Monique Ferguson-Riley CAPS’18 Named Alumna of the Year for the College of Adult & Professional Studies and Graduate School
Monique Ferguson-Riley is a survivor of human trafficking. She’s also a mom, a wife, a CEO, a student, and one of Bethel University’s 2021 Alumni of the Year. Today, she’s using her personal story to fight human trafficking through prevention, advocacy, and survivor support as founder of Freedom Youth Family Justice Center in the Bronx, New York.
By Cherie Suonvieri '15, content specialist
September 23, 2021 | 10 a.m.
At 12 years old, Monique Ferguson-Riley lived in Harlem, New York and was having a hard time in school. Facing bullying and academic challenges, she felt she didn’t fit in. But another girl, one year older than her, came alongside Ferguson-Riley and became her friend. Within months, the new friend would be the one to recruit Ferguson-Riley into the life of human trafficking.
But Ferguson-Riley’s life started to change when she became pregnant with her first child at 17. She felt God opening her eyes to all that she could do and be. She moved to Minnesota, where she met her now-husband, and she decided to earn her B.A. in Christian Ministries from Bethel. Today, she’s back in New York City, a mother of five, running Freedom Youth Family Justice Center, an organization she founded to prevent and eliminate human trafficking in the Bronx. “Because of the purpose God has given me, I’m able to do the work that I’m doing,” she says. “But I know that this work is not for me. My story is just a small snippet.”
Monique Ferguson-Riley at a community event hosted by Freedom Youth Family Justice Center in the Bronx.
Nominate the 2022 Alumni of the Year.
Every year, Bethel honors three outstanding alumni. If you know an incredible alum who deserves to be recognized, let us know! Nominations are accepted year-round and remain in consideration for three years.