Ben is an early graduating senior from Brandeis University with a degree in Psychology and minor in Politics. Ben has significant experience working in public relations with Hoffman & Hoffman Worldwide where he co-wrote a press release for the release of United Nation’s World Drug Report 2009, a story which reached an audience of approximately half a billion people.
 
He is also a filmmaker. As both writer and director of “Aiden Own,” Ben won Best Picture and Best Cinematography in a college film festival. Ben’s next film, “Id,” is currently in production.
 
Ben has always been drawn to issues of human rights and helping others and hopes to effect change through film with his leadership and efforts on the upcoming BITAHR 2012 Film Forum.

Allison is a senior at Suffolk University in Boston where she is pursuing a major in International Relations and minors in History and Spanish. She is originally from small town Vermont, but has come think of Boston has her home. She was first drawn to human rights issues when living abroad in high school and became further intrigued in the topic when studying abroad once in college. She sees her future in working to secure human rights for all abroad and in also in her own community.

Born and raised in Seattle, Lindsey has previous work experience at Planned Parenthood, and although graduate school has brought her far from home, she is quickly learning that the East Coast has great charm!

Lindsey is currently enrolled in the Masters in Women's Health program at Suffolk University and she is focusing her research on reproductive and maternal health with a human rights perspective. In her free time Lindsey works as a doula, and teaches yoga at Suffolk University.
Lindsey is really looking forward to working with BITAHR and bringing her unique health perspective to the innovative health care programming.

Debbie is currently a senior at Babson College, where she is pursuing a concentration in Marketing. Debbie is originally from Colombia and, due to the powerful and violent political, economic and social influence of the drug cartels, has personally witnessed human trafficking atrocities since she was a young girl. During grade school Debbie met with Colombian women survivors to hear their stories and offer support. In high school, she organized an assembly and brought one of the women to speak about her experiences and the conditions in Colombia. The impact of these stories and her experiences with these incredible women led her to BITAHR to fight for human rights on a global scale.

Leslie is a rising senior at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she is pursuing a double major in English and Public Policy & Law. Leslie previously worked at the Fair Labor Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, using her fluency in Spanish and Portuguese to coordinate the Spanish Labor Hotline and Immigrant Community Outreach Programs. After taking a class addressing human rights in Latin America and reading poetry written by human trafficking survivors in Colombia, Leslie set out to advance human rights and effect change in her own community.

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Laney is quickly becoming a New Englander and enjoying her first Boston Summer. Laney is currently pursuing a double concentration in Political Science and Commerce, Organization, and Entrepreneurship at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She was drawn to human rights work upon learning about the atrocities of human trafficking in America and abroad.

In addition to Katherine’s leadership with the BITAHR 2012 Film Forum, she works to empower homeless teenage mothers and their children through direct support at a local teen living program. In the past, Katherine has conducted qualitative research with low income mothers in South Boston and she has worked in the foster care system in San Diego, CA.

Katherine Bright obtained her Master’s degree from Boston College, where her thesis examined the connection between domestic sex trafficking and housing vulnerability. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from San Diego State University.

Katherine's continual focus is on bringing greater attention to sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation within US borders, challenging the misconception that it only occurs in
developing nations.

Eva Furmanska, a recent law school graduate, has long been dedicated to advancing human rights using the arts. She is a filmmaker, a painter, and an avid supporter of all music. Prior to law school, Eva worked as a producer and editor at the Regional News Network, an independent news television station broadcasting into Manhattan. Eva is active in the social movement to end sex trafficking, including serving on the Planning Committee for the BITAHR Human Rights & Sex Trafficking Film Forum 2010, directing a documentary film with the aim of effecting local legislation, and employing her skills in concert booking and love of music to organize benefit concerts for BITAHR. Eva completed a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School and Bachelor Degree in Film Production from Syracuse University.

Marcie Vaughan is a criminal defense attorney with offices in Boston’s North End and in Portsmouth, NH. She represents individuals charged with state and federal crimes and also provides post-conviction and appellate advocacy.

Before beginning her legal career in 2006, Marcie worked in non-profit fundraising, communication and strategic planning. Locally, she worked as a fundraiser and grant writer at the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In 2000 and 2001, Marcie joined a documentary film project aimed at assisting international nonprofits leverage fundraising and outreach efforts through story-telling. This work took her to Tanzania and Kenya, where she worked on the production of a documentary featuring Global Education Partnership (GEP). GEP works with communities to provide youth with skills to bolster their employment potential. Marcie also worked as a producer and videographer for projects featuring aid organizations with programs in Romania and in Juarez, Mexico.  
The thread connecting her professional experience in non-profits and her present work as a legal advocate is Marcie’s principled belief that no voice should be silenced. BITAHR has harnessed a powerful synergy between story-telling through film and systemic change through legal advocacy. Marcie is honored to be a part of this movement.
Marcie is a graduate of Bates College, Suffolk University Sawyer School of Management and Suffolk University Law School.

Prior to her work at (BITAHR), Ms. Lyden was a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital working with children with hemophilia and children with HIV/AIDs for nearly 20 years.  Additionally, she is certified with a specialization in STD prevention and treatment, sexual assault, and child maltreatment.  Her interest in international health and women’s rights was fueled by her strong desire to advocate for vulnerable populations and tackle the inequalities disadvantaged youth face. 

From 2004 to 2006, Ms. Lyden worked in Rwanda and Tanzania training doctors and nurses in HIV/AIDS management.  In 2006, Ms. Lyden founded Global Action, a nonprofit organization operating in Africa, which partnered with governments and international NGOs to implement HIV/AIDS policy and build-capacity of HIV/AIDS and malnutrition treatment programs.

Ms. Lyden was a member of Hillary Clinton’s New England Finance Committee in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.  Additionally, she assumed a various positions on the presidential campaign trail, including managing volunteer staff, coordinating national fundraising events, and advocating constituent support for healthcare policy.  She was instrumental in the launch of the Nurses for Hillary Committee in early 2008.  Ms Lyden received a BSN and MSN from Boston College and a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Rachel Cummings is a seasoned business owner and a Boston attorney with a practice focused in family and elder law. During her time in law school, she founded and ran her own company, an Irish Dance School, which has grown to become a successful business despite the lagging economy. In light of her unique background, Ms. Cummings has experience working with clients of all ages, from the children in her dancing class to octogenarians planning for their futures.

In addition to working as a dance teacher and probate and estate planning attorney, Ms. Cummings is actively engaged in human rights work in Uganda and the United States. In 2009, Ms. Cummings and four other law student activists produced and directed NOT WITHOUT US, a 32 minute documentary profiling the work and achievements of five international female human rights advocates from Uganda, Nepal, France, Afghanistan and the United States. Over the summer of 2010, Ms. Cummings spent time volunteering with returnee child soldiers in Gulu, Northern Uganda.

She is a member of the Civil Remedy Project, a group of dynamic legal professionals advocating to ensure that Massachusetts passes a comprehensive anti-sex trafficking law that includes a civil remedy for trafficking victims. Ms. Cummings also volunteers with BITAHR to provide a wide range of legal services to victims of commercial sexual exploitation.