Somaly Mam, herself a former victim of human trafficking in Cambodia, is the graceful and passionate president of the organization—who, for what it's worth, looked stunning in a violet sari on Tuesday night. Mam told us that open-mindedness is key when it comes to beginning to understand the origins and impact of worldwide human trafficking. "First of all, [people] need to open themselves, because it's not easy to understand human trafficking. And it's not easy to understand what being a victim means ... it's not easy." It's an important thing to understand, though: some estimates have put the current number of human sex-trafficking victims at as many as 27 million, with over two million women and children sold into slavery each year.

"I believe one thing: everyone cannot make everything, but each person can make one thing. We need their help, we need their caring, it's not just money," Mam continued. She began her first NGO dedicated to eradicating sex slavery in 1996: what, we asked, has she learned since then?

"I learned how to accept love from other people, and healing... What I learned is, around the world, it's not all bad people. There are also great people, and it's a big thing I've really learned in my life." Mam's outlook is remarkable, given the horrific circumstances of her childhood—and that's something she's trying to impart on the girls she helps to rescue and rehabilitate every day.  Several of those girls, in fact, honored the Capitale audience with some traditional Khmer dancing. By the end of the night, it was announced that over a half-million dollars had been raised for the foundation even before the auction proceeds were calculated... and since one of the auction items was a private video chat with Petra Nemcova, we're betting the half-million was an underestimate.