# Victor Boutros

> Victor Boutros is the CEO and co-founder of the Human Trafficking Institute, a Dallas- and Washington-based nonprofit that embeds investigators and lawyers inside the criminal justice systems of developing countries to help them dismantle trafficking networks at the source. A former U.S. Department of Justice federal prosecutor who tried human trafficking cases of national significance, he co-wrote the Washington Post bestseller The Locust Effect with Gary Haugen, work that earned the 2016 Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Improving World Order. He left a stable government career with no safety net in 2016 to build an organization that has helped Uganda prosecute traffickers at nearly ten times the global average.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder, Human Trafficking Institute
- **Organizations:** Human Trafficking Institute, U.S. Department of Justice (former), Praxis, University of Chicago Law School (former lecturer)
- **From:** Dallas, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, 1998, Baylor University, graduate study, Harvard University, graduate study, Oxford University, JD; editor, University of Chicago Law Review, University of Chicago Law School
- **Known for:** Co-authored The Locust Effect, a Washington Post bestseller featured by the New York Times, The Economist, NPR, the Today Show, Forbes, TED and the BBC, Received the 2016 Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Improving World Order with Gary Haugen, Co-founded the Human Trafficking Institute, now operating in the United States, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Belize

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Graduates from Baylor University (BA).
- **2007** — Joins the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Criminal Section as a Trial Attorney, prosecuting human trafficking and hate crimes.
- **2014** — Co-authors The Locust Effect with Gary Haugen, published by Oxford University Press; becomes a Washington Post bestseller.
- **2015** — Concludes eight years as a federal prosecutor in the DOJ Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
- **2016** — Co-founds the Human Trafficking Institute; receives the Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Improving World Order for The Locust Effect.
- **2025** — Named Leadership Excellence Award winner for Large Organizations at D CEO's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards; featured in D Magazine's Dallas 500.

## Achievements

- Co-authored The Locust Effect, a Washington Post bestseller featured by the New York Times, The Economist, NPR, the Today Show, Forbes, TED and the BBC
- Received the 2016 Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Improving World Order with Gary Haugen
- Co-founded the Human Trafficking Institute, now operating in the United States, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Belize
- Helped Uganda prosecute traffickers at nearly ten times the global average
- Served eight years as a federal prosecutor in the DOJ Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit
- Taught human trafficking at the FBI Academy in Quantico
- Briefed legislators, congressional committees and the President of the United States on human trafficking
- Named 2025 Leadership Excellence Award winner for Large Organizations at D CEO's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Featured in D Magazine's Dallas 500 and named winner of the 2025 Leadership Excellence Award for Large Organizations at D CEO's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards.

## Links

- Website: https://traffickinginstitute.org
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/victorboutros
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/TraffickingInst
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/traffickinginst/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/traffickinginst

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/victor-boutros
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21