Get to Know Montana Filoteo

Montana Filoteo is a researcher who works to disrupt sexual exploitation of youth at the University of Minnesota, where they bring their passions for harm reduction, dismantling social stigma, and uplifting youth voice together to create a safe space for young people. Their journey into public health research began in 2016 at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research Outreach-Engagement Center, where they studied youth sexual exploitation in Minnesota, alongside issues related to intersectional gender-based health disparities and sexual violence.

Filoteo's work still focuses on youth sex trading 8 years later, and a wide range of related topics, as a member of the Minnesota Youth Sex Trading Project. This collaborative leads research to "identify prevention opportunities, guide systems change, and promote wellness" among youth who exchange sex for resources to support themselves, and often their families. 

Filoteo’s unique identities as a non-binary, queer, second-generation Filipino American has shaped their approach to public health and offer unique insights into their research. This lived experience enables them to better connect with many people in the communities they serve. 

Through their work with young people, Filoteo is reducing stigma by elevating young voices and ensuring their needs are prioritized in health research and interventions. Their work, including publications like “Mental Health and Protective Factors for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youths Who Trade Sex,” and “Two-Spirit Identity and Adolescent Survey measures: Considerations of Appropriation, Transparency, and Inclusion,” published in the American Journal of Public Health, has been groundbreaking in providing data on previously under-researched communities. 

Through their Bloomberg Fellowship, Filoteo has learned to look for the root causes of the disparities in health care faced by communities across the county. In the coming years, they hope to improve data gathering mechanisms for stigmatized health topics such as youth sex trading to further public health research and empower marginalized voices to share their experiences.