to life and strengthening its emotional connection with audiences.
Visual Research & Selection: Identified and selected stock footage to accompany the narration, aligning visual storytelling with key moments in Jessica's journey.
Through this project, I combined instructional design, narrative storytelling, multimedia development, and creative collaboration to make sensitive, complex subject matter more understandable, relatable, and meaningful for learners.Public education and awareness
Project Credits
Developed in collaboration with the Learning & Development team at the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC), now the Commission for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities (CPPD).
My Contributions: Instructional Content Development, Presentation Design, Scriptwriting, Voice-Over Narration, and Visual Storytelling.
Project Takeaways
Shining a Light on the Shadows demonstrates how storytelling and multimedia can make complex, sensitive topics more approachable and meaningful for learners.
By following Jessica's journey from recognizing the signs of abuse to pursuing justice and navigating the pathway to healing, the presentation connected the DPPC's protective responsibilities to realistic situations.
The project highlights the value of case-based learning, accessible communication, and survivor-centered storytelling in helping audiences understand the importance of recognizing, reporting, and responding to abuse and exploitation.