Cassandra Clifford, Executive Director and Founder

Cassandra Clifford has been a human rights activist for nearly twenty years and has spent the last six fully dedicating her life to the fight against modern slavery. She founded the Bridge to Freedom Foundation out of both passion and need after years as serving as a non-profit freelance writer. Cassandra's main personal objective is to bring awareness to, and combat modern day slavery in all forms. Her experiences have allowed her to develop the foundation and plan necessary to help bridge the gaps in the fight against modern slavery.

Cassandra has done academic research in the areas of: The Use of Rape as a Weapon of War; Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in the Former Soviet Union; Child Soldiers and Human Trafficking. Cassandra has previously worked in both the corporate and charity sector for various industries and causes including: Child Trafficking, Learning Disabilities, Publishing, Marketing, Public Relations and Fashion. Cassandra is also the Children's Rights Writer for the Foreign Policy Association (you can see more on her at Children's Rights Blog). Additionally, Cassandra also writes for the Examiner as the DC Human Rights Examiner and has also sat on the leadership board for the DC based citizen activist group Stop Modern Slavery.

Originally from the Greater Kansas City, Missouri area, Cassandra has also lived in England, Ireland, Germany and Russia. Her passion for travelling has given her the necessary exposure required to understand Human Trafficking on a global level. Cassandra holds an M.A. in International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, as well as a B.A. in Marketing and an A.S. in Fashion Merchandising from Johnson Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Our Team

Jaimy Alex, Public Relations and Program Development Associate
Jaimy Alex was born and raised in the Middle East and worked in India in the field of Human Resources before moving to Virginia. She comes to BTFF with 4 years experience in leading and managing HR operational functions. Jaimy is currently looking to pursue her career in the field of Human Resource Management. In the interim, she is giving another meaning to her life by helping BTFF achieve its mission and goals to empower survivors of modern slavery. At BTFF, she has been working on projects to expand the organizational development and increase the public's awareness about the organization and events. According to Jaimy, everyday at BTFF is a new learning experience which she is thoroughly enjoying!

Angela Bourdet, Fundraising and Events Intern
Angela Bourdet is originally from Michigan and previously earned a degree in Humanities from Mid Michigan Community College; is finishing her bachelor’s degree in political science from Central Michigan University and hopes to study humanitarian law in the near future. With family scattered around the globe from the Philippines to Beijing to Guatemala, one of her greatest passions in life is traveling and experiencing different cultures. Since her arrival in DC, Angela volunteers with the National Center for Learning Disabilities RTI Leadership Network which provides mentoring for educators; as an intern with the Bridge to Freedom Foundation, Angela hopes to become a bigger advocate for human rights.

Erin Bundra, Government Relations and Programs Intern
Erin Bundra is the Government Relations & Media Marketing Development intern for BTFF. She is originally from the Chicago suburbs, but her family of 10 moved to Las Vegas when she was 14. She attended college in California, where she received her B.A. in Telecommunications: Television Productions from Pepperdine University. After her graduation from college, Erin worked for 2 years in the film & TV industry in LA. In the fall of 2009, she went back to school to pursue her law degree in NYC, with a desire to focus on human rights work. In the future, she plans to use her experiences in both the media and law fields to continue the fight against human trafficking.

Maureen Hannan, Office and Volunteer Coordinator
Maureen Hannan is responsible for the recruitment and selection of all volunteers and day to day administration in our Head Office. She is from Dublin, Ireland and achieved her Certificate in Management 2002 and Diploma in Management 2003 through University of Limerick and her Bachelors Degree in Human Resources through University College Dublin 2006. An experienced Human Resources Executive, with 5 years experience with Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), she has covered all areas of HR with a specific focus on Recruitment, Training and Development. Maureen also spent 2 years working as a Recruitment Consultant covering all industries for public sector companies. BTFF is experiencing rapid growth and Maureen is volunteering her skills and experience to front our recruitment campaigns. Maureen will also be involved with career development programs for survivors i.e. interview skills and preparation, CV preparation, and career advice therefore assisting BTFF's work empowering survivors of modern slavery through personal and professional development.

Keang Hok, Volunteer Graphic Designer
Keang Hok was born in Thailand to Cambodian parents, before immigrating to Western Massachusetts as refugees in the early eighties. With a desire to travel and need to break out of small town living, she went on to study graphics and printing in upstate New York at the Rochester Institute of Technology. After graduating from RIT with a degree in Graphic Media Publishing, she comes to BTFF with over 5 years of graphics experience, ranging from bindery and pressroom expertise, to prepress graphic design roles, page layout and production management positions. Besides Massachusetts and her schooling in upstate New York, Keang has lived in the Washington DC area for about four years working in the graphics and publishing field, before relocating to Philadelphia, PA where she is currently living. Keang is very excited to be part of BTFF and glad to have the opportunity to assist with the organization that impacts the lives of human trafficking victims.

Maryam, Volunteer Grant Writer

Angela McDaniel, Fundraising and Events Intern
Angela McDaniel is the Fundraising/Events Coordination intern for Bridge to Freedom Foundation. Originally from Kansas, she is currently involved in fundraising/event planning for Generation Obama-Washington, DC and Politics Under 30. Having previously earned a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Sociology from Benedictine College, Angela has worked the last five years as an Events Assistant at a conference center, regularly preparing wedding receptions, and the last three years outreaching to individuals that have been abused by offering therapeutic services in inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities. Upon arrival to DC, Angela has found her passion in volunteering for CARE and Peace Brigade International in honor of human rights and international affairs. Angela’s awareness of modern slavery surfaced after reading articles provided by these organizations and by reading the book, Half the Sky. Inspired by such readings, Angela is determined to raise awareness and mobilize people to promote human rights.

Seda Nak, Evidence-Based Programming Intern
Seda Nak is from Arlington, VA and is finishing her B.A. in Health Science at George Mason University with an interest in global health issues. She has previously been involved in several non-profits and with Bridge to Freedom Foundation for a year now. Human trafficking is a strong interest of hers and she is enthusiastic about BTFF's mission to raise awareness on the domestic level. This summer, she will be focusing on evidence-based research on eating disorders in sexually exploited trafficking victims. Her long term goal is the empowerment of young women in countries where access to health care and education are not easily at reach and can potentially lead young women to become exploited.

Soknortha Prum, Evidence-Based and Program Development Intern
Soknorntha Prum was born and raised in Falls Church, VA. Living in such a diverse community as Northern Virginia, she has always had a keen interest in different cultures - their beliefs and values and how they learn to acculturate or assimilate into their new surroundings. She went onto study Sociology and Non-profit Studies at James Madison University and is currently finishing her Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health at George Mason University. As an Evidence-Based and Program Development Fellow, she will be working at BTFF this summer in both areas of research and program development in hopes of building a health component into BTFF's structure. She is currently looking into issues of malnutrition among the human trafficking population and existing programs that tackle this issue.

Mary Rankin, Evidence-Based Research Associate
Mary Rankin earned her B.A. in Health Promotion with a certificate in Global Health from the University of Northern Iowa, and her J.D./M.B.A., with an emphasis in Health Law, from Drake University. She practiced health care and corporate law in Bradenton, Florida for two years, before getting married and moving to Pensacola so that her husband could begin training as a Naval Aviator. Mary currently resides in Corpus Christi, Texas, and works as a Legal Research and Writing Specialist. Mary has been passionate about human rights and the anti-trafficking movement since her studies at Northern Iowa. As an Evidenced Based Research Associate, Mary will be researching various health and psychological issues experienced by human trafficking survivors. In the future, Mary plans to continue to use her legal training and knowledge to raise awareness about human rights abuses, and to combat human trafficking..

Zasha Russell, Evidence-Based and Program Development Intern
Zasha Russell is from Houston, Texas. Currently, she is pursuing her undegraduate degree at Grinnell College in Iowa. She is majoring in anthropology, with a focus on human rights, violence, gender, women's, and sexuality studies, and peace issues. She is in the process of  conducting research on the problem of sex trafficking as a member of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program and through other academic pursuits. Therefore, she is interning this summer with Bridge to Freedom Foundation to gain both academic and practical experience in the field thanks to the significant support of the Peace Studies Program at her university. Through this internship she will participate in educational and advocacy opportunities, learn what it takes to start and run a non-profit organization, and conduct research to help identify recovery hurdles.

Tara Woody, Social Media Marketing Associate

 Katie Wurdack, Social Media Marketing Intern
Katie Wurdack is from Fairfax, Virginia and is currently a Junior at James Madison University majoring in Marketing with a Humanitarian Affairs minor.  She is curently researching and testing effective marketing techniques within social media in order to bring as much attention as possible to Bridge to Freedom Foundation. She is incredibly excited to be a part of the team and hopes that she can bring additional awareness to both BTFF and human trafficking as a whole.

If you are interested in joining our team see our opportunities.