Solving 21st century problems
About Me
Hi, I’m Sandy Skelaney—an innovator, educator, and TEDx speaker with more than twenty years of experience at the intersection of human rights, public policy, and technology.
I started my career as a trailblazer in the anti-human trafficking movement, launching Miami’s first multidisciplinary response system for child trafficking and founding Project GOLD at Kristi House. That program became a national model, informed dozens of policy reforms—including Florida’s Safe Harbor Act—and inspired similar initiatives across the country. Since then, I’ve trained more than 30,000 professionals in trauma-informed practices, from law enforcement and health care providers to educators, policymakers, and nonprofit leaders.
Today, I’m the Chief Operating Officer and Head of Partnerships at the Parasol Cooperative, where I merge nonprofit leadership and victim advocacy with frontier technology to create ethical, scalable solutions that protect vulnerable communities and promote digital safety. My expertise includes organizational development and operations, trauma-informed systems design, policy and stakeholder engagement, blockchain governance, and AI ethics.
I’m also a public speaker and educator, delivering keynotes, trainings, and workshops across the U.S. on topics ranging from strategic action planning to responsible AI, blockchain governance, tech-facilitated abuse, digital safety planning, and human trafficking. My TEDxMiami talk shares my journey from surviving the streets to thriving at Yale University, and I aim to bring that same mix of resilience and vision into everything I do.
As a doctoral candidate in Public Affairs at Florida International University, my research focuses on decentralized governance, blockchain policy, and the ethical integration of AI in public services. I hold a Master’s from Yale University and a Bachelor’s from Hunter College.
Based in Miami, I balance my commitment to social innovation con meditación, la playa, un cafecito, y un amor igual por la música punk y la salsa. ¡Baila!”
Work With Me
I’m available for consulting, training, media, and speaking engagements on:
Trauma-informed systems and victim services
Tech-facilitated abuse and digital safety
AI ethics and public sector integration
Blockchain governance and AI policy
Nonprofit leadership and cross-sector collaboration
Human trafficking and exploitation
