Gwen Hassan thrives in global spaces. In addition to leading Unisys Corporation’s worldwide compliance program as deputy chief compliance officer, Hassan has presented, conducted trainings, and worked in more than a dozen different countries. She’s particularly passionate about exposing the ties between human trafficking abroad and stateside companies, products, and people.

Hassan teaches in the MJ and LLM programs in Compliance & Enterprise Risk Management. Below, she offers three tips for aspiring compliance professionals.

It’s Not Just About Dotting I’s and Crossing T’s
Hassan obviously knows her way around the federal sentencing guidelines; after decades in this industry, she’s well-versed in regulatory compliance. But in Hassan’s courses, she helps students understand that compliance goes well beyond checking off boxes. “In the context of our program and my teaching specifically, I view compliance as a philosophy,” Hassan says. “It’s the practice of law in the context of building a culture that supports, evangelizes, and furthers an integrity-based culture for organizations.” 

Get Comfortable Asking Questions
Are you an independent thinker who questions the status quo? If so, Hassan says a career in compliance might be a great fit for you. “It’s not about memorizing or accumulating knowledge as much as it’s about learning how to think critically, knowing what kinds of questions to ask, and prioritizing being a good corporate citizen,” she says. “I hope students leave my courses feeling empowered to make practical changes in their current and future organizations.” Students also leave with a helpful resource in Hassan, who mentors several alumni. 

Follow Your Personal Passion 
Nearly two decades ago, Hassan became interested in combatting human trafficking after hearing from a guest speaker at a business networking event. She learned that children in rural India were being tricked into marriage scams that were actually pipelines for urban brothels. At the time, Hassan’s daughter was 11 years old—the same age as some of the victims. “I really felt called to try and do something,” Hassan says.

Hassan implemented the first human trafficking prevention program in her workplace, and she began speaking and writing about this topic. As students in Hassan’s compliance courses discover, companies may not realize how and where human trafficking could be part of their business. For example, a company could be contracting with a vendor to provide call center employees, not knowing that the vendor has confiscated the employees’ passports until they pay an astronomical “finder’s fee.”  

“Human trafficking doesn’t always take the form we first imagine—it can be found at almost any level of an organization’s supply chain,” Hassan explains in the introduction to her podcast, “Hidden Traffic with Gwen Hassan.” On this award-winning show, Hassan has interviewed compliance experts, a survivor of human trafficking, nonprofit leaders, and advocates working to stop the horrific practices of human trafficking, modern slavery, child labor, and sex trafficking. 

“I do really feel like teaching people about human trafficking—and more broadly, about compliance—is my part in helping to make the world a better place.” –Kelsey Schagemann (November 2024)