Brian Cress | IJM West Coast Director of Development | SAS Advisor

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Brian Cress is the West Coast Director of Development for International Justice Mission (IJM). IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. Prior to joining IJM, Brian served on the pastoral team of Westminster Chapel, a 3,000-member church in Bellevue, Washington, for 27 years. Most recently, he served as Executive Pastor. His responsibilities included leading and managing a 35-member staff team, overseeing the construction of a $22 million addition to Westminster’s facilities and serving as part of the preaching team. Prior to serving as Executive Pastor, Brian also served as the Family Ministry Pastor and was Pastor of Student Ministries for 20 years. Brian has spoken at youth camps, retreats and at youth missions events in Mexico, Peru and Africa. He has led many student and family missions trips to Mexico and helped to establish a thriving church in Mexicali, Mexico. Brian received a B.S. in Christian Education from Biola University in Southern California. Brian and his wife, Lori, who serves as an IJM Justice Advocate volunteer, live in Bellevue, and have three children.

Catherine Jensen | Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network (WARN) & Refugee Women Alliance (ReWA) Outreach & Awareness Coordinator

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Catherine Jensen is an outreach worker for WARN (Washington Anti-trafficking Response Network) and ReWA (Refugee Women’s Alliance) in Seattle.  She presents to student groups and other community organizations on the issues of domestic labor and sex trafficking in Washington State.  She is currently finishing her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Mars Hill Graduate School, and is an intern therapist at Seattle Therapy Alliance.  Catherine was involved in outreach work with street youth and prostituted women on the downtown eastside of Vancouver, Canada from 2002-2006.  More recently, Catherine was a co-researcher with Mindy Kalee (SAS speaker) and Lacie Morrison (SAS Board Member) on a small scale research project on Vicarious Trauma in Service Providers for Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia

Emma Catague | API Women & Family Safety Center Community Organizing Program Manager

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Emma Catague is the Community Organizing Program Manager for the Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Women & Family Safety Center as well as being one of the founding mothers of the API Safety Center and a former Board Co-Chair. In addition, Emma is a Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault and Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate for the API Women & Family Safety Center. Emma implements educational programs in Asian & Pacific Islander (API) communities on domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking. As a domestic violience survivor herself, Emma is a dedicated advocate in ending violence against women and children. She has 30 years of experience in community and labor organizing, advocating for human rights, Immigration issues, bilingual education, youth development, employment rights, and working for social change. She also conducts outreach in underserved communities to organize against domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking with an emphasis on culturally and linguistically appropriate education methods. Member of Community Voices, a standing committee of Office Crime Victim Advocacy (OCVA) Former Board member of Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Program (WCSAP) since 2001. Consultant, Family Violence Prevention Fund Technical Assistance for Pacific Territories.  Former Praxis International Technical Assistance Consultant for Rural Grantee focus on Hawaiian/ Asian & Pacific Islander communities, Peer reviewer for Dept. of Justice Office of Violence Women Office for Rural Grantee, and a Business Owner

Kathleen Morris | WA Anti-Trafficking Response Network (WARN) Program Manager | SAS Advisor

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Kathleen Morris is the program manager for the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network (WARN) which provides direct services to victims of human trafficking in Washington State.  WARN is a coalition of the International Rescue Committee, the Asian & Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center, and Refugee Women’s Alliance.  WARN provides urgent response and long-term aftercare including emergency and transitional housing, medical and mental health care, food, clothing, intensive case management, access to immigration and legal assistance, English classes, and job training.  WARN works closely with local and federal law enforcement to fight human trafficking, identify victims in Washington State, and help them escape their exploitation, recover and restore their lives.  WARN’s advocates have been on the forefront of the anti-trafficking movement in Washington State and have extensive experience serving victims of human trafficking.

Lacie Morrison | Trafficking Therapist | Mental Health Counselor | SAS Service Providers Community Director

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Lacie Morrison is a Mental Health Therapist who has been involved in anti-trafficking work for the past three years. Lacie was a Freedom Initiative Team Leader for the Inaugural UNBOUND Conference in 2009, and was instrumental in the formation of Seattle Against Slavery. Lacie now serves on the Board of Directors of SAS, as well as on its staff as its Service Providers Community Director. From July 2009 to May 2010 Lacie was in SE Asia. For most of that time she lived in the Philippines working as a therapist at RENEW Foundation’s shelter for trafficked and commercially sexually exploited women. Lacie also did research on vicarious traumatization with Mindy Kalee and Catherine Jensen in Cambodia, and observed aftercare/drop-in programs for trafficked women and children in Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia.  Lacie has a MA in Counseling Psychology, and is committed to aiding in the development of quality mental health care for trafficked individuals around the world

Mike Hogan | IJM NW Education & Church Mobilization Director | SAS Advisor

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Mike is currently the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of Church Mobilization for International Justice Mission. In his current role as the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of Church Mobilization, Mike works to engage churches in the biblical call to justice, develop a deeper commitment to justice in churches through partnership with IJM, and to further develop IJM’s Justice Advocate program by working with this group of IJM-trained volunteers to connect with a broader range of local churches in the Pacific Northwest region. Before joining IJM in 2009, Mike worked as a Business Analyst and Project Manager with Peet’s Coffee and Tea at their corporate office in Berkeley, California. He has also served as the Missions Director at The River Church Community in downtown San Jose, California. He has led trips spanning a wide range of human rights issues, from providing law enforcement training and aftercare for victims of sexual abuse in Huánuco, Peru, to HIV and AIDS prevention in Malawi. He has served as the InterVarsity Campus Director at UC Santa Cruz. Mike holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from UC Santa Cruz as well as an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. Mike resides in Portland, OR, but comes up often to Seattle and the Puget Sound area.

Mindy Kalee | Trafficking Therapist | Licensed Mental Health Counselor | SAS Advisor

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Mindy lived and worked in Cambodia for two years as a Counseling Capacity Building Coordinator for service providers of children who are victims of sex trafficking and exploitation. She received her Masters in Counseling degree from Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, Washington in 2006. While in Cambodia, she facilitated a small scale research project on Vicarious Trauma in Service Providers for Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia. In addition, she has facilitated training and speaking engagements on the topic of human trafficking both internationally and around the United States. She is a trained Child Forensic Interviewer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Her background experience includes working as a Medical Social Worker at a major hospital in Michigan, a counselor at a crisis pregnancy center, and she also has worked as an intern counselor for Sound Mental Health counseling women and children who suffered Domestic Violence and sexual assault. In her free time, Mindy loves relaxing with a book and coffee, rock climbing, hiking, running, biking, yoga and pilates.

Sheila Houston | New Horizon Ministries Late Night Outreach (LNO) Director | SAS Advisor

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Sheila is the Director of the Late Night Outreach (LNO) program for New Horizons Ministries for many years. LNO works directly with girls involved in domestic trafficking and young men involved in pimping in the Seattle-area. Sheila trains and leads a team of men and women that go out to the streets late at night in order to meet trafficking victims in their environment. Sheila has provided training for other organizations & leaders working with trafficking victims internationally and throughout Washington State. Sheila is involved in many advocacy groups and has spoken to small and large groups on trafficking issues. When asked how she got involved in this work, Sheila answers with her own story of being 16 and married to a man who convinced her to sell her body to prove she loved him. Sheila says her past allows her to understand the pain that the girls suffer and understand why so many of them think they are in love with their abuser/pimp. In addition, to her work her at New Horizons Ministries; Sheila is a pastor at Celebration Community Church and House of Oaks Ministries. Sheila has a B.A. in Organizational Behavior & Executive Master of Nonprofit Leadership (MNPL).

ABOLITION ACTIVISTS

Alex Sum | SAS Executive Director & Co-Founder | IJM Justice Advocate

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Alex is the Executive Director & Co-Founder of SAS. He started his journey in this abolition work fighting against human trafficking in early 2007 when he started a small Social Justice Community Group where they learned about topics such as homelessness, poverty, gender-race-class injustices. It was at one of these group meetings that he had one of those 'ephiphanies of a lifetime' when the the group was introduced to the work of International Justice Mission (IJM) and particularly what they did to rescue young girls from brothels overseas. Since then, Alex became a 'Justice Advocate' volunteer with IJM, and the Seattle Benefit chair in 2009 & 2010. At the encouragement of IJM's Mike Hogan, Alex co-founded SAS in June 2009 to help build a coalition, gathering and connecting almost all the anti-human trafficking organizations and government agencies to work together. The coalition became a movement. Alex has spoken at numerous college campuses, churches, numerous SAS meeting events, and benefits. Alex is a long-time Seattleite, born in Hong Kong (China), graduated from Seattle's Franklin High School and University of Washington with a B.A. degree in International Studies. He is married to a wonderful woman with 5 young bambinos...yes, 5 kids.

Cathy Hoesterey | Not for Sale Campaign Board of Director Member

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Cathy Hoesterey works with special needs students as an assistive technology specialist. She presents at national conferences on technology and disability. She has traveled to Southeast Asia to volunteer with at risk children and survivors of human trafficking.  Cathy also serves as a board member with Not for Sale Campaign.

Erin Murphy | SAS Policy Director | IJM Justice Advocate Erin is the Policy Director for SAS, managing policy and legislation advocacy relating to anti-human trafficking. Upon graduating from the UW, Erin was an intern in DC for the International Justice Mission. She then spent time in Haiti, interviewing organizations that work with children in domestic servitude (restaveks). Following an Americorps placement at the International Rescue Committee in Seattle, Erin is currently pursuing her double Masters of Public Policy and International Studies at the UW. She is also completing a Certificate of International Development. Interested in creative ways of understanding realizing and human rights, Erin often spends her summers in Kenya, partnering with an artist association that uses their art to express messages of human rights

JoAnne Ramos | Care Pastor at City Church Seattle

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JoAnne Ramos is an ordained minister that is internationally known for her ministry to women. She and her husband began a Bible school in Sofia, Bulgaria for 7 years and continue to travel back to Eastern Europe to speak at conferences and churches. They lead short-term mission trips to Uganda annually, taking teams of young professionals to conduct conferences, leadership training, women’s meetings, youth camps, juvenile prison ministry and visits to the Destiny Orphanage. Projects completed with team funding include: new mattresses and mosquito nets for 1,000 children, kitchen facilities, new medical clinic onsite, sewing machines for vocational training and new uniforms and shoes. JoAnne has become an ardent abolitionist and coordinates with the A21 Campaign out of Greece to sponsor the restoration of the mainly Eastern European victims rescued. She believes in the freedom that all people deserve and speaks out passionately for justice. She has been married for 30 years, has two grown children and five grandsons. She is currently serving at the City Church in Seattle, WA as a Care Pastor and leads a weekly Ladies Bible Study and prayer group as well as traveling as a guest speaker

Karen Olcott | SAS Strategic Director | Love146 Board of Director

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Karen Olcott is Director of Global Business Development at Microsoft, where she negotiates and leads content and ecommerce partnerships for Online Services across 45 markets worldwide. She joined Microsoft in 1997, to develop programming strategy for international, and scale out the online business into emerging markets. Prior to joining Microsoft, Karen was Executive Director of Pinnacle Efx, a Seattle-based agency for advertising, broadcast/cable and web clients.  From 1985 – 1994, she was the Creative Director for Showtime Networks in New York, and drove the Network Design Strategy of graphics, music and identity elements to package numerous cable networks. As President of the Broadcast Designers Association, a non-profit organization of 2,500 associates, she led the merger with Promax in 1997. She has over 50 awards for design and identity projects worldwide. Karen worked for ABC Sports from 1980 – 1985, traveling the world for Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, PGA Golf Tour, and worked at all the Olympic Games from 1980 – 1988. She holds a B.A.from Brown University, and graduate degrees from the Freie University in Berlin, and Harvard School of Architecture. Karen has a passion for new and emerging trends, and a heart for those who are victims of injustice.

Phil Martin | SAS Civic Community Relations Director | WWCAHT Member

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Phil Martin is the Civic Community Relations Director for SAS, an active member for the Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking (WWCAHT), and other anti-trafficking organizations/groups in Washington State. Phil has had the honor of being a guest on several televsion programs, radio broadcasts and documentary film projects. With a passion for social justice, Phil continues to fill venues educating others about the harsh realities of modern day slavery. Later this year he is slated to appear as the key note speaker for a number of different events throughout the Northwest region.

Rob Garey | SAS Operations Director | Climb for Captives Co-Founder

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Rob Garey is the Operations Director for SAS. After studying at Pepperdine University, Robert spent several years in Washington DC helping run political campaigns and working on Capitol Hill.  A lifelong interest in social entrepreneurship then took him to work for Esperanza International, a micro finance institution in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where his work continues in contemplating ways to connect former victims of prostitution to micro-loans for sustainable business development. Robert currently works with startup companies in Seattle, and continues to advocate for social innovation as a means to address injustices both domestically and internationally.  Most recently, his work includes serving as a Seattle Director for CallAndResponse.com, co-founding Climb For Captives, managing SAS as the Director of Operations, and getting married to the love of his life

Sarah Benjamin | Kitsap County Abolitionist

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Sarah is a certified secondary English teacher (now full-time Mom) with a passion for writing and speaking. She first learned about modern-day slavery by reading In Touch magazine, particularly through an article which excerpted a Natalie Grant comment on trafficking: “It’s real, and if you have a heart beating on the inside of you, once you learn, you cannot turn away.” Sarah soon devoted herself to the cause of human trafficking, and her commitment to the issue led to the first-ever appearance of the Not For Sale Campaign “Stop Paying For Slavery Tour” in Kitsap County. She is active in Mom’s Club and MOPS and has spoken at several of the Kitsap County MOPS groups to raise awareness about trafficking and to encourage activism. She is a fearless abolitionist who firmly believes in the potential of each individual to contribute to lasting changes in our world. She is currently teaching her own copywritten Bible curriculum, an in-depth study on the effect of media upon families, as part of her church’s teen class. She is also leading her church’s human trafficking engagement team.

Sarah Sweeney | Not for Sale Campaign State Director | WWCAHT President | SAS Advisor

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Sarah Sweeney is Washington State Director for the Not For Sale Campaign and President/Founder of the Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking (WWCAHT). She also serves as a SAS Advisor. Sarah learned about human trafficking when as a young adult she lived in Bangkok, Thailand. She was fortunate to return to Thailand two years ago and made contacts with the Mirror Foundation, Kru Nam’s Buddies by the Roadside, and Night Light, which was founded by Annie Dieselberg – three organizations who deal with human trafficking issues. Sarah completed training through Night Light and participated as a team member in ministering to young girls and women who had been trafficked to work in go-go bars in one of the three red light districts in Bangkok. Sarah is often asked to speak at fund raisers and awareness events about human trafficking and fair trade.  Sarah’s hobbies include reading, hiking, snowshoeing, and gardening.