OUR Rescue appoints five new members to its board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OUR Rescue appoints five new members to its board

New board members bring specialized expertise to guide the organization’s ongoing transformation and mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation

SALT LAKE CITY (SEPTEMBER 10, 2024) – OUR Rescue, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization, today announced the appointment of five new board members: Derek Benner, Lindy Borchardt, Dr. Abigail Casas Muñoz, James Sweeney, and John Trenary. These accomplished leaders join OUR Rescue’s current board of directors and leadership team to transform the organization and advance its mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation while empowering survivors to reclaim their lives and thrive on their healing journey through education and prevention, surgery, and survivor care.

Since joining OUR Rescue in February 2024, CEO Tammy Lee, along with the newly hired executive leadership team and current board members, have worked to evolve the organization’s operations and policies and advance its mission of supporting survivors. These stewards of OUR Rescue’s team and resources have also deepened relationships with law enforcement agencies around the world and helped end sex trafficking crimes through education and prevention efforts.

“On behalf of OUR Rescue’s new leadership team, I am thrilled to welcome and work with this highly accomplished class of directors as they join our other visionary board members on this journey to transform the organization and fuel OUR Rescue’s growth,” said Tammy Lee, CEO of OUR Rescue. “Each new member brings diverse expertise in areas that align with OUR Rescue’s mission and strategies to expand our global impact. Collectively, this board brings a passion and unwavering commitment to putting the needs of survivors at the forefront of everything we do, while providing our law enforcement partners with the investigative tools they need to identify and apprehend predators—from advanced cyber capabilities to specially trained K9s.”

New board members of OUR Rescue

Derek Benner brings expertise gained from a 30-year career in federal law enforcement, including leading Homeland Security Investigations within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an organization of more than 10,000 law enforcement personnel (7,000 special agents assigned to 30 Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices in major cities, more than 182 other field offices throughout the United States, and 68 locations abroad). Derek led the establishment of the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), the first unified, inter-component coordination center for combating human trafficking. He currently serves as Managing Director, Federal Law Enforcement and Commercial at Thomas Reuters Special Service, LLC.

Assistant Public Prosecutor for Criminal Cases, Lindy Borchardtaggressively prosecutes all human trafficking cases, including both labor and sex trafficking, for the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Based in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, OUR Rescue is establishing a Center of Excellence for its operations. Lindy works closely with law enforcement and nonprofit organizations to protect victims and seek justice. She is the recipient of the 2022 Community Impact Award from the Tarrant County 5 Stones Taskforce and the 2023 Three Key Award from Unbound Now, a human trafficking and survivor advocacy organization. Lindy traveled with Unbound Now to help train on best practices for prosecuting human trafficking cases in Jakarta and Nepal. OUR Rescue provided funding for this international training.

Doctor Abigail Casas Muñoz founded the Center for Advanced Studies on Violence and Prevention at the National Institute of Pediatrics in Mexico City and brings a trauma-informed clinical approach to guide OUR Rescue’s Survivor Care focus. Dr. Casas brings 20 years of experience as a pediatrician, researcher, and professor. She is a pioneer in research on adverse childhood experiences with a focus on violence against children and adolescents and the human rights of children.

James M. Sweeney Jim Sr. is a successful serial entrepreneur who has started 14 healthcare companies with original ideas, none of which have failed. He has raised $2 billion in capital generating over $30 billion in exit value. More importantly, his companies have saved or extended the lives of millions of people. Success stories include Caremark, which had 75 centers in the US before being sold to Baxter Laboratories and later acquired by CVS. Jim’s company, Coram Healthcare, was also eventually sold to CVS in 2013 for $2.1 billion. CardioNet (BioTelemetry) was acquired by Philips in 2021 for $2.8 billion. Most recently, Jim has leveraged his capital and passion for saving lives into the humanitarian sector by founding Kids Set Free, Inc, a 501(c)(3) foundation with the mission of supporting agencies and organizations that combat child sexual exploitation.

John Trenary John S.A. is currently the President of SEARCH Group, Inc.’s Digital Forensic Services, where he leads a team specializing in digital forensic acquisition and analysis. John is a court-certified expert with training in cybercrime investigations from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Secret Service, and The Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. John also owns and operates Carpe Veritas Digital Forensics, LLC, a consulting firm focused on digital forensic analysis services and investigations. Prior to joining SEARCH, John spent 25 years with the Linn County, OR Sheriff’s Office where he served as a deputy sheriff, cybercrime detective, and manager of the Digital Forensics Laboratory.

The first board members of OUR Rescue

The newly elected members join the board elected in February 2023: Kelly Crouch, strategic advisor for cybercrime against children in Washington State; Jeff Frazier, president of STIMPAK, an NGO focused on Haiti; Matt Millhollin, a senior executive with 25 years of law enforcement experience; and Sean Vassilaros, who is chairman of the board and CEO of KANNY.

Vassilaros concluded, “These new members complement the talents of the current board by bringing additional expertise in federal law enforcement, cybercrime investigations, prosecuting human traffickers, trauma-informed medical care, and successfully growing companies from start-up to multi-billion dollar. This is the right mix of talent to accelerate OUR Rescue’s growth and impact. These leaders will also be critical stewards in guiding the work we do to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to survivors, and provide critical resources to law enforcement partners needed to stay ahead of the criminals.”

For more information about OUR Rescue’s current board and leadership team, visit: https://ourrescue.org/about/our-team

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Headquartered in Salt Lake City with Centers of Excellence in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas-Fort Worth, OUR Rescue is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end sex trafficking and child exploitation by empowering survivors to reclaim their lives and thrive on their healing journeys. Founded in 2013, the organization’s work spans the globe, providing comprehensive survivor care services, supporting law enforcement, and funding equipment and training to develop and prosecute cases.

Contact: Jessica Carlson
(email address)
651-249-9322