Elizabeth Sy
Elizabeth Sy is one of the founding sisters of Banteay Srei. Elizabeth’s unique background delivering direct services to women involved in the underground sex trade began in 2003 when she worked for A&PI Wellness Center, doing outreach work and HIV/AIDS education to women working in massage parlors in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. In 2004, Elizabeth co-founded Banteay Srei in order to respond to the growing number of underage Southeast Asian American-born women that were being commercially sexually exploited. During her time at Banteay Srei, Elizabeth developed innovative peer-based programming, culturally relevant direct services, and intensive case management services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sex trafficking. In collaboration with Asian Health Services, Elizabeth helped to create a clinical screening tool that community based and school based health clinics could utilize. The screening tool, use and it’s development, has been published in several peer-review journals including the Institute of Medicine. Elizabeth is currently working in Walnut Creek as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit.