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.