Kaffie McCullough oral history interview, July 21, 2011

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: McCulloughK_20110721

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Morna Gerrard. Kaffie McCullough opens her second oral history by discussing her work for the Juvenile Justice Fund. She moves on to talk about hosting former victims of child prostitution at GOAL, a camp for girls that she established. Following her interest in child sex trafficking activism, McCullough was instrumental in the creation of the organization, A Future. Not a Past., and she highlights both the formation and the running of the organization. McCullough discusses the importance of language and rhetoric when presenting information about the issue to the general public and allied professionals, and she talks about implementing training about sex trafficking for police officers and district attorneys. She describes her lobbying efforts, and recounts the passage of HB200 and Senate Resolution 445, and she goes on to discuss studies she was involved in with the Schapiro Group. One of these studies, which examined online demand for underage escorts, resulted in a backlash from the Village Voice Media Group, and McCullough discusses the implications of that backlash. A Future. Not a Past. collaborated with the Governor’s Office for Children and Families in order to create a tool kit to educate the public about child sex trafficking, and McCullough talks about the challenges of partnering with allies. In closing, McCullough reviews her battle with uterine cancer, and how it altered her perspective on life.

Dates

Creation: July 21, 2011

Creator

McCullough, Kaffie, 1945- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room.

Biographical Note

Kaffie McCullough received her masters degree in Community Counseling in 1986 and launched a successful 10-year career as a licensed professional counselor. Her work focused on female clients and issues of self-esteem. While she was in her private therapy practice, McCullough saw a number of middle school clients, and as a result, she identified that age as the pivotal time when the decline in self-esteem begins. Drawing on experience gained volunteering in a week-long outdoor leadership camp for young girls at Wells, McCullough founded the not-for-profit organization, Girls Opportunities for Adventure and Leadership (GOAL). GOAL's mission was to promote self-esteem, self-awareness and a respect for individual differences in girls and young women, resulting in an enhanced capacity for leadership. GOAL started as a week-long summer camp, and went on to offer a number of programs for girls in grades 6 through 9. Along with her enrepreneurial successes, McCullough has served the Atlanta community as a speaker, resource, and advisor for other groups working on programs for girls and young women. She now works with the Juvenile Justice Fund, overseeing A Future Not A Past, a program aimed at combating the criminal exploitation of children.