Anti-Human Trafficking Work
I have spent over a decade fighting human trafficking. I started a nonprofit called Free the Captives in Houston. My nonprofit has rescued teen girls out of trafficking, worked with elected officials on public policy, and raised much needed awareness through conferences, media campaigns and large scale events.

Human trafficking is essentially modern day slavery. The average age of a girl being trafficked in the US is between 12 to 14 years old. My nonprofit works with American teenagers who often come from broken homes, have been sexually abused and have low esteem. Traffickers find these vulnerable girls on social media and lure them into a relationship. Once the girl trusts him, he begins to sell her body.
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As the founder and director of my nonprofit, Free the Captives, my main focus is working directly with victims. I also raised awareness by speaking on the topic. I have educated thousands of people through the state and nation on human trafficking by speaking at churches, conferences and various groups and businesses.
One of my most rewarding responsibilities was coordinating the rescue of trafficking victims with law enforcement. I worked closely with the FBI, Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff's Office to make sure that girls were found and brought to safety.
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My work also allowed me to work with elected officials and law enforcement to impact public policy regarding human trafficking.

One of our biggest undertakings was creating a job program for our trafficking victims. After exploring several business ideas, we ended up making candles. I taught myself how to make candles, found a business to donate the materials, and created a summer job program for the girls.
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During the summer, they would make several thousand candles, earn money, and learn important job skills. I also taught them about budgeting, resume writing and interviewing. Then, myself and volunteers would spend the rest of the year selling the candles at churches and various markets.

As a leader in this field, I mobilized thousands of volunteers in the fight against human trafficking. From letter writing campaigns to mentoring victims to attending joint rallies with local government offices, it was incredible to see so many people get involved.
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I had volunteers transporting victims to doctor's appointments, providing entire Christmas experiences to victims' families, and cooking weekly meals for our support groups. The nonprofit consisted mostly of volunteer help.


As a nonprofit, we had to raise most of our funds. I became adept at fundraising by hosting luncheons, galas, Christmas markets, and even a fashion show.
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The most fun event was our annual 5K. Our largest 5K had over 800 runners. Organizing a 5K race is a lot of work, but people really enjoyed running for a great cause!


An important part of raising awareness was the ability to organize large scale events and succinctly speak to media outlets.
One of my most successful awareness events was hosting a two day rally on Bissonnet Street in Houston, a street notorious for trafficking. We kicked off the event with a joint press conference that included legendary baseball player, Lance Berkman, HPD Chief of Police Art Acevedo, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, County Attorney Vince Ryan, and myself. Since that event, trafficking on Bissonnet Street has been cleaned up significantly.
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​A key component to fighting human trafficking is deterring the buyers. We worked successfully to raise awareness and encourage law enforcement to crack down on the buyers. Human trafficking is a supply/demand business. As long as there is a demand, traffickers will continue supplying girls. In a joint effort with the Harris County Sheriff's Office, I ran a billboard campaign and created a commercial for broadcast television.
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In summary, my work with my non-profit prepares me for serving on the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees. As you can see, my life's work has been dedicated to helping children. Furthermore, I have developed leadership skills that are needed in the school district, particularly at this difficult juncture of the district's finances. CISD needs a leader that has a proven track record of mobilizing people. If we want to maintain the quality of our schools, we need funding from the state. We need our collective voices heard in Austin this spring.