Who We Are

Our History:

This Task Force was formed at the Human Trafficking Awareness Symposium sponsored by the Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area and Youth With a Mission in September 2008. Over 300 attended.

​

We selected awareness from our mission statement as our first emphasis and developed  presentations. We met with law enforcement advocacy groups, and spoke with many organizations in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

The Zonta club conducted Community Needs Assessments in Colorado Springs for Polaris Project largely in 2008, with additional assessments by the Task Force in 2009. These were followed by a collaboration of the Task Force with the Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area and Youth With a Mission for a second Human Trafficking Awareness Symposium in October 2009 which brought national, state, and local speakers to our area. Our annual symposiums have examined Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Supply & Demand, labor trafficking, the massage industry, and more.

​

Year by year we have expanded our activities and influence. We currently reach out to the community in these ways:

Monthly Meetings
Community Presentations

Legislative Advocacy
Annual Symposium
Survivor Support

​

​

Our Board of Directors:

Chair Jo-Ann O'Neil has been involved in the anti-trafficking movement for over 12 years. She has been on the board of the Human Trafficking TaskForce and the Colorado Human Trafficking Coalition since 2014.

Vice Chair Julee Bellar

Secretary Stephanie Redfield works at the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office as a Senior Deputy District Attorney. She became a prosecutor after learning about the pervasiveness of human trafficking while living in South Korea in 2009. She has served on the board of HTTFSC since 2017.

Treasurer Leona Strait

Chris Burns has been a member of the Human Trafficking Task Force for over 10 years. He retired from the Colorado Springs Police Department after 24 years, during which time he frequently encountered human trafficking in its worst forms and was an advocate for increased police training in this area. Chris is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for Reclaiming Hope, which trains mentors for women exiting trafficking and produces hope bags for agencies around the country to provide immediate assistance for victims of trafficking.

Terri Carver  served as as State Representative in the Colorado General Assembly for 8 years, and ran numerous bills in the fight against human trafficking, including more severe criminal penalties for child sex trafficking and internet child pornography, human trafficking awareness training for schools and police officers, and increased detection and reporting of suspected human trafficking (Truckers Against Trafficking) to rescue victims.  She also cosponsored wage theft legislation to curtail labor trafficking in Colorado.  

Kathy Cook is a retired attorney and community volunteer who has been a part of the task force since 2013.

Donna D’Amico serves as Vice President and General Manager of Media Operations for Nexstar Media overseeing Fox21 News in Colorado Springs.

Connie Stauffer had the honor of serving victims of crime for twenty years inclusive of law enforcement victim services crisis response for eleven years. She has served victims of human trafficking and in a residential program for juvenile sex trafficked females.