STAND AGAINST
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Community Awareness Panel
Schedule
5:30 PM - 6:30 Door Open / Exhibit | 6:30 PM - 7:30 Panel | 7:30 PM - 8:00 Networking / Conclusion
SPEAKERS
Major Trey Burgamy,
Washington County Sherriff’s Office
Trey Burgamy grew up in Sparta, where his early connection to community and public service took root. He is a graduate of John Hancock Academy and went on to earn an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia Military College. His academic training emphasized criminal justice fundamentals, ethical decision-making, and public safety, laying the foundation for a career dedicated to accountability, investigation, and community protection.
Early in his career, Major Burgamy gained experience with the Georgia Department of Corrections, where he developed firsthand insight into correctional operations, offender management, and the long-term impacts of criminal behavior on individuals, families, and communities. This experience shaped his understanding of the justice system beyond enforcement alone and informed his later work with victims and vulnerable populations.
He later transitioned into municipal law enforcement with the Tennille Police Department, serving as a Detective and working criminal investigations from initiation through case resolution. His investigative work included handling sensitive cases involving violent crime, sexual offenses, and victimization, requiring careful coordination with prosecutors, service providers, and advocacy partners.
In October 2010, Major Burgamy joined the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, where he has served in progressively responsible investigative and leadership roles. He currently holds the rank of Major and serves as Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, overseeing major and complex investigations. In this role, he has led and supervised investigations involving sexual assault, exploitation, and human trafficking, emphasizing trauma-informed investigative practices, victim safety, and coordination with regional, state, and federal partners.
Beyond investigations, Major Burgamy has been actively involved in community and interagency efforts aimed at combating sexual violence and human trafficking, including working alongside victim advocates, service organizations, and multidisciplinary partners to improve reporting pathways, investigative response, and long-term support for survivors. His approach reflects a commitment to accountability for offenders while prioritizing dignity, safety, and access to resources for victims.
In addition to this work, Major Burgamy has played a central role in advancing mental-health–informed public safety in Washington County, helping to form and guide a multidisciplinary mental-health task-force and co-responder initiatives that bring together law enforcement, behavioral-health professionals, emergency services, and community partners. He is also a frequent public speaker on mental health, law enforcement wellness, crisis response, sexual violence, and human trafficking, addressing law-enforcement agencies, community groups, civic organizations, and regional partners to promote education, prevention, and collaboration.
His leadership and advocacy have earned statewide and community recognition, including the Flame of Hope Award presented by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, as well as community service and devotion recognitions honoring his sustained commitment to public safety, victim advocacy, and mental-health collaboration.
Deeply involved in the Washington County community, Major Burgamy maintains strong relationships with civic leaders, service providers, and partner agencies. Outside of his professional responsibilities, he is a dedicated family man who values faith, family, and community, and he remains committed to serving the citizens of Washington County with integrity, professionalism, and compassion.
Dr. Ceretta Smith
Ceretta Smith is a proud Army Veteran, mother, wife, faith leader, grandmother, small business owner, and former Councilwoman in the City of Grovetown. She is proud to call Grovetown home for the past twenty years, where she lives with her husband, Retired Sergeant First Class Sterling Vandolph Smith. At her small business, she is committed to molding and developing future leaders of the workforce. It’s here that she teaches the values of compassionate leadership, guided by the adage: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Before running her own business, she spent decades serving her country in various roles. She proudly served as a medic in the Army for nearly a decade, where she helped wounded soldiers recover in hospitals, clinics, and worked in a field unit in Germany. She then continued to serve by working for the Federal Government for another twenty-five years. Through her work, she became a Labor, Civil, Human Rights Activist, serving as: the Women’s and Fair Practices Coordinator, Chief Steward, Legislative Political Coordinator, Local President, Georgia State Council President and the National Fair Practices Coordinator for the largest Federal Government Union, the American Federation of Government Employees. Ceretta holds a Bachelor Degree in the Arts, a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, four Associate Degree’s, one being in Criminal Justice and a Doctorate of Ministry with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership. She is a Certified Human Rights Consultant, Certified HISCoach Life Coach, a Certified Paracletos Counselor, a Christian Recording Artist, a Published Author , a Certified DISC Behavioral Analyst, a Certified Myers-Briggs Practitioner and a Faith Leader in her community that travels nationally and internationally.
Chief Leondus Dixion
Davisboro Police Department
Chief Leondus Dixon brings over 20 years of law enforcement experience to his role as Chief of the Davisboro Police Department. Throughout his career, Chief Dixon has served in a wide range of leadership and investigative capacities, including as a member of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, where he worked collaboratively on complex violent crime and gang-related investigations.
He previously served as a Gang Investigator with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and as Captain of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division, overseeing high-risk operations and specialized enforcement units. His career reflects a strong commitment to public safety, interagency collaboration, and effective leadership in challenging environments.
Chief Dixon’s service and bravery have been recognized with numerous honors, including being named Officer of the Year on two occasions and receiving the Medal of Valor for exceptional courage in the line of duty.
Haylee Free,
Executive Director, Sunshine House
Haylee Free is from Lawrenceville, Georgia where she graduated from Brookwood High School. After high school, Haylee attended Georgia Southern University, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. During college she was a member and officer of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. After graduating college, Haylee sold real estate before entering the world of education. Working for David Emanuel Academy in Stillmore for 12 years, Haylee began as a teacher, then advanced to Director of Development, before finishing as Head of School for her last 8 years. Her most current role is serving as The Sunshine House's new Executive Director. Outside of work, Haylee is a member of Statesboro FIrst Baptist Church. Haylee is married to her college sweetheart, Bill, and together they have two children - Peyton (junior at Georgia Southern University) and Tucker (junior at David Emanuel Academy).
Ginger Amerson,
Executive Director, iCare4, Inc.
Ginger Amerson and her husband Walt co-founded iCare 4, Inc. in late October, 2010 and began receiving client referrals in spring 2011. The need for a service ministry to address the complex and specific needs of human trafficking victims became apparent when they met seven young women in less than twelve months while volunteering with an outreach ministry. All of the young women had similar stories of being sexually abused as children, running from the abuse at their home, and then landing under the control of perpetrators who exploited them sexually for the purpose of making money.
As Ginger and a large team of volunteers searched for appropriate community resources for these young women, none could be found. At the urging of several community providers, iCare was formed to fill this gap and address three specific areas of need regarding human trafficking in the CSRA: Prevention, Intervention, & Restoration. The first order of business was to send sixteen community professionals from multiple professional disciplines such as medical, law enforcement, social work, mental health, legal advocacy, and education to Washington, DC for training from leaders in this field. The team then brought the training back to our community where 450 service providers were trained in the first two years at two professional conferences: Rivers of Justice and Shed A Light Conference.
Training multiple disciplines to identify and respond to cases of trafficking and exploitation has resulted in hundreds of young women and children being referred to iCare each year for services. The long- term holistic care services provided by iCare therapists, social workers, and case managers include psychoeducation, therapy, case management, mentoring, tutoring, and job skills training. This past year clients served by iCare were given the opportunity to act as survivor advocates to advise and inform best practices. In January, 2020, the coordinated efforts of iCare and leaders in the field of human trafficking came full circle as iCare was invited to speak at the National Conference on Trafficking at the Department of Justice to share ideas regarding innovative strategies in serving victims.
Julie Kapees, CPNP-PC, PMHS
Julie has lived in Augusta since 2000. She is married and has six children and six grandchildren. Her professional education includes a Master of Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia and the KySS Mental Health fellowship for Children and Adolescents. She is Board Certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Mental Health Specialist. She has focus a focus on behavioral health needs in the pediatric population.