Project Evidence
Case Study

I spent six years living and teaching in northern Thailand, where many of my students came from displaced refugee and highlander (hill tribe) communities navigating borders, languages, and systems were rarely designed for their support. The expiernce significantly shaped how I interpreted the DEPDC brief and informed every instructional decision throughout the project.

I partnered with DEPDC/GMS, a 25-year anti-trafficking NGO based in Chiang Rai, Thailand, to design a prevention-focused learning program addressing emerging scam-based trafficking pathways affecting vulnerable communities across the Greater Mekong Subregion and broader Southeast Asia. 

My role included:

• front-end analysis

• instructional architecture across blended eLearning and ILT 

• AI-assisted research synthesis and rapid prototyping workflows

• task analysis & scenario-based learning design

• Culturally responsive and trauma-informed interaction design

• Storyline development & mobile-first UX decisions

• QA & iterative evluation

DEPDC operates highly developed recovery programs across the region. However, front-end analysis revealed a critical systems gap: existing supports primarily addressed harm after exploitation had already occurred.

There was no structured, skills-based prevention training designed to help vulnerable youth recognize manipulation before recruitment into trafficking and scam operations.

This challenge is increasingly urgent as organized scam compounds expand across Southeast Asia, frequently targeting displaced and economically vulnerable populations with false promises of employment before coercing victims into forced scam labor operations linked to transnational criminal networks. Many trafficked individuals face conditions associated with modern slavery, including physical punishment, confinement, intimidation, and abuse for failing to meet scam quotas.

Target learners included multilingual adolescents and young adults across the Greater Mekong Subregion, ranging from displaced youth with interrupted formal education to multilingual learners (MLLs) studying within local university systems, many navigating trauma, economic vulnerability, low-bandwidth access constraints, and varying literacy levels.

Designing for this audience required prioritizing clarity, cultural authenticity, psychological safety, and mobile accessibility from the outset.

The learning program evolved into a two-part modular sequence. Module 1 was developed in Articulate Storyline as a low-bandwidth, scenario-based eLearning experience focused on foundational scam recognition and decision-making skills for broader regional accessibility. 

A primary evaluation benchmark was calibrated learner confidence, particularly self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and decision readiness within high-pressure scam scenarios. Scenario pathways and feedback systems were intentionally designed to measure whether learners could pause, critically evaluate manipulative situations, and respond safely under pressure.

Module 2 transitioned into facilitator-led workshops centered on deeper discussion and complex cases involving coercion, corruption, and abuse of institutional trust within human trafficking networks.

Custom AI-assisted avatars, scenario visuals, branching decision pathways, and empathy anchors were intentionally designed to strengthen learner trust, contextual authenticity, and cultural relevance.