Key Leader Marty Marcolongo Joins Uncaged

We are thrilled to announce that Marty Marcolongo has joined the fight against human trafficking as our Chief Operating Officer! He comes to us from the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, where he served for over 20 years. Most recently, he led the organization as its President and COO. He brings a keen sense of strategy, expertise in Eastern Europe, and most importantly, a heart that dedicated to ending human trafficking once and for all.

It was nearly 18 years ago that Marty heard about human trafficking for the first time. He was in his car, driving to visit a chapter of Air Force Academy alumni. As he was flipping through radio stations, he heard a story come on the air. It was about Human Trafficking, particularly warning drivers nearby to look out for signs of trafficking at Truck Stops. It was in this report that Marty first realized that human trafficking was all around him, that he could be passing survivors as he drove.

“I choked up,” Marty says. “Here I was. I had been educated at one of the top universities in the country. I had worked as an intelligence officer for years, and I had never known that this was happening in my own country, in my own backyard.”

He was determined to do something. “I spent a lot of time talking to God that evening. I came up with ‘Marty’s Plan.’ As I was praying, I knew that I needed to learn the skills to run a nonprofit if I really wanted to make a difference. It was then that I resolved to work at a world-class nonprofit until I was 60 years old and learn everything I could. Then, I would take all of those skills and work for an anti-trafficking organization.”

God had a slightly shorter timeline in mind. This past July, Marty heard God say to him, “You’re ready now. What are you waiting for?” It was 5 years earlier than the plan. But Marty listened, walked right into his supervisor’s office and said he needed to step down. It was time to pursue human trafficking.

Lt. General Mike Gould, Marty’s boss and long-time colleague, took a moment to absorb the news. Then he spoke. “You know, I know someone who is involved with human trafficking and runs an anti-trafficking organization. Could I introduce you to her?” he asked Marty.

Marty met with our founder and CEO, Kim Westfall, a few short weeks later. “Kim asked me about how I came to be so passionate about human trafficking. I sort of chuckled and said it was kind of a weird story. Kim just said ‘We’re used to weird stories at Uncaged.’” They both walked away from the meeting grateful and marveling at how good of a fit it seemed.

“It’s tough for a person like me, who loves logic and strategy, to go on faith,” Marty muses, “but I knew it was the right thing to do.” He was struck that Kim understood the vastness of human trafficking but remained confident that there was a solution. He says “99% of people” look at something like human trafficking and give up, but Kim said it wasn’t too big for God.

The message resonated with Marty. “When I started using the phrase ‘service for a lifetime’ with Air Force Academy graduates, I always talked about how changing the world for one person has generational consequences. It’s the same thing that Uncaged is doing. Just a few weeks ago, we rescued one survivor and she led us to a dozen more who are going to go free. We impact one survivor, and she can change hundreds, if not thousands of people. It’s how changing the world for one person can end up changing the world.”

We are ready to start changing the world. It all starts as we unlock transformation for hundreds, even thousands of survivors. Your support and encouragement is instrumental in connecting us to people like Marty and in raising an army of people who can end trafficking once and for all.

6 Risks Survivors Face When Going Against Their Traffickers

At Uncaged, we have had the honor of supporting survivors in court. Sometimes, they are defending themselves against traffickers who are trying to exploit them again. Other times, including recently with a survivor we'll call Talyssa, we support survivors as they take action against their traffickers.

Any time a trafficking survivor decides to confront her abuser in court, we stand in awe of her resilience and courage. She's already been through hell, and now she is facing the man who put her there. It's incredible! At the same time, we know that not all survivors will choose to testify against their traffickers. We understand this choice, too. Here are a few reasons why some trafficking survivors may not pursue legal action against their abusers.

#1 It can be retraumatizing to relive their experience

Investigators and law enforcement do not always take a trauma-informed approach when working with a survivor. The way they ask questions or interrogate a survivor may be frightening or even retraumatizing.

#2 May Jeopardize Health

Most of the time, trafficking survivors' bodies have been brutalized. We often work with survivors who have infections, poorly healed wounds, dental issues, or more. Testifying against traffickers can be exhausting, taxing their bodies when they're already weak.

#3 Fear of Retribution

Many traffickers are affiliated with organized crime. Even worse, traffickers often threaten survivors. Sometimes, this means threatening to shame them by telling lies about them back home, threatening to harm their children, or worse.

#4 Feelings of Powerlessness

The experience of being trafficked can crush a survivor's sense of choice, voice, and power. They may not think that anyone will listen to them, or they think their trafficker is too powerful to be taken down.

#5 Lack of resources

When a survivor goes free, she often has no income, housing, medical care and has few places to turn. She may not know how to start a case against her trafficker or know what rights she has. Even if she does, finding and hiring an attorney can feel out of reach.

#6 May still feel connected to Trafficker

One of the most damaging parts of trafficking is that traffickers often lure their survivors in with promises of love and affection. For survivors who have experienced previous abuse or child survivors, they may still feel like their trafficker loves them in a warped way. This can be even more complicated for child survivors whose parents were involved in trafficking them.

At Uncaged, we are working to end trafficking in our lifetime and unlocking transformation for survivors. We know that in order to restore survivors, we must make space to honor their choices. Even if a survivor chooses not to pursue legal action against her trafficker, she still needs holistic support, including legal counsel. Sometimes, taking care of her mental, emotional, and physical needs may open the door to action later on, too.

Together, we are fighting for freedom and coming alongside each survivor in her journey. You hold the key!

to a survivor's fight for freedom.

Blanketing Romania in Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Freedom always ripples outwards. Just last week, our European Director identified 1 survivor and helped her escape. That survivor led us to 16 more survivors. Finding and freeing one survivor can mean rescuing dozens, even hundreds more.

This is one reason why we are eager to start blanketing Romania and all of Europe in anti-trafficking efforts. We have built relationships with organizations who have resources to help us do this. Several of them have offered us their world-class materials for training others to locate survivors and set them free.

We are particularly excited about our partnership with Global Strategic Operatives, or GSO. They train healthcare professionals to identify potential trafficking victims and, once identified, take appropriate action.

Hospitals encounter millions of survivors. Up to 88% of survivors will seek medical care while being trafficked at some point. The vast majority of them will go undetected. By equipping healthcare providers, GSO estimates that up to 3.5 million survivors could be found in the US alone!

Now, they have asked us to pilot their program in Romania and Moldova. Remember that 78% of survivors across Europe come from these two countries. Many of them are trafficked within them before being taken across borders.

We are working to translate GSO’s curriculum into Romanian as we speak. Then, we will begin to establish anti-trafficking task forces within hospital systems. Soon, we will be locating survivors at the epicenter of trafficking in Europe with a scalable model.

If finding 1 survivor can help us free 16 more, imagine what will happen when we’ve equipped an army of healthcare providers. This is how we find and heal hundreds, even thousands of precious souls. Even better, we have the perfect place to bring these survivors once we find them - the Sanctuary.

Your support and encouragement is making it happen. We hold the keys to freedom!