Child Safety Advocate and Cyber Law Legal Expert to Be Honored by FBI Director

NEWARK, NJ—Mrs. Parry Aftab of Wyckoff, New Jersey, will be honored by the FBI at its Newark Field Office, 11 Centre Place, Newark, at 12:30 p.m. on November 23, 2010. Mrs. Aftab is the 2010 New Jersey recipient of the Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA), presented on behalf of the Director of the FBI by Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward. This event is open to the media.

The DCLA is a special award created in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence in America. Recipients are nominated by the special agents in charge of their local FBI divisions. Last year’s New Jersey recipient was Jacob S. "Josh" Elkes of Freehold, New Jersey, who is the vice chairman of the board of trustees of Brookdale Community College in Lincroft and president of Direct Title & Closing Agency in Freehold, New Jersey.

Parry Aftab is a noted author, child advocate, attorney, and leading authority on Internet best practices, privacy, and cyber law. Mrs. Aftab has worked with the FBI and the Newark Division since 1999 at the inception of Newark’s Innocent Images Initiative.

Mrs. Aftab is the founder and executive director of WiredSafety.org, the world’s oldest and largest cyber safety group. Parry Aftab wrote and promoted the first law enforcement investigators’ guide for social networks. Parry helped create MTV’s A Thin Line campaign, which educates young people on cyber safety.

Mrs. Aftab created a cyber safety initiative for the Girl Scouts, educating 2.5 million girls regarding online safety. Mrs. Aftab also drafted the Teenangels Program, where teens train for two years to become cyber crime prevention and cyber safety experts. Graduates of the program train their peers and have helped advise law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.

Parry Aftab is currently creating the law enforcement cyber safety training portal for Ontario law enforcement agencies in Canada and has created presentation materials and resources for law enforcement worldwide to be used without charge in community outreach programs. Her upcoming Stop Cyber Bullying Toolkit contains almost $1 million worth of resources, guides, computer games, animations, videos, and risk management pointers, as well as lesson plans, presentation materials, and community activities for students, parents, and teachers. The toolkit is free to schools, community organizations, and law enforcement agencies

Her StopCyberbullying.org website is the most popular anti-cyber bullying website in the world. She also authored the first Internet safety book for parents, A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace, published in 1997.

In 1999, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, recruited Mrs. Aftab to lead its online sexual exploitation of children awareness campaign, Innocence in Danger. When the program was not funded as planned, she continued her work without funding.

On September 14, 2001, Mrs. Aftab was asked to meet at the White House to address the growing fear that children of Middle Eastern descent would be targeted by hate groups in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. She organized the E-Mail to America project, inspiring her clients and supporters in the industry to create a portal where children worldwide could voice their fears and concerns.

Mrs. Aftab has promoted the FBI’s efforts to help protect Internet users and commercial enterprises online in media coverage on CNN, Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and print publications. She further promotes cyber law enforcement leadership at the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Congress, and the House of Lords in the UK.

Parry Aftab is married to Canadian child safety advocate Allan McCullough, who runs the Child Safety Research and Innovation Center, a Canadian non-profit agency. They have two adult children, one in New Jersey and one in California.

“We are pleased to select Parry Aftab for this award this year,” said Ward. “She continues to be an important ally in staying ahead of the ever-growing threat of Internet crime. Those selected for the Director’s Community Leadership Award must meet a high standard of excellence in service to the community and we are honored to name Mrs. Aftab as our 2010 recipient. Her work is vital to getting the message of Internet safety out to individuals, companies, and the world. I congratulate Mrs. Aftab on her impressive accomplishments.”

Media inquiries regarding attendance at this event should be directed to Special Agent Bryan Travers at newark.media@ic.fbi.gov. For more information about Parry Aftab, visit aftab.com.