Until All Are Free (The Exodus Road)

Joining Preston on this episode of Until All Are Free is Daniel*, the Asia Regional Director at The Exodus Road. Daniel has investigated more than 1,000 locations in Asia for human trafficking. He'll share with us about what that's like and about the immense sacrifices law enforcement and our national staff make to do this work.

Before transitioning to the international space, Daniel worked as a lawyer in Colorado where he focused on child abuse and neglect cases in Jefferson County. Today, Daniel oversees The Exodus Road's international programs in India, the Philippines, and Thailand.

*Pseudonym used to ensure safety.

UPDATE EPISODE : In EP 11 of Until All Are Free, we introduced you to the story of Maria, a young Kenyan woman who was exploited in a labor trafficking scheme that saw her separated from her family and living in Saudi Arabia.

The big news is that Maria is now back home with her family in Kenya and employed as an elementary school teacher as a result of The Exodus Road's Survivor Fund! This episode features more exclusive audio from Maria and also looks back on the circumstances of her story as told in EP 11. 

EP 22 in two acts: First, Preston introduces you to Karn, Country Director of The Exodus Road's operations in Thailand. Karn shares stories from his teams' experience in the fight against human trafficking on social media in 2021 –– including investigations that have begun on Twitter and Facebook and led to successful rescue and arrest operations.

Then we bring the conversation back to the United States and talk with The Exodus Road CEO and Founder, Laura Parker, to hear about one practical step that everyone can take to help protect those vulnerable to human trafficking in our families, neighborhood, community, and world.

You have discovered the inaugural episode of the podcast! CEO and Co-Founder, Matt Parker, shares the genesis story of The Exodus Road and the events that led to our very first rescue of a human trafficking victim. The Exodus Road is a global organization fighting human trafficking by gathering evidence, facilitating rescue missions, and empowering aftercare for survivors. Learn more about our organization by visiting theexodusroad.com.

Want to be the first to know when a rescue takes place? Sign up for our Rescue Texts by texting "ER" to 51555.

Host: Preston Goff

Producer: Isaac Leigh

Internal Themes: Lucas Leigh

Intro & Outro Recordings: City of Sound

In this episode, we welcome CEO and Co-Founder, Matt Parker, to share exciting developments about the program work of The Exodus Road in 2021. The Exodus Road is strategically expanding its footprint in the prevention, intervention, and aftercare spaces of the fight against human trafficking. Matt shares about The Exodus Road's vision for its Beyond Rescue Program and the very first aftercare shelter directly ran by TER's team. We also learn about the expansion of TER's Search + Rescue program in Southeast Asia, as well as exciting opportunities for TER to train 17,000 Brazilian law enforcement officers through TraffickWatch, the prevention arm of The Exodus Road.

Laura Parker (TER President) talks with female Delta Operative, Sarah, about her experience on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking. Sarah shares details from the vulnerable moments with trafficking victims and explains the extraordinary sequence of events that led an ordinary woman to become a covert operative with The Exodus Road.

The Exodus Road is a global organization fighting human trafficking by gathering evidence, facilitating rescue missions, and empowering aftercare for survivors. Learn more about our organization by visiting theexodusroad.com.

Want to be the first to know when a rescue takes place? Sign up for our Rescue Texts by texting "ER" to 51555.

Host: Preston Goff

Producer: Isaac Leigh

Internal Themes: Lucas Leigh

Intro & Outro Recordings: City of Sound

Cheers to you, listeners! You've journeyed with us throughout one of the toughest years in recent history, and we're so grateful. We have one more episode in 2020, so keep an eye on your feed and take a listen here to get a sneak peek.

Oftentimes, the stories that we share focus on one single individual. One story. One Case.

Episode 27 is a little different in that regard. We're bringing you a glimpse into the exploitation of the Rohingya Muslim people group of present-day Myanmar.
In 2015, The Exodus Road had a unique opportunity to assist in a case that garnered international attention, thrusting the Rohingya's plight into the spotlight again.  Responding to the request of law enforcement and another nonprofit organization in Thailand, The Exodus Road was able to provide cyber-forensic technology developed by Cellebrite that would eventually work to crack open a case resulting in the arrest of more than 100 and the successful rescue of hundreds more from a large trafficking ring in SE Asia.

Joining us to recount the story on this episode is The Exodus Road Co-founder, Matt Parker.

Episode Sources

Digital data helped take down a Thai General in the country’s largest human trafficking case
The Survivors of the Rohingya Genocide
Thailand: Mass Graves of Rohingya Found in Trafficking Camp
Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya in Burma
Documentation of Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State
Muslims of the Land of Arakan - A Rohingya Song

A conversation with a survivor in Latin America leads CEO Matt Parker and Delta Operative David Zach on an investigation halfway across the world. What they discover confirms the leads that the survivor shared, and further involves The Exodus Road in a region where we are already actively working to find and free victims of human trafficking.

The scoring on this episode was generously provided by Philip Daniel. To hear more of his music, follow him on Instagram at @philipdanielpiano or on Spotify.

In this episode of Until All Are Free, Preston is joined by Amber Van Schooneveld to discuss what ethical storytelling looks like for nonprofits.

Amber Van Schooneveld is the Senior Marketing Director at The Exodus Road. She has an extensive background in nonprofit marketing and storytelling, having worked as Managing Editor (among other roles) with Compassion International for nearly 13 years. Amber leads the Marketing Department in the process of identifying stories from our countries of operation in order to share updates and celebrations with our community.

Preston and Amber chat about what it means to commit to ethical storytelling at The Exodus Road and why we have chosen to not use real imagery of survivors from raids in our communications. They also discuss a few specific cases and the opportunities that they presented to our team at our U.S. office. All of this and more!

What are the truths about human trafficking in the United States? What legal protection, or lack thereof, exists for survivors of human trafficking in each of the 50 states?

In this episode, we are joined by Jamie Beck, the President, and Managing Attorney at Free to Thrive. Free to Thrive empowers survivors of human trafficking to be free from exploitation and to thrive by providing them with holistic and trauma-informed, legal and support services in collaboration with our service partners, and by increasing access to justice for all survivors.

Learn more about Jamie and the work of Free to Thrive by visiting freetothrive.org.

"Making trafficking dangerous." It's a phrase that we often use to describe our work at The Exodus Road, and it refers to the way that the process of investigation, intervention, arrest, and prosecution discourages traffickers by making the crime riskier.

The guests on this episode of Until All Are Free are doing just that. Preston had the honor of hearing from Gabriela Aquino, Chief of Investigation of Organized Crime with the Brazilian Federal Police, as well as Cintia Meirelles de Azevedo, the Brazilian Liaison for The Exodus Road.

Gabriela is a lead presenter in TraffickWatch Academy, a training platform developed by The Exodus Road and deployed amongst law enforcement in Brazil. The curriculum of TraffickWatch Academy is actively helping to train law enforcement to see and respond to the crime of human trafficking throughout the country and is already having tangible effects as several successful rescue operations have occurred as a result of the training.

Learn more about TraffickWatch Academy by visiting: theexodusroad.com/traffickwatch

In the world of systemic human trafficking, there are major crime syndicates that provide the mechanism and framework for sexual exploitation to take place. In this episode of Until All Are Free, Matt joins Preston and Isaac and shares the story of Cindy, a mother who finds herself stuck halfway around the world in a reality far from what she would have imagined.

On this episode of Until All Are Free we welcome Andrew, Lacey, and Jordan – the band members who make up City of Sound. City of Sound is a 100% independent rock band based out of Los Angeles, CA.

We talked about their origin as a band, the messiness of nonprofit work, the temptation to only share neatly packaged stories, and how Andrew's experience in one red light district in Thailand still influences the music that they produce today.

Follow City of Sound on Instagram or on their website, http://cityofsoundmusic.com/.

Recorded on site with Arturo* – The Exodus Road's Country Director in Latin America – this episode explores the challenges and joys of the work of intervention through the experiences of a front-lines operative.

To learn more about The Exodus Road's work in prevention, intervention, and aftercare visit theexodusroad.com.

Until All Are Free is a podcast produced by The Exodus Road, a nonprofit dedicated to the strategic fight against human trafficking. The podcast is hosted and produced by Preston Goff. Music heard on the outro of this episode was produced and generously donated by City of Sound.

*Name changed to protect identity.

A survivor's journey through rescue, aftercare, and integration requires the coordinated effort of many people who are committed to restoration. In this episode of  Until All Are Free, Laura Parker, the President and Co-Founder of The Exodus Road, shares an interview with Courtney Skiera-Vaughn, the Executive Director of Free the Girls. Free The Girls trains and equips female survivors of human trafficking in El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Mozambique to become entrepreneurs in the business of selling bras in their local markets.

"It wasn't the only alley I was going down, it was just the alley I couldn't figure out how to get back to." - Matt Parker

Seven years ago, Matt Parker was in a taxi speeding toward his hotel on an unknown route through Bangkok at midnight. He glimpsed a flash of an obscure back alley where he saw young girls for sale. As soon as he realized what he had seen, it was gone.

Seven years later, Matt returned to this back alley in a chance encounter on another taxi ride. Listen to the episode to hear the full story, and learn about the operation in progress to rescue these trafficked victims.

In this episode of Until All Are Free, Preston is joined by Joel Karum of Ezekiel Rain.

Joel is the co-founder of the Thai nonprofit Ezekiel Rain, and he’s also on the board of The Exodus Road Thailand. Through over a decade of working with Ezekiel Rain, Joel Karum has become a leading expert in building resilient communities to prevent exploitation in Thailand. The organization emphasizes models that center around building strong families, including combating pornography’s role in perpetuating cultural and individual harm.

Joel has also been a friend of The Exodus Road since its inception, and the podcast proved to be inspiring and enlightening!

CASE UPDATE: In Episode 04, Matt shared the story of his return to an alley that he had glimpsed in passing once before, years earlier.  He encountered a group of young girls being trafficked on a side street and sent our operatives back to investigate.

In this episode of Until All Are Free, we pick the story back up and hear from an investigator who was sent down that alley to capture evidence of trafficking.

To learn more about the investigative work that The Exodus Road performs, visit our website at theexodusroad.com

Drew, an Army Special Forces soldier turned Delta Operative, sits down with us to give exclusive stories of his experiences in investigation and rescue. He shares the details from his very first successful rescue operation (the story of Phim).  Delta Operatives at The Exodus Road are volunteers who have been vetted and trained to support the national operatives who live and work on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking.

The Exodus Road is a global organization fighting human trafficking by gathering evidence, facilitating rescue missions, and empowering aftercare for survivors. Learn more about our organization by visiting theexodusroad.com.

Want to be the first to know when a rescue takes place? Sign up for our Rescue Texts by texting "ER" to 51555.

Host: Preston Goff

Producer: Isaac Leigh

Internal Themes: Lucas Leigh

Intro & Outro Recordings: City of Sound

In this episode of Until All Are Free we are joined by Cheryl Kosmerl, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 16 years of experience working alongside minors with hands-on sex offenses or boundary offenses.

Her experiences in the clinical field led her to the creation of Sexting Solutions and co-creation of Hashtag Parenting. Sexting Solutions is a class-based (cohort modeled) option that serves as an alternative for minors who would otherwise be caught in the legal system. Hashtag Parenting is an online resource that equips parents with the tools they need to help their kid(s) with healthy digital practices from the earliest stages of their childhood.

Emily Kennedy is a Co-Founder and Advisor to Marinus Analytics, an artificial intelligence company focused on protecting the vulnerable and ending systemic exploitation by serving those who work on the frontlines of public safety by developing technology that disrupts human trafficking, child abuse, and cyber fraud.

Emily previously served as President of Marinus and has been recognized and celebrated as a Forbes 30 Under 30, a Toyota Mother of Invention, and one of Entrepreneur’s Most Powerful Women.

Joining us on this episode of Until All Are Free, Preston had the honor of talking with Emily about the development of Marinus’ flagship ai-powered platform, TrafficJam, which saved law enforcement an estimated 70,000 investigative hours in 2020 alone. We also talked about her journey with the issue of human trafficking, the podcast that she hosts (The Empower Podcast), and what healthy nonprofit leadership can look like amidst the demands of our modern world.

How would you respond if met with a potential trafficking scenario face-to-face? In this latest episode of Until All Are Free, you’ll hear the story of Maria, a Kenyan woman, told by Sarah Ray, human rights educator and activist. The two women met in an airport in Dubai early in 2020, as Maria was en route to Saudi Arabia for a domestic job. Maria was traveling with a group of Kenyan women who were prepared to hand over their passports in exchange for work in the middle eastern country. What unfolds is a story of friendship, perseverance, and an intimate glimpse into a labor trafficking situation.

The BR-116 is the second-longest highway in all of Brazil. At nearly 2,800 miles or 4,500 KM long, it winds its way through bustling metropolis cities like Rio de Janeiro and scarcely populated towns throughout the country. While the road contains much beauty, it also holds dark secrets.

On this episode of Until All Are Free, we are joined by Matt Roper, a British journalist and the author of Highway to Hell: The Road where Childhoods Are Stolen.

Matt shares his experiences alongside trafficking victims and at-risk youth in Brazil, as well as the dark nature of the extraordinarily long road that serves as a gateway for the sexual exploitation of thousands of Brazil's youngest.

In the fight against human trafficking, there are many great men and women advocating for the most vulnerable. At The Exodus Road we believe that when we fight human trafficking together, survivors win.

Ben Cooley is the co-founder and CEO of Hope For Justice, a nonprofit that exists to bring an end to modern slavery by preventing exploitation, rescuing victims, restoring lives, and reforming society.

Ben is known for his encouragement and resolve in the midst of a dark issue, and we're honored to welcome him on this episode of Until All Are Free.

To learn more about the work of Hope For Justice around the world, visit hopeforjustice.org.

On this episode of Until All Are Free we are thrilled to welcome Devisara Hannah Badi and Sarah Davison-Tracy, the authors of No Longer Untouchable: A Story of Human Trafficking, Heroism, and Hope.

No Longer Untouchable brings you into the appalling reality of modern-day slavery in Nepal as Devisara Hannah Badi and her sisters tell their stories. They have each overcome unimaginable odds to survive, and today they are bravely fighting to bring freedom, hope, and love into the darkest corners of the world.
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PURCHASE THE BOOK : No Longer Untouchable: A Story of Human Trafficking, Heroism, and Hope is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
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Sarah Davison-Tracy is an impassioned human rights advocate, author, speaker, and founder of Seeds of Exchange (SeedsofExchange.org) and Rooted and Beloved (RootedandBeloved.org). Connect with Sarah on her website, SarahDavisonTracy.com.

Devisara Hannah Badi is CEO of Himalayan Entrepreneur Resources (HER), an empowerment initiative in Nepal that provides health, safety, and autonomy to marginalized women so they can live free from sexual exploitation and abuse.

This episode Preston is joined by DELTA* operative and TER board member, Nate Griffin. Nate is an Executive Producer working within the film industry. His company, Grateful Inconvenience Inc., most recently produced the television series, Connected: A Search for Unity. The series features Monty Moran, former CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, as he travels across the U.S. and Canada talking with people about their unique perspectives on life, culture, the environment, politics, immigration and social media.

You can follow Nate's work on Instagram at @kanakanate.


*The Exodus Road primarily supports police in evidence gathering for cases of human trafficking. Working with teams of nationals, we deploy trained and highly vetted Western operatives to help with identifying current victims, gathering intelligence, building evidence packages for police, and supporting operations. We call this team DELTA Team.

While the process and work is challenging and daunting, it is also highly effective. Evidence is gathered, cases are delivered, rescues and arrests are empowered on the front lines.

On this episode of Until All Are Free, Preston sits down with Drew and James, two volunteer investigators with The Exodus Road. The two recount their recent travels to Pakistan, where they assisted a separate nonprofit organization in securing the release of a family from debt bondage in Pakistan's brick-making industry.

Debt bondage is inherently complex, like many of the topics discussed in Until All Are Free. Many individuals ensnared in Pakistan's debt-bondage schemes are suffering from generational enslavement where the possibility of freedom from debt is unrealistic. In the landscape of human rights organizations addressing debt bondage worldwide, conversations often arise about the best tactics for intervention efforts to dismantle systems of exploitation that prop up this mechanism of trafficking. This episode is intended as an educational source about the nature of human trafficking in this region of the world. As an organization, The Exodus Road does not participate in transactional exchanges with traffickers to secure the freedom of a survivor of human trafficking.

From rockstar to covert operative. On this episode of Until All Are Free Preston is joined by David Zach, the frontman of Remedy Drive. David speaks about his own experiences on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking. David has worked extensively as an undercover operative with The Exodus Road, and allows for his experiences to shape and form the music that he has produced.

To learn more about the work of David and Remedy Drive, visit https://remedydrive.com/.

Recorded on-site with heroes of the anti-human trafficking movement, this episode of Until All Are Free features first-person interviews with survivors of human trafficking as well as the founder of Fundación Renacer, Luz Stela Cardenas Ovalle.

Fundación Renacer contributes to the eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents (ESCNNA), through support programs and comprehensive care for victims, prevention, research, training, and advice to organizations and communities, from the perspective of protection, defense, and restitution of children's rights.