Who We Are.
Our Story
Since its founding in 2007, the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking has worked to elevate awareness of human trafficking as a pervasive and often overlooked issue in Northeast Ohio.
Established by a courageous group of religious women—the Sisters of the Humility of Mary—the organization unites professionals across sectors to advance a coordinated, systemic, and multidisciplinary response to this urgent issue.
Today, this ever-growing collaboration includes diverse communities, businesses, non-profits, and governmental organizations. We provide leadership and expertise, while adding new allies to our cause (see our public awareness campaign, Humans Over Human Trafficking).
Everything we do works to uphold every person’s fundamental right to freedom and dignity.
Mission & Vision
Mission
Lead, empower, and connect our community to eradicate human trafficking.
Vision
A world without human trafficking, one community at a time.
The Way
We provide leadership and expertise to empower a systemic, community-wide response to human trafficking.
The Work
We equip organizations and individuals with the knowledge, tools, and resources to address human trafficking by increasing public awareness, delivering tailored trainings, and facilitating multi-disciplinary collaboration. As the backbone organization of a 60+ organization membership program called Greater Cleveland Coordinated Response to Human Trafficking, we provide strategic leadership to create social change.
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Suzanne Bednarchik, Chair
Owner, The Quilting Bee
Talent Strategy and Operations Leader,
Ernst & Young LLP (Retired)
Teresan W. Gilbert, Vice Chair
The Lubrizol Corporation (Retired)
Michael A. Shemo, Treasurer & Finance
Committee Chair, Chair Emeritus
President, Wolf Investors, LLC
Shannon Fogarty Jerse, Esq. Governance Committee Chair
General Counsel, Retired & President of Jerse Law Firm
Kirsti Mouncey, President & CEO, Collaborative to End Human Trafficking
Ex-officio
Honorary Members
Karen Walsh
Past President/CEO
Michael P. Coyne
Co-Founder, Waldheger Coyne, A Legal Professional Association
Thomas R. Hanson
Eaton Corporation (Retired)
Sr. Toby Lardie, HM
Congregation of Humility of Mary
Members
Jennifer Cupar
Governance Committee Chair
Director, LLEAP Program, Professor of Lawyering Skills,
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Daniel J. Flannery, PhD
Professor and Director, Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Research and Education,
Case Western Reserve University
Honorable Patricia A. Gaughan
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, N.D. Ohio
Domonic Hopson, MPH, FACHE
President and CEO, Neighborhood Family Practice, Community Health Centers
Dara Krueger
Executive Director International Marketing & Marketing Account Services, Cleveland Clinic
Corey Lee
Partner, Jones Day
Patrice McCarthy, PhD, RN, CNS
Professor (Retired)
George Moy
Manager, Brookfield Properties
William R. Murman
First Vice President, Wealth Management, UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Honorable Brendan J. Sheehan
Administrative and Presiding Judge Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Natalie M. Strouse, CPA
Associate Professor of Accounting, Hiram College
Sunil Thomas
Senior Vice President, Ops Division Manager, KeyBank
Staff Team
Kirsti Mouncey
President & CEO
Kirsti leads the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking with more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. As a woman with a disability, Kirsti brings a unique and empathetic perspective to her work, driving inclusive approaches to addressing complex social challenges.
She is deeply passionate about minimizing trauma in all its forms, leveraging her strong background in trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care to create systems that foster healing and resilience.
Her experience in strategic planning, board management, policy advocacy, and coalition building drives impactful progress in the fight against human trafficking. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Cleveland State University, and is a Licensed Independent Social Work Supervisor in the State of Ohio.
Her leadership has been recognized by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center with the Visionary Voice Award in 2016. She was inducted into the Case Western Reserve University Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Hall of Achievements in 2017, where she is an Adjunct Professor. She is a proud member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2023.
Eric Matheny
Chief Collaboration Officer
With over 20 years in human services, including developmental disabilities, education, and workforce development, Eric is a proven leader in fostering collaboration to address complex social issues. He brings expertise in creating systemic solutions and uniting stakeholders.
He holds a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from Youngstown State University and Master of Arts degrees in Transformative Leadership from California Institute of Integral Studies and Organization Development from Fielding Graduate University.
Carolyn Arny
Director of Education & Training
Carolyn brings 20+ years of experience in health and human services. As a trauma-informed instructor, Carolyn offers both foundational learning and specialized training to organizations, ensuring they are equipped with the tools to identify and support survivors of human trafficking.
Carolyn is a Certified Child Life Specialist and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology from Elmhurst College, a Master of Arts degree in Child Life Specialist from The University of Akron, and a Graduate Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis from Capella University.
Survivor Advisory Committee
Every decision we make is based on the invaluable work of our Survivor Advisory Committee.
These members offer incomparable insight into the anti-trafficking field through application, adaptation and validation.
Their lived experiences and professional endeavors have a tremendous impact on the fight against human trafficking.
Our Partners
Being a member of Greater Cleveland s Coordinated Response to Human Trafficking means that you will join a network of over 70 organizations that are finding new ways to address human trafficking in our community.
Every member of our Coalition is critical to our collective impact and success.
Learn More & Meet Our PartnersCareer Opportunities
At the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, you’ll be part of a small, mission-driven team committed to building a stronger, more coordinated response to end human trafficking. We are not a traditional nonprofit—we convene and equip more than 70 partner organizations to lead systems-level change.
Are you ready to help? We’re hiring and can’t wait to meet you!
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A community united to prevent exploitation before it starts.
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