Educate.
Empower.
Elevate.
A 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization seeking justice for the vulnerable & oppressed. Using Education as our main intervention for human trafficking prevention we Empower and Elevate those most at risk to PREVENT child abuse and exploitation.
About Us
MISSION
To assist with community growth and economic development through educational and public health initiatives.
VISION
To help communities thrive through the experience of life empowering education, health, and hope for the future.
OBJECTIVE
To develop community based initiatives that Educate, Elevate, and Empower those most at risk of being forced, deceived, and/or coerced into slavery.
LOHI is a 501c3 non-profit organization that exists to prevent and eliminate human trafficking and abuse. LOHI was first established in Cambodia in 2005 on the belief that all people are created to love, serve, and bring hope to one another. We are an organization seeking justice for the vulnerable and oppressed. LOHI's mission is to increase community growth and economic development through educational and public health initiatives while objectively Educating, Empowering, and Elevating those most at risk of being forced, deceived, and/or coerced into slavery. We primarily serve in Cambodia and Western North Carolina.
Education
is
"Many organizations have a goal to end child trafficking; however, most of their efforts involve moving into action after the child has been enslaved and harmed. LOHI works to prevent such events from ever occurring. We are thinking ahead to the future, building schools to educate and strategically placing them in areas to combat the lures of child traffickers. Education is key defense..."
- Tim Brown LOHI Founder
Board Members
Brendon Journey, MPH
CEO, Executive Board
Bren is a published author of Cambodia’s first and only Human Trafficking Prevention Notebook “Safety with Sopheap”. She has served Stateside and abroad with survivors, assisting in developing policy and procedures for safe homes, leading retreats to house parents and workers for self care and burnout prevention. She is honored to have served as a volunteer for over 15 years. Bren has been at the front lines of public health anti-violence advocacy prevention and education for over 20 years. She was formerly with Trafficking in American Task Force leading the “Sister Walk” Initiative as well as assisting in Law Enforcement Trainings. Bren has also had the honor of working alongside Salvation Army, Rescue Mission, On Eagles Wings, Child Helpline, Chab Dai Coalition, Love146, Rapha House, as well as Teen Challenge. She has developed and led many trainings for college professors, social workers, students of all ages, as well as medical personnel on equality, equity, and disparities within our society that lead to unhealthy relationships; familial trafficking/abuse. Bren currently serves on the Life 107 Board and one of the founding leaders of NC Demand Reduction Taskforce. Like many in the field of public health profession Bren is best described as an impatient optimist that drives Hope home in every relationship.
She is passionate about collaborating, Educating, Elevating, and Empowering all of humanity.
“We were not created to be sold and made into a mere commodity.”
Kristi Garrett
CFO, Executive Board
Kristi has been serving in the missions field since 2014 after her first trip to Cambodia. Since first working with LOHI she has been an advocate for the work they have done and continue to do. This first visit sparked a calling in Kristi to serve women and children in Cambodia and around the world. With nearly 20 years of banking and finance experience, Kristi has chosen to honor that calling by serving as CFO for LOHI. She is currently attending graduate school at the University of Oklahoma to obtain her MS in Finance.
Tim Brown
Founder, Executive Board
An entrepreneur at heart, Tim is a South Carolina resident with a passion for travel and adventure. Over the past decade, Tim has established international business in Southeast Asia, affording him the opportunity to see many places where the affects of child maltreatment, trafficking and forced child labor left their mark on his heart.
Because of the great needs of 'children at risk' in third world countries and his involvement with survivors of child abuse and trauma, Tim set his sights on making a difference in the lives of children in need. His desire is to ELEVATE these little ones out of difficult situations, add value to their lives through
EDUCATION and EMPOWER them to help lead their villages and communities into a better future.
Creative and compassionate, Tim enjoys helping people and is the Founder of LOHI.
Phil Hudson
Executive Board Advisor, Advisory Board
Phil and his wife Gwen and 3 children spent 14 years living in a rural area of Kenya and implemented Education, Agriculture, Health and disaster mitigation, Water security, Animal husbandry, and small business startup programs. Some of these community based projects and programs were in close cooperation with Government ministries and some were with community leaders. In addition they were
involved in starting new village based Churches and training leaders in an unreached region of Narok District. Phil is the co-founder and a non-resident team member of AfricaHope. (Africahope.org)
Phil has over 15 years of consulting and program design experience working on short consultancies and/or
program evaluation in 30 countries. In addition, He did initial fact finding and research trips into 35 other countries increasing his knowledge base to include systemic poverty eradication, small business development, food security, NGO best practice, Intercultural conflict resolution and change management. His consultancies and program management spans six continents.
Phil was deployed to Haiti to design and implement a major earthquake relief and recovery program for a faith-based Health organization. He facilitated an Orthopedic surgery center and implemented a nationwide program to eradicate Clubfoot as an adult disability. He also designed a trauma counseling program, trained social workers and implemented and ran a program delivering 44,000 one-on-one trauma counseling sessions by the first year anniversary of the Earthquake.
More recently his interests have turned to the causes of extreme poverty and various methods which reduce risk to Children and youth. He is keenly interested in the holistic nature of uplift and seeks to assist groups to consider and include spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of poverty and how sustainable and long-term change is only possible when an integrated approach is used.
They live in Fort Myers where Gwen works as an RN and Phil works at the NI headquarters when not traveling. Phil has a Masters degree in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Seminary School of World Mission in Pasadena California.
Dr. Marianne Thomas
Subject Matter Expert, Executive Board
Marianne Thomas has a PhD in Behavioral Psychology and an MA in Mental Health Counseling.
A survivor of childhood abuse and human trafficking, Dr Thomas used her lived experience and
education to provide counseling and mentorship for abused and trafficked youth and women
for over 15 years. During that time, she oversaw a safe home for minor girls who had been
trafficked that was called the “gold standard” in the state of FL. She began, grew, and
subsequently ran the largest crisis and long-term, mobile, anti-trafficking program in the state.
Now, Marianne is the founder and president of My Name My Voice, a collective of lived
experience experts who provide education and ongoing consultation for organizations who
want to build a new or grow their existing anti-trafficking program. She is also a public speaker
who helps people overcome self-sabotage by talking about forgiveness.
Jennifer Wilson
COO, Executive Board
Jennifer graduated from UNC Asheville with a BS in Health and Wellness Promotion in 2021. After much consideration, Jennifer has decided to continue her education and pursue a medical degree in the near future. Jennifer plans to become a Primary Care Physician for the rural WNC community. Jennifer has been an active volunteer with LOHI since 2018. She has a passion for helping others and providing support for those who need it.
Contact
We want to hear from you!
Questions? Comments? Appointments?
Sending a large package?
Contact lohi.communications@gmail.com
Financials
Thank you for showing an interest in how we run our programs.
We want to build a relationship with you that is built on trust and transparency.
LOHI is a proud member of the Candid GuideStar as a 2023 Gold Transparency Member.
