Dynamic Woman of the Year helps victims of human trafficking create a brighter future
Whitney Anderson, Oklahoma City, has dedicated her life and career to victim advocacy and support. Through her service she has realized new possibilities and opportunities, and helped forge a brighter future for others in need.
Anderson, a Chickasaw citizen, is the co-founder and executive director of the Dragonfly Home, Oklahoma City. She was honored as the 2024 Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year during the annual Dynamic Women of the Chickasaw Nation Conference.
“As a historically matrilineal tribe, Chickasaw women have had important roles throughout our history. We have long valued their strength, wisdom, leadership and skill,” Chickasaw Nation Lt. Governor Chris Anoatubby said during the 2024 conference. “This esteemed award pays tribute to a Chickasaw woman who has inspired, given hope or opened new possibilities or opportunities for others through her example.
“As a leader in her field, Whitney’s work helps to establish the support needed for victim recovery and a better future for Oklahoma,” Lt. Governor Anoatubby said. “We appreciate her dedication and service, and we honor Whitney Anderson as the 2024 Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year.”
For more than a decade, Anderson has been at the forefront of pioneering human trafficking victim services in Oklahoma. In this trailblazing role, she led the establishment of crucial services that were previously nonexistent in Oklahoma, ensuring that survivors of human trafficking have access to lifesaving and life-changing resources.
“The Dragonfly Home offers wrap around services and support to meet every single need of human trafficking victim survivors,” Anderson told Chickasaw Nation TV (CNTV) in January 2025. “We’ve helped thousands of people through the Dragonfly Home. Most of those people were trafficked here in Oklahoma for sex or for labor.”
Human trafficking became a disconcerting topic for Anderson while she was pursuing a graduate degree several years ago. She felt compelled to search for solutions for this global blight.
“I had learned about trafficking when I was doing my master’s in business. I was researching supply chain transparency, and I had found out about how we outsource labor to different countries, and that can look like labor trafficking. To me, that’s modern-day slavery,” she said.
“When I learned about that in my business studies, I couldn’t look away from it. I just knew that I was meant to do something about it and at the same time it felt very daunting.”
Her faith led her on this calling.
“The Lord guided every single part of the journey. (I) did a mission trip in Africa and worked with survivors from all over the world. There I saw women who had survived literal hell, but in this safe place they had found joy again. There was laughter and joy and peace and hope,” Anderson said.
Using what she learned on the African mission trip back to her hometown, in 2016, Anderson played a pivotal role in establishing the Dragonfly Home, Oklahoma’s first human trafficking crisis center. The nonprofit has since opened its doors as the state’s first ever transition house aiding trafficking victims.
“Here in Oklahoma, we have a lot of vulnerabilities that people will exploit. That can look like poverty, food insecurity, homelessness, mental health issues and substance use issues. Then we also have the dangers of the internet. Traffickers have begun to use this to leverage their business of selling humans,” she explained to CNTV.
The Dragonfly Home walks alongside victim survivors of human trafficking on their path to freedom and restoration. Recovery is unique to each person, including emergency relocation and providing safety planning or longer-term care such as housing assistance, trauma-focused therapy and medical care, according to Anderson. Future planning and setting goals can also help, such as getting degrees and gaining employment.
“We offer this specialized support and care,” she said.
The Dragonfly Home collaborates with agencies that also provide support and have the same values of helping people and meeting people where they are, she said.
“I believe that my faith in Jesus guides me to want to help hurting people. We are called to do that. We are called to meet people with love and not judgment and not shame. I feel like this is the place where we are able to do that.”
In most areas of the world, a dragonfly symbolizes hope and change. At the Dragonfly Home, a team of counselors and support staff leads victim survivors on the journey of transformation, which takes strength and resilience to restore hope and freedom.
“There is no denying that the work we do is pretty dark, and it’s very hard work. We see the worst of humanity. We see people who survived the worst, but we could not be in this work for very long if we didn’t also see miracles happening every single day.”
Anderson proudly embraces her Chickasaw heritage, deriving strength and inspiration from her ancestral roots. She takes pride in upholding the legacy passed down by her ancestors.
“I’m thankful to be Chickasaw, to have roots grounded in this beautiful culture and community, to have leaders who are invested in empowering women, and I am grateful to be surrounded by such passionate citizens and passionate women,” she said.
“The (Dynamic Woman of the Year) award meant so much to me because it’s important for my daughter to see a strong woman. I want my daughter to be raised up in this beautiful culture, to be surrounded by strong women, who are making an impact and, that’s what this award is about.”
Anderson reflected on her human trafficking advocacy journey and her reason for working in the field.
“I have survived domestic and sexual violence, and I know what it is to need services, to need support and care and to be met with compassion,” she said. “That is absolutely a part of why I do what I do. My goal in life is to make a meaningful impact in the world, to break generational trauma, to help hurting people.”
As a subject matter expert and trainer, Anderson has been instrumental in educating professionals across a spectrum of fields, including law enforcement, health care, social service and more.
Her impactful efforts were also acknowledged in 2019 when she was honored among The Journal Record’s 50 Making a Difference and the Oklahoma Gazette’s Forty Under 40.
Recently, Anderson was appointed to the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advisory Board, where she assists in shaping systemic change.
For more information about the Dragonfly Home, visit TheDragonflyHome.org.