¶ Operation Underground Railroad
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Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) is an American non-governmental organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices in Cedar City, Utah and Anaheim, California.[1] It is the subject of the 2023 movie, The Sound of Freedom.
¶ History
Operation Underground Railroad was founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard, who had previously worked for the United States Department of Homeland Security for twelve years investigating crimes against children.[2]
In October 2020, Davis County prosecutor Troy Rawlings revealed that his office was investigating Operation Underground Railroad based on complaints that the organization was taking credit for arrests made by the Davis County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.[1:1] Among the potential charges under consideration were "communications fraud, witness tampering and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant." The investigation was officially closed March 28, 2023.[2:1]
¶ Organization
OUR is a sister organization to the Nazarene Fund.[3]
¶ Team
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Ballard | Founder and CEO[4] | Nazarene Fund, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Deseret Book, San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Community College, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) |
| Matt Osborne | President and Chief Operating Officer;[5] Director of Global Operations (former)[6] | Nazarene Fund, United States Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, FOX Sports, New Friends New Life |
| David Lopez | Lead tactics instructor[7] | Nazarene Fund, Zelenko Labs, International Health Brands, The Wellness Company, Integro Capital, Blackwater |
| Simon Brewer | Chief Financial Officer[6:1] | Predictive Technology Group, Predictive Biotech, Brewer Initiatives |
| Emily Evans | Chief Communications Officer | Entertainment Industry Foundation, Rising Star Outreach, Red Bull |
| Nate Lewis | Chief Development Officer | Atoifilms |
| Jessica Mass | Chief Aftercare Officer[6:2] | Utah Youth Village, Abilities Believe Live Empower (A.B.L.E.), The Cupcake Girls, Foster Family Care Network, University of Zambia, Trinity Chaplain College[8] |
| Carlos Bauer | Treasurer[9][10] | Dixie State University, Savage Esplin & Radmall, Predictive Technology Group |
| Jerry Gowen | Chief Experience Officer[10:1] | Symantec, PowerQuest, Legato Systems |
| Alessandra Serano | Chief Legal Officer | Howrey, Office of Legal Policy, Offices of the United States Attorneys, University of San Diego School of Law, San Diego County Superior Court, Project Safe Childhood, United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Lawyers Club of San Diego, Federal Bar Association[11] |
| Jeff Carter | Chief E-Commerce Officer | Predictive Biotech, Backcountry, Sundance Catalog, Mervyn's[12] |
| Brad Damon | President (former) | - |
| Benjamin Pack | Vice President | Volo Loans, Alpine Funding Group, Altabank, Bank of England Mortgage, First Community Bank Utah |
| Taylor Huckstep | Vice President of Information Technology[13] | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FranklinCovey, Freeman, Pitman Farms, Predictive Technology Group, Boy Scouts of America |
| Kevin Kozak | Director of Operations (former) | - |
| Tauni Frampton | Director of Financial Operations[14] | Predictive Technology Group, BDO USA, Backcountry |
| Jonathan Lines | Chief of Operations (former) | United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), doTERRA Healing Hands, Coaxion Global |
| Will Oborn | Customer Service Manager[15] | Predictive Biotech, Backcountry, Kami |
| Craig Anderson | Board member | Uncle of Tim Ballard |
| Mark Blake | Board member | - |
| Marc Reynolds | Board member | - |
| Wes Mortenson | Board member | - |
| Stephen Fairbanks | Board member | - |
| Tevya Ware | Board member[16] | Coaxion Global, Ware Animal Products |
| Sabine Martelly | Representative in Haiti[17] | WatersMark, Government of Haiti, Association Fanm Kore Fanm |
| Candace Lierd | Volunteer[18] | CR House & Company, Exitus |
| Richard Ford | Speakers Bureau volunteer[19] | International Health Brands, Zelenko Labs, Rebel Lion, Stemwav |
¶ Partners
Organizations partnered with OUR include:
¶ Funding
OUR has received funding from:
¶ External grants
OUR has provided grants and other financial support to, or is a client of:[6:4][22][16:1]
- 31:8 Project
- All God's Children
- America World Adoption Association (AWAA)
- American Relief Centers (ARC)
- Ankura Consulting Group
- Building Arizona Families
- California District Attorney Investigators' Association (CDAIA)
- Callister Broberg & Becker
- Catch the Wave of Hope
- Celebrity Branding Agency (CBA)
- Child Adoption Associates
- Childhelp
- Children of All Nations
- Children's House International
- Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI)
- Defenders for Children
- Dressember Foundation
- Empowered to Change International
- End Exploitation Montana
- Exodus Cry
- Families Mentoring Families
- Gladney Center for Adoption
- Global Centurion Foundation
- Hand in Hand
- Hands Across the Water
- Holt International Children's Services
- Human Trafficking Training Center (HTTC)
- Joyful World Ministries
- Legacy of Hope International
- Liberandus International
- Lifeline Children's Services
- Love Justice International
- Love Never Fails
- Madison Adoption Associates
- Marshall University Foundation
- Mercury One
- National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children
- Nazarene Fund
- New Hope for Children
- Nomi Network
- Open Door Adoption Agency
- Pathfinders Justice Initiative
- Playing for Change Foundation
- Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome (RODS)
- Radical Empathy Education Foundation (REEF)
- San Diego County Probation Officers Association
- Sierra Cares Foundation
- Small World Foundation
- Snell & Wilmer
- Social Medicine International
- Switch
- The Third Talk
- This Mission
- Todd Jordan Consulting
- Uncaged
- UNITAS
- University of California, Irvine
- Upper Peninsula Human Trafficking Task Force
- Utah Attorney General ICAC Task Force[21]
- Utah Tech University
- Vanguard University
- Wasatch International
- White Mountain Research
- Wide Horizons for Children
- WillowBend Farms
- World Links Association
- Zoe Ministries
¶ External links
¶ Further reading
- September 17, 2023: "Leading human trafficking NGO has close ties with questionable genetics company" by Liam Sturgess
Herbets, A., & Carlisle, N. (2020, October 8). Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Utah prosecutor. KSTU. http://archive.today/2020.10.08-164106/https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/anti-human-trafficking-group-operation-underground-railroad-under-investigation-by-utah-prosecutor ↩︎ ↩︎
Tomco, B. (2023, May 12). Davis County Attorney’s Office closes investigation into Operation Underground Railroad. Deseret News. http://archive.today/2023.05.30-071321/https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/5/12/23717081/davis-county-attorneys-office-closes-investigation-into-operation-underground-railroad ↩︎ ↩︎
FAQ’S. The Nazarene Fund. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230831205115/https://thenazarenefund.org/faqs/ ↩︎
Experience | Tim Ballard. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.03-022516/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-ballard-1a305ab2/details/experience/ ↩︎
Experience | Matt Osborne. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.03-183032/https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-osborne-a411435/details/experience/ ↩︎
Operation Underground Railroad Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer. (2022, September 29). ProPublica. https://web.archive.org/web/20230831054532/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463614979/202202729349301610/full ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
The Jimmy Rex Show. (2020, January 14). #182 - Dave Lopez - Former Navy Seal & Current Developer of a Resort Island in Haiti Discusses Men, Masculinity, & Finding Meaning. Spreaker. http://archive.today/2023.08.30-050222/https://www.spreaker.com/user/thejimmyrexshow/zoom0004-tr1_5 ↩︎
Experience | Jessica Mass. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 4, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.04-051642/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-mass-a33b5258/details/experience/ ↩︎
Carlos Bauer. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.03-020236/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-bauer-cpa-097b5340/ ↩︎
Bauer, C. (2023, May 15). Operation Underground Railroad Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. http://archive.today/2023.09.01-054050/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463614979/202331359349318093/full ↩︎ ↩︎
Biography - Alessandra Serano. University of San Diego. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230903171927/https://www.sandiego.edu/law/faculty/biography.php?profile_id=7781 ↩︎
Jeff Carter. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.03-182049/https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter-jeffrey-layne/ ↩︎
Experience | Taylor Huckstep. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.12-215150/https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorhuckstep/details/experience/ ↩︎
Tauni Frampton. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.14-204625/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tauni-frampton-1389224b/ ↩︎
Experience | Will Oborn. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.09.14-211510/https://www.linkedin.com/in/willoborn/details/experience/ ↩︎
Bauer, C. (2021, October 4). Operation Underground Railroad Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. http://archive.today/2023.09.03-001257/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463614979/202102779349301420/full ↩︎ ↩︎
Martelly, S. (2018, July 25). “Étant exclues des voies traditionnelles qui mènent au pouvoir, telles que les organes directeurs des partis politiques, les organisations patronales et les syndicats, les femmes y ont accédé par le biais d’autres structures, en particulier dans le secteur des organisations non gouvernementales...” [Post]. Facebook. http://archive.today/2024.03.06-202844/https://www.facebook.com/SabineMartelly1/posts/pfbid021em9K6sHW5Qtz9o1n23E1YxrNHvzvGzfMjJxQrnkLp3YZuVpsUhsuJywE3f9Aupal ↩︎
Peterson, K. (2023, September 18). Director of Utah anti-human trafficking nonprofit accused of spending donations on Corvette, rent. The Salt Lake Tribune. http://archive.today/2023.09.20-015233/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/09/18/director-utah-anti-human/ ↩︎
Volunteering | Richard Ford. LinkedIn. Retrieved November 26, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.11.26-193057/https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbrazil/details/volunteering-experiences/ ↩︎
Our Partners. Aerial Recovery. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230831210006/https://aerialrecovery.org/our-partners/ ↩︎
Together For Them Inc — 2021 990PF. Instrumentl. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.08.31-024247/https://irs-efile-renderer.instrumentl.com/render?object_id=202233189349104433 ↩︎
Bauer, C. (2023, May 15). Operation Underground Railroad Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. http://archive.today/2023.09.01-054050/https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/463614979/202331359349318093/full ↩︎