Elena Michael is the co-founder and director of #NotYourPorn, a survivor-led movement
combating image-based sexual abuse affecting non-consenting adults, sex workers, and
under-18s. The organization influences international legislation and policy, provides survivor
support, and drives social change. #NotYourPorn played a role in shaping the EU’s Digital
Safety Act, the UK’s Online Safety Act, and the criminalization of deepfakes in the UK. They
have supported over 450 survivors, including high-profile cases like Georgia Harrison's, a
UK reality TV star whose intimate tape was non-consensually posted online.
#NotYourPorn aids schools in creating infrastructure to handle image-based abuse and
regularly conducts talks to educate students and school leaders. Their interventions equip
young people to make informed digital decisions and to not be bystanders to online
victimization. The movement has significantly impacted commercial accountability for
image-based abuse, most notably through an investigation with the Sunday Times into child
abuse on Pornhub, leading to the site deleting 80% of its content.
Elena’s efforts were recognized with the UK’s National Accident Helpline’s Future Legal Mind
Award and a shortlist for the UK’s Young Digital Leader of the Year Award in 2021. In 2024,
she was featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for social impact.
Areas of expertise
Vanessa Mbonu serves as the NAACP’s Vice President of Digital Marketing and Communications. She has been instrumental in communicating the organization’s federal advocacy and policy initiatives through digital campaigns, media relations, and integrated marketing. As a key member of the executive leadership team, Vanessa has modernized NAACP’s digital organizing efforts and cultural recognition.
Under her leadership, the NAACP’s digital strategy has secured over $15 million in individual donor contributions. She contributed to a 70 percent increase in NAACP Image Awards viewership, doubled YouTube subscribers, and achieved over 30 percent growth in email subscribers. These efforts have amplified NAACP’s calls for justice and equity to audiences typically reached by Fortune 500 brands.
Vanessa co-produced "UNPCKD," a series with The Webby Awards addressing critical issues for communities of color and promoting a more inclusive internet. Drawing inspiration from her identity as a young Black woman, she is dedicated to creating meaningful social impact and empowering young people.
An immigrant from Lagos, Nigeria, Vanessa graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. John's University and earned her master’s from the London School of Economics. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Lister (2024), Cannes Lions BMA scholarship recipient (2023), and a MIPAD 40 Under 40 honoree.
Founder & Managing Director of Teach Us Consent, Teach Us Consent
In 2021 Chanel Contos posted an Instagram poll asking if anyone else had been sexually assaulted while of school age, and launched a petition demanding earlier and holistic consent education in the Australian National Curriculum. She read and published 6600 testimonies of sexual assault on her website teachusconsent.com and in response almost 50,000 people signed her petition. A year later, Chanel presented at a meeting of Ministers of Education from around Australia and they unanimously agreed to mandate consent education, every year, from Kindergarten until year 10. In order to achieve this, she worked closely with politicians from across the political spectrum.
Contos’ work revolves around preventing normalized sexual violence. Due to this, she has also had a particular focus on the issue of stealthing (the non consensual removal of a condom during sex). Teach Us Consent has been directly responsible for explicitly criminalising this form of sexual violence in 2 Australian states.
As a result of Teach Us Consent’s advocacy, the Australian government has invested $77 million to implement the education policy change, as well as $5 million into a survey to measure the efficiency of it. Both of these are projects that Chanel is advising on. Further, Teach Us Consent was just granted $3.5 million by the government to continue their important work.
