Chillicothe native in Glamour magazine poll

CHILLICOTHE — Melissa Holland may have left Chillicothe, but she has found her purpose.

Holland, 38, a native of Chilllicothe, has dedicated her life to helping others. Now, she is being recognized for her efforts on a national level. Holland has been selected as the state of Nevada's representative in Glamour Magazine's annual Women of the Year: Hometown Heroes poll. 

In 2011, Holland co-founded a Christian nonprofit that aims to increase awareness and education surrounding the issue of sexual exploitation, support victims of sex trafficking and provide them with resources and support to help them create new lives fore themselves. Awaken has grown to become Holland's full-time occupation. As of Thursday, Awaken's website states it has helped 174 women,and nearly all victims served by the organization have had a history of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

"I'm wired as a very passionate person, and it baffles me that we are this behind on the fastest growing criminal enterprise," Holland said. "We want to go after the roots of this and change the culture as well."

Despite living in Asia for years, where she said the activity her organization works to prevent is prominent, it was not until her move to Reno that she noticed how big the problem of human trafficking was and began researching the industry.

Holland said she has always felt that she was supposed to work with a specific population, but was not sure what it was.

In search of her purpose, Holland worked in China for four years, teaching English as a second language, but returned to the United States and enrolled in graduate school. It was then when she moved to Reno, where her mother also lives, and became more aware of the sex industry.

When she realized this was the population she was meant to help, she hit the ground running. In 2009, Holland began her research into the industry, and by May of  2011, Awaken was created as a 501(c)3.

"I don't want to just put a band-aid on it," Holland said. "The more awareness we can have the better. It's an issue that should be forefront in society."

Now, thanks in part to her involvement with the organization, Holland has been selected by Glamour magazine as a candidate in the Women of the Year: Hometown Heroes poll. Although she may be Nevada's representative, Holland has not forgotten the town where her roots lie.

"Chillicothe gave me roots in what it meant to be grounded in a community," Holland said.

Part being grounded in the community for Holland involved seeing it from more than one side. Holland said her hometown is where she became an addict. But it was also where she said she became sober, and found her faith.

Holland said she is thankful for the support of family and her hometown community, not only through her struggles but through her work at Awaken.

"The beautiful thing about Chillicothe is that they have a ton of patience and grace in me that I get to give back,' Holland said. "It's really cool to have good support, especially in this field."

Voting for Glamour's Women of the Year wraps up Oct. 13. According to Glamour's website, the full list will be online Nov. 9, and the winner could appear in the magazine's December issue.

Vote for Melissa Holland 

Online  voting is taking place now at Glamour magazine's website. 

Voting ends Oct. 13