Patrick Atkinson is in constant demand as a highly
inspirational speaker and is nationally sought after for presentations on
health, education, human trafficking, poverty prevention, and family related
matters. He has been interviewed in numerous national, international, and
regional media outlets such as CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Minneapolis Star
Tribune, and the Christian Science Monitor.
Atkinson is the Founder and Executive Director of The GOD’S
CHILD Project and ITEMP (Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing
Persons). Since its founding in 1991 by Patrick Atkinson, The GOD’S CHILD
Project has grown to more than 12 distinct programs in five different
countries, caring for and educating 5,000 orphaned, abandoned, and
poverty-stricken boys and girls. He then started ITEMP in 2001 as a
response to the growing problem of human trafficking he witnessed in his
travels and work around the globe.
Atkinson is a Bismarck, ND native and graduate of Minnesota
State Moorehead and Regis University. While completing his masters at
Regis University, he co-developed a service learning university course model
for which he coined S.O.F.E: Service Oriented Field Experience or what is also
known as service team experiences.
In 2000 and 2001, Atkinson was invited by the United
Nations to develop residential, health, and educational programs for rural
women left widowed, and street children left orphaned by the AIDS crisis in
East and South Africa.