Title: Anti-Trafficking Therapist and Co-Founder
Company: Youthworks – North Dakota; North Dakota Suicide Prevention Coalition
Location: Bismarck, North Dakota, United States
Alison Traynor, Anti-Trafficking Therapist and Co-Founder at Youthworks – North Dakota and North Dakota Suicide Prevention Coalition, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Healthcare Providers for dedication, achievements, and leadership in mental health.
Ms. Traynor has had a distinguished career in the mental health field, working for such agencies as PRIDE, Incorporated between 2001 and 2004, Hope’s House between 2004 and 2006, Red River Human Services Foundation between 2006 and 2008, Children’s Day Treatment between 2008 and 2009, the state of North Dakota between 2009 and 2011 and again between 2015 and 2020, Easter Seals Goodwill North Dakota, Incorporated between 2011 and 2013, Abused Adult Resource Center between 2013 and 2015, and Summit Counseling Services, Incorporated between 2020 and 2023. She currently serves as a suicide prevention, trauma-focused, and brief strategic family therapist for the Youth Correctional Center of the state of North Dakota starting in 2023. She simultaneously acts as an anti-trafficking therapist for Youthworks of North Dakota, where she has thrived since 2021.
Attributing her success to her unwavering authenticity, utilizing this skill to earn a Bachelor of Social Work from Minnesota State University at Moorhead in 2008. She obtained a Master of Public Health in 2020 from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She subsequently garnered a Master of Social Work from the University of North Dakota in 2021. She is also certified as a licensed clinical social worker.
As the first anti-trafficking therapist in North Dakota, Ms. Traynor participates in many civic activities such as a board member of Summit Counseling Services, Incorporated, the co-founder of the North Dakota Suicide Prevention Coalition since 2019, a member of the MPH Community Foundation Board for the University of North Dakota since 2019, Out of the Darkness training and material coordinator for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention since 2015. She also serves as a member of the National Association of Social Workers North Dakota and a volunteer trainer for suicide prevention, trauma, and anti-trafficking therapy for county workers, foster care workers, faith-based leaders, schools, communities, and law enforcement. Between 2015 and 2019, she coordinated volunteers for ND Cares.
In the future, Ms. Traynor envisions developing effective strategies that will help eliminate gaps in services and care, with the ultimate goal of making it easier to identify vulnerable young people who are at risk of suicide. She cites her motto as “With help, there is hope.” When she isn’t working, she dedicates her time and attention to spending time with her family, weight training, running, being outdoors, hiking, and Pilates.
For more information, please visit:
YouthWorks
North Dakota Suicide Prevention Coalition
Contact Ms. Traynor
