Russell graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology and South & Southeast Asian Studies. As a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Russell completed a research project in Cambodia looking at the factors of resiliency for male survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.

Russell recently worked with the National Human Trafficking Training and Assistance Center as a Human Trafficking Leadership Academy Fellow (HTLA).

Russell has also spent extensive time living and traveling throughout South and Southeast Asia, providing him with a deep understanding of the cultures as well as knowledge of the systemic mechanisms of human trafficking in those countries. As a CSEC survivor and former foster child, Russell has a unique and insightful perspective on the issues that male trafficking victims and survivors face in their daily lives. It is through these experiences that Russell brings authenticity and passion to his research and his life.