Our Team

Judy retired from the United States District Court on March 15, 2019, after serving 27 years as an Official Court Reporter. She still is an active court reporter doing depositions and contract work for the United States District Court.

Judy received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of California at San Diego and her court reporting degree from Rutgers College in San Diego, California in 1978.

She has also served as a youth minister for the teens of Good Shepherd Catholic Church for seven years. She expresses her creative, less stressful side as a quilter. Her passion for quilting happened when her first grandchild was born in 2014 and has been a passion ever since.

A native of Jasper, Florida, Susan graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A.E. degree in 1969. She taught for the Head Start Program in Jacksonville, Florida, and taught elementary school for five years. Susan served as the Food Editor of Tallahassee Magazine and managed her own catering business before opening Food Glorious Food in 1982. The restaurant has won many “Best of Tallahassee” awards, was named Best Outdoor Café in Florida, and won several Florida Trend Golden Spoon Awards, including Best Taste of the South. Susan’s recipes have been featured in Tallahassee Magazine, The New York Times, and Gourmet magazine.

Her civic leadership has included the president of the Tallahassee Junior Museum Guild, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, a member of the Junior League of Tallahassee, and board member of the Telephone Counseling and Referral Service, Refuge House, Big Bend Hospice Foundation, Producer’s Guild – Florida State University Film School, and Women for FSU. Susan was chairman of Big Bend Hospice’s largest annual fundraiser, Spring Fling, for 10 years and was the first recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Holocaust Educational Resource Council.

In addition to the STAC Board, Susan serves as vice president of Reunion, Community Revitalization Project and Baking and Southern Hospitality School, on the Advisory Board for the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Family, and Children at FSU, and on the board of the Tallahassee Symphony.
Susan and her husband, Stephen Turner, a Tallahassee attorney, have been married since 1971. Their children are Shawn and wife Sally, Serrin and wife Sharon, and Marisa and husband Jason Harkavy. They have three grandchildren: Oscar Turner and Reese and Oliver Harkavy.

Most recently, she served as the Ethics and Compliance Officer for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. An A-V rated lawyer, Debby is a 1981 graduate of the Florida State University College of Law and was the 2001 recipient of the Florida Bar’s Claude Pepper Outstanding Government Lawyer Award and the FSU Law School’s 2019 Exemplary Public Service Career award. Her volunteer work includes leadership positions in the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section, the FSU Law School Alumni Association, and the Tallahassee Film Festival.

Melissa strives to educate and guide individuals, families and small businesses by taking a holistic view of their finances. She is a graduate of the College of Business at Florida State University and in 2010 graduated from the College of Financial Planning with the Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA® ). Melissa is a Leadership Tallahassee Class 29 Graduate, and a committed community volunteer. She is an expert on the importance of the financial sector being informed about human trafficking, and led an internal effort to train associates of Capital City Bank on how to recognize and respond to potential human trafficking in the banking world.

Here’s what she says: “Trafficking involves financial institutions – it’s all about money and greed. All financial institutions, banks, credit unions, paycheck or title lenders need to know how to identify someone who is being trafficked. Immediately with STAC’s help, Capital City Bank initiated the first bank training with our associates. Just from the one training STAC provided, a teller immediately recognized behavior by a depositor that indicated human trafficking. Now Capital City Bank offers STACPRO on our training site for new and current associates as part of their development program.”

Melissa is married with two beautiful daughters, 12 and 16, and a terrific stepson who is 26.

Lorie was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and moved to Tallahassee to attend college. Lorie has worked for over 25 years in Maternal-Child and Women’s Health and has a passion for caring for women and children. She was always fascinated with childbirth and after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Florida State University in 1994 she worked on the labor and delivery unit of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. In 1998 she earned a Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Florida and became a certified nurse midwife (CNM). Lorie has been a clinical preceptor to Florida State University and University of Florida nursing and midwifery students. Lorie relocated briefly to Clearwater, Florida, and worked as a CNM at Morton Plant hospital. During her time at Morton Plant, Lorie served as a clinical preceptor for University of South Florida medical residents during their obstetrical rotations. Lorie has worked in a variety of settings from rural hospitals to urban care centers. During clinical practice Lorie personally delivered over 1200 babies and assisted in the birth of many more.

Lorie now works in Public Health as Health Educator at Florida Department of Health’s Women’s, Infants and Children’s Supplementary Nutrition (WIC) program in Gadsden County Florida. The WIC program is a federally funded nutrition program providing healthy foods, nutrition education and breastfeeding education and support to low-income mothers and babies. Lorie is also Program Manager for Gadsden County Florida Healthy Babies program and serves on the Health Equity Program Council focusing on reducing health disparities and high morbidity and mortality rates. Lorie become very involved in human services as a spokesperson against violence towards women and children and has been trained as a sexual violence and crisis counselor. Lorie often speaks at local workshops about women’s health and maternal-child health issues.

Carrie Boyd is a proud Tallahasseean who became exposed to and interested in people, politics, and real estate from a young age. She has worked with people from all walks of life as a lobbyist, lawyer, business leader, political campaigns director, elected official, and nonprofit executive. She has co-directed campaigns for local, senate, and gubernatorial races, as well as led regional efforts for presidential races. One of her most challenging and beloved roles was serving as the Director of Policy for a statewide domestic violence coalition where Carrie joined her coalition members and allies to lead the lobbying efforts of over 50 domestic violence agencies to successfully secure over $18.635M in crucial funds during a time of political gridlock and no state budget. Carrie formerly served as the Chair, Vice Chair, and Committee Chair for the Violence & Safety Committee of the Tallahassee-Leon County Commission on the Status of Women & Girls.

Carrie’s awareness of and commitment to ending human trafficking arose during childhood when she observed abuses of migrant workers by farming operations near her hometown. Carrie vowed to someday help remedy this human rights issue. And so, beginning in 2017, Carrie served as the lead lobbyist and worked with allies – including law enforcement, advocates, and survivors – to pass into law first of its kind legislation known as the IL Trust Act and later the IL Voices Act, which are survivor-informed laws that provide certain protections for survivors of human trafficking including U and T visas, among other remedies. Carrie’s work in human trafficking also includes helping secure funding for survivor programs during her board service with the Criminal Justice Information Authority, as well as fundraising and educational awareness within the business community. Carrie currently serves as the CEO of LiveGive850, a real estate company, and is the founder and CEO of The Network of Real Estate Investing Women, a financial education and practical training program for women who wish to be financially free and create legacies of giving within their communities through real estate investing.

COMMITTEE
Resource Development

She is also a social justice advocate who offers trainings in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, in addition to being a licensed psychotherapist specializing in culturally-informed counseling/therapy and psychoeducation for women, couples, families, and members of marginalized groups. 

As a graduate of both FAMU and FSU, Cicely has been living, working and serving in Tallahassee for more than 25 years. In addition to being a member of the STAC Board, Cicely also serves on the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and is a charter member of the Greater Tallahassee section of the National Council of Negro Women. Her commitment to the community is evident in how she engages with others to empower the people – especially women, girls and other historically disadvantaged groups. 

Working with STAC over the last few years made her more mindful of the fact that this is also happening on a local level. Her work with STAC for the Imagine Freedom Fundraiser in 2021 and the youth and caregiver toolkit helped increase her understanding of what a broad issue this is not just in a physical way, but online as well.

Nipa also is an accomplished visual storyteller using graphic design, illustration, motion graphics, scripting, videography, editing, and production. Before bringing her talents to SalterMitchell PR and to the STAC board, she worked in Los Angeles serving as one of the top designers for some of the world’s largest entertainment companies such as Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Disney, and 20th Century Fox. Not only has Nipa designed for global industries, but she has developed statewide campaigns for important issues such as mental health awareness, highway safety education, agriculture, education, and advocacy efforts. Her mission is to find the truth behind every idea and she has a passion for exploring new ways those ideas can resonate with the world. She hopes to use this experience to continue to work with STAC and increase awareness of human trafficking in the Big Bend region and to help people recognize the signs of human trafficking around them.

He graduated from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he received his bachelor’s degree in biology. After his enrollment in Jacksonville Theological Seminary, he achieved his master’s degree and is now pursuing his doctorate in theology.  Retired as regional specialist with the Florida Education Association for 25 years, he was president of the Gadsden Education Foundation in Quincy, Florida, where he would oversee and guide decision-making efforts to award educational assistance grants to teachers. He is the founder of Revive to Rebuild Ministries, serves on the Gadsden Pregnancy Center Board, the Executive Committee Gadsden County Baptist Association, and the Nomination Committee Florida Baptist.

Prior to joining HDO in October 2019, Shoshana gained experience in administrative, contract, and public records law by holding associate general counsel positions in Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and Department of Health. She became interested in immigrants’ rights and human trafficking during her time at FSU College of Law, and practiced immigration law in Los Angeles for almost three years before returning to Tallahassee in June 2014. Shoshana has attended and volunteered at various STAC events since that time, and is honored to serve on the board of such an amazing organization.

Prior to establishing ASA, Ms. Smith was a founding partner at EPP health care consulting and, prior to that, served as the Director for the Human Resources Group at the National Governor’s Association (NGA) for a decade.  During her time at the NGA, Ms. Smith represented the nation’s Governors before various Administrations and the Congress on issues related to health care, education, workforce development and welfare programs.  Towards the end of her career at NGA, Ms. Smith developed significant expertise in the financing and policy of Medicaid; on behalf of the states, she wrote the law on Disproportionate Share Hospital and Provider Taxes, the only piece of free-standing Medicaid legislation in the program’s history.

Prior to her tenure with the NGA, Ms. Smith served in a variety of positions with the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, including Medicaid Director, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Development.

Ms. Smith is a lawyer by training and received her J.D. from The Florida State University. She did her undergraduate and graduate work in English Literature.

Ms. Smith is now living in Tallahassee, Florida. While living in New Mexico, she chaired the Board of Futures for Children, an organization devoted to increasing school success and graduation for Native American children.  She also served on the Board of Healing Voices/Personal Stories, a group dedicated to making documentary films about women who have survived domestic abuse.  Ms. Smith was also Vice President of the Board of Creativity for Peace, a NGO serving young Israeli and Palestinian woman determined to make peace within and across their communities.  

Since returning to Tallahassee, Ms. Smith has become a Guardian Ad Litem volunteer and has worked with two children who became successfully adopted.  She also services on the Board of Temple Israel where she chairs the Security Committee and on the Board of The Village Square where she co-chairs the God Squad.

She is a public relations professional dedicated to mastering the art of communication from two distinct vantage points. As a Public Relations Manager at Perry & Young – The Injury Law Firm. And the Founder of Infinite Public Relations Firm, in Tallahassee, FL. With her passion for storytelling, Khia has spearheaded several successful public relations, social media, and strategic communications campaigns that have assisted various brands in their selected industries. Khia has navigated through both roles in order to carve out a unique path in the world of public relations and legal communications.

Cassie was born in Brooklyn, New York, and her family relocated to Fort Lauderdale during her childhood. Cassie moved to Tallahassee in 1986 where she and her brother, a psychiatrist, founded the Crack Cocaine Self-Help Group in Frenchtown amid the crack cocaine epidemic that was devastating communities. During her time at the Crack Cocaine Self Help Group, as an addiction counselor, she helped many clients recover from their addictions. Many of those clients still contact her today.  Cassie had a bird’s eye view of the lives of addicts in Frenchtown, especially women who cycled in and out of jail and were being sex trafficked and held in bondage due to their addictions. She witnessed this “home grown” sex trafficking and drug abuse in the very heart of Tallahassee. 

In 1996 she decided to do something to help these women. She acquired a house in Frenchtown and founded the Beauty for Ashes House and started the Walk Out of Darkness Women’s Group in Frenchtown. Beauty for Ashes was an 18-month faith based transitional housing program for women leaving incarceration with a history of addiction and being sex trafficked. Cassie frequently picked clients up at midnight from Leon County jail. Cassie was also known for going into risky neighborhoods and crack houses, taking women out of the crack house, and taking them to the detox center. She earned the respect of even the drug dealers and pimps. They never bothered her. Walk Out of Darkness Women’s Group became a refuge to women working the streets of Frenchtown. They could come in, take a shower, take a nap, and get a meal without judgement.

From 2001-2010 Cassie facilitated three groups for female inmates at Leon County jail. Because Cassie had a heart for helping “broken women,” she decided to return to school and become a social worker. She enrolled at Tallahassee Community College to begin her journey. She went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work (MSW) from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU). Cassie also mentored social work student interns from FSU and FAMU. Cassie used her social work skills and experience as an addiction counselor to work with clients who had a myriad of addictions. Cassie also worked at Refuge House, the local domestic and sexual violence center. She later received a degree in Christian Counseling from Tallahassee Christian College. Cassie currently serves as Senior Pastor at Chaires Community Kingdom Center in the Chaires community. She remains active in the city of Tallahassee and many credit her with helping to save their lives and to turn their lives around. She is excited about serving on the Board of Directors for Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center.

With a small staff, Nancy also writes and takes photos when needed. In the community, Nancy is a member of the Rotary Club of Wakulla. She serves on the Membership Committee for the Forgotten Coast BNI Chapter, the Fashion Show Committee for the Woman’s Club of Crawfordville, and the Education and Leadership Wakulla Committees for the Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce.

She graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and minors in Communication and Women’s Studies. Nancy continued her education with post-baccalaureate classes in Journalism and Education at the University of Florida and FSU.

With a diverse career ranging from managing a production department at a daily paper to serving as an editor at a test development firm to handling the daily public relations needs of a blood center, Nancy has continued honing her skills through the years. While at LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, Nancy worked with 16 regions in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, designing media, recruitment, and promotional materials, interviewing donors and patients, writing testimonials, and coordinating corporate trainings for managers and recruiters focused on public relations, recruitment, community development, and promotional events. She was a member of the Florida Association of Blood Banks, and she served on the FABB State Awards Program Committee and chaired the FABB Donor Recruitment/PR Committee. In her roles with FABB, Nancy created the educational programming, scheduled guest speakers, designed criteria for the state awards program, worked with judges, and planned ceremonies for the state conferences.

Following her years in corporate public relations, Nancy was the Community Representative for American Cancer Society, serving as the education and fundraising liaison for Wakulla, Taylor, Madison, and Jefferson Counties. She mobilized four Relay For Life Steering Committees, developed fundraising workshops, and created volunteer trainings. She was selected to serve on the State Communications Operating Committee and was awarded four Pacesetter Awards.

Nancy spent 10 years at Wakulla High School teaching English, Public Speaking, and AVID 1 – 4. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, and Nancy was chosen to lead the AVID Scholars Program, designed to help middle students reach their potential and college success with support. Her students achieved 100% college acceptance and more than $1.5 million in scholarship offers. In addition to serving as the AVID Lead Teacher and Assistant Site Coordinator, Nancy was also the Junior Class Sponsor, the College Reach-Out Program Coordinator, and the Florida IT Career Alliance School Representative.

Passionate about volunteering since she was young, Nancy continued working as a volunteer with American Cancer Society for 15 years, as a Relay For Life Committee Member, Team Captain, and Team Member. She was a Troop Leader for Girl Scouts of America for five years, organizing a new troop and eight leaders for more than 30 Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Ambassadors. Nancy also cofounded the Education Enrichment Council, and for six years, she worked with a student leadership council dedicated to community service and fundraising. EEC created Quarter Auctions for Charity, Chari-Tea, Fashionology, and EEC Scholarship BINGO. The middle and high school students who were members earned more than $15,000 in scholarships and more than $5,000 for charities.

After leaving WHS, Nancy was self-employed for three years. She worked as an AVID Eastern Division Consultant and AVID National Staff Developer, focusing on staff training and preparing students for college. Nancy created Richardson Academic Services for college advising, worked as a substitute teacher, led a 140-member team in a private business, and worked as an Advertising Associate for Fun4TallyKids.com. She was a founding member of the Working Moms Network and served as an Advisory Council Member, supporting networking events and trainings for more than 100 local business leaders.

Nancy taught English and Intensive Reading at SAIL High School for five years, which is where she first met Robin Hassler Thompson with STAC. Nancy served as the English Department Chair, the Literacy Coach, the Junior Class Sponsor, the Literacy Committee Chair, and the College and Career Committee Chair. As part of her role as Literacy Coach, she created a week of schoolwide activities. Robin was a guest speaker. Two years later, Nancy invited STAC to speak again to the Be Kind Intensive, which taught students about volunteering in the community. The students labeled lip balms with STAC contact info for easy, discreet distribution. While at WHS and SAIL, Nancy received multiple service-learning grants, and she is dedicated providing resources, assistance, education, and support to those who are in need.

Married to her husband, Dan, since 1996, the couple has two young adults. Danna 24, is earning a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, and Jillian, 23, graduated with her Astrophysics degree in 2023.

In 2001, she traveled to Bangladesh as a part of a U.S. State Department mission that included a site visit to a trafficking rescue shelter in Dhaka. This trip inspired her work to take action to end human trafficking. From 2002 to the present, she has directed numerous local and statewide anti-trafficking projects, lectured extensively on the topics of violence against women and human trafficking and contributed to many national and international publications and curricula.

In addition to her anti-trafficking work, Robin’s areas of expertise include domestic and sexual violence law and policy. She has served on and held leadership positions on local, state, and national boards and commissions.

Robin served as the Executive Director for Florida’s first Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence and on the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women. She holds both law and master’s degrees from Florida State University and a B.A. from American University in Washington, D.C. where she graduated summa cum laude.

She is a skilled researcher and interviewer, has expertise working in non-profit agencies, and provides training and education on human trafficking to communities around the state and the globe including both NGO’s and governmental agencies.

In addition to STAC, Renee devotes much of her time taking care of her 93-year-old mother, and supporting her church and a number of charitable causes and organizations. She is very passionate and dedicated to the important work of STAC.

He is responsible for analyzing and maximizing all digital media public relations campaigns, corporate marketing objectives and web-based organizational branding initiatives for our clients such as the National Association of Dental Laboratories, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Florida, Florida Redevelopment Association, Florida Dental Association, American Planning Association – Florida, Florida School Board Association, Florida Energy Pipeline Association, Florida Municipal Energy Association, Florida League of Cities and non-profit organizations like the United Way and the American Cancer Society. Michael has 21 years of experience in staff management, public relations, business development and integrated digital marketing.

Jamie Rosseland is a consultant in the field of anti-trafficking work with expertise in the program development and implementation for victims and survivors of sexual exploitation, trauma-competent and survivor-centered digital marketing and outreach strategies, and most recently, working on policy guides and research projects. She has been active in local government and statewide level policy advocacy. Through sharing her lived experiences and unique perspective, Jamie is committed to change the cultural view of the sex trade, addressing systems that drive demand, and confronting gender inequality.

Jamie has experience providing mentorship, court advocacy, and care coordination to youth impacted by sexual exploitation as part of the Open Doors Outreach Network with the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center. She has presented at countless community events, statewide summits, and national conferences. Currently, Jamie serves on the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice’s State Advisory Group. She is a Social Science Scholar at Florida State University, where she is working on earning her undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary social science.

In 2018, Jamie won the Survivor Advocate of the Year award presented by the Florida Attorney General for her outstanding work with exploited youth. In 2021, the United Nations published the Delta 8.7 Justice Policy Guide, which Jamie contributed to as a working group member. Additionally, Jamie recently guest appeared on the New York Times podcast, The Argument, addressing the intersection of anti-trafficking work and pro-sex work technologies.

Anna has a degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations from Florida State University. She is passionate about helping clients craft and amplify their voices through social media campaigns, email marketing and traditional advertising on a local, state and national level.