About HTI

Victor Boutros is the CEO and co-founder of the Human Trafficking Institute and co-author with Gary Haugen of The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence, a book published by Oxford University Press in 2014. Drawing on real-world cases and extensive scholarship, The Locust Effect paints a vivid portrait of the way fractured criminal justice systems in developing countries have spawned a hidden epidemic of human trafficking and everyday violence that is undermining vital investments in poverty alleviation, public health, and human rights. The Locust Effect is a Washington Post bestseller that has been featured by the New York Times, The Economist, NPR, the Today Show, Forbes, TED, and the BBC, among others. For their work on The Locust Effect, Boutros and Haugen received the 2016 Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Improving World Order, a prize awarded annually to the authors of one book based on originality, feasibility, and potential for global impact.

Boutros previously served as a federal prosecutor on human trafficking cases of national significance on behalf of the United States Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. He has taught human trafficking at the FBI Academy in Quantico, trained law enforcement professionals in the United States and other countries on how to investigate and prosecute human trafficking, and taught trial advocacy to lawyers from Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Boutros is a graduate of Baylor University, Harvard University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago Law School, where he was as an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. He has written on foreign affairs and human rights, including a feature article in Foreign Affairs and a piece co-authored with former US Trafficking in Persons Ambassador John Richmond in the AntiTrafficking Review, and developed and taught a course on human rights, human trafficking, and rule of law in the developing world at the University of Chicago Law School. Boutros speaks to corporate leaders, universities, and think tanks on human trafficking, and has provided briefings to senior government leaders on human trafficking, including legislators, congressional committees, and the President of the United States.

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Josiah’s 13-year non-profit fundraising career has spanned Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York at both local homeless service provider agencies, and a global humanitarian aid organization. Josiah has worked across multiple pillars of fundraising including marketing, individual gifts, and foundation – supporting systems, processes, and relationships resulting in six and seven-figure gifts. He has facilitated and led great success through multi-channel integrated marketing efforts, and has secured large individual and foundation gifts – with the ultimate goal of inviting supporters into deeper engagement and ownership of the cause. He earned his BA of Sociology and Theology from a Azusa Pacific University. Josiah is a strong believer in the power of story and the importance of an invitation.

 

At HTI, Donna serves as the Vice President of Finance and Operations and has over 30 years of experience in nonprofit finance and operations. Prior to joining HTI, she served as a Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at March of Dimes and the American Red Cross, where she successfully managed the team that supported the Operational Departments as well as Accounts Payable and Procurement. She was one of the lead directors on the restructure of the Finance Department, which included the implementation of new systems for Finance, Travel, and Expenditures. She was a key member of the Senior Leadership Team for Blood Collections. She was also on the senior team working on strategic changes in structure, locations, and staffing. For both March of Dimes and the American Red Cross, Donna managed budget and forecast development and drove operational improvements using key performance indicators. Donna received an A.S. degree in Accounting from Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire and a B.S. in Accounting from Saint Leo University in Florida.

Eric Ha serves as HTI’s Board Chair and is International Justice Mission’s Chief Administrative Officer. He is responsible for ensuring strong, effective executive leadership and strategic management of the global enterprise. Eric leads the Global Executive Office and manages the operations of the Global Leadership Team. Prior to this role, Eric served in several other executive leadership positions at IJM, including as Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel.

Before joining IJM, Eric spent nearly a decade at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago where he managed large-scale commercial litigation, provided regulatory and strategic counseling, and conducted internal compliance investigations for major corporate clients. Prior to joining Sidley, Eric served as Advisory Counsel in IJM’s Chennai field office where he worked on cases to rescue victims of forced labor slavery and human trafficking. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Miami School of Law and served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Jorge A. Solis, Chief Judge of the Northern District of Texas.

Eric earned a B.A. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School where he was a Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife and three children.

Lenny currently serves as HTI’s Board Treasurer and Secretary. Throughout his career, he has focused on FinTech, start-ups, M&A, and turnarounds and enjoys bringing strategic vision, financial clarity, and operational execution to companies.

Prior to his various executive roles of start-ups and turnarounds, Lenny worked on Wall Street for several years as an M&A investment banker in both New York City and Los Angeles, at Bear Stearns and Lazard Freres. As an investment banker, he advised primarily large publicly traded corporations and private equity firms on strategic and financial matters and has structured and executed complex M&A, debt, and equity transactions across a variety of sectors. Lenny also has several years of start-up and venture capital experience, including having been part of the core founding team that launched a Softbank-funded technology firm in Korea.

Lenny received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and his MBA from Columbia Business School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

Caroline Stevens currently works as an investor at a Dallas-based private investment firm, MPK Equity Partners, that partners with entrepreneurs and executives to invest in and acquire growing, profitable, category-leading companies.Prior to joining MPK, Caroline was an investor at Insight Equity, a middle market private equity firm that makes control investments in businesses across industries, with a focus on asset intensive, manufacturing-dependent companies. Caroline spent the first five years of her career at The Boston Consulting Group, advising leading management teams on strategy and operational improvement. While at BCG, Caroline created digital marketing strategies for Consumer and Retail businesses, analyzed franchisee unit-level economics, wrote a turn-around strategy for an Automotive company prior to its Initial Public Offering, advised a non-profit board on its CEO succession, and more. Caroline received a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin, graduating from the Canfield Business Honors Program.

Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer & President, CSW Industrials, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSWI) Mr. Armes has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since 2015, and as President of the Company since 2018. Prior to the Company’s spin-off in 2015 from Capital Southwest Corporation (NASDAQ: CSWC), Mr. Armes served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of CSWC from 2013 to 2015, and as Chairman of the Board from 2014 through 2017. From 2019 through 2021, Mr. Armes served as a board member of Switchback Energy Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SBE), a special purpose acquisition company, until its merger with ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. From 2013 through 2018, Mr. Armes served as a board member and as audit committee chairman of RSP Permian, Inc. (NYSE: RSPP), an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company, prior to its acquisition by Concho Resources, Inc. in 2018. Since 2018 Mr. Armes has served as an independent trustee of the American Beacon family of mutual funds and currently serves as chair of the nominating and governance committee.

From 2001 through 2010, Mr. Armes served as a member of the Board of Regents of Baylor University where he served as chair of finance, audit, compensation, and presidential search committees. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Dallas where he chairs the endowment committee. During the 2011-12 academic year he served as visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law where he taught classes in mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Mr. Armes began his career as an attorney with the law firm of Weil, Gotshal and Manges, LLP, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Armes earned both a BBA (Finance) and MBA from Baylor University, and a JD from Southern Methodist University’s School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Southern Law Journal.

Chief Marketing Officer for Consilio, the largest global provider of a legal service called eDiscovery (over $1B a year in revenue) to litigators and in-house law teams around the world.

John leads data-driven marketing – what the industry calls “performance marketing” – for Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and (currently) staffing provider Kelly Services. In his work, John uniquely leads teams in consumer and business marketing efforts, driving both brand development and the execution of outreach through digital marketing and sales.

• Education
  + BA, Wheaton College
  + MBA, University of Texas, McCombs School of Business
• VP of Marketing @ Kelly Services, a $5B global staffing leader
  + manages a team, $4.5MM budget, and leverages technology and data expertise to drive Digital Marketing, Paid Media, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Operations (MOPS), MarTech, and Digital Relationship Marketing Functions.
• Previously at Microsoft, Lead, Worldwide Consumer Office 365 CRM Relationship Marketing
  + drove 150% growth in incremental Office usage, boosting renewal metrics through integrated technical and storytelling approach to concurrently solve complex problems and drive business growth.

Stewart has an extensive background in venture-backed startups and real estate investment. He was co-founder and served in multiple leadership roles at Tradex Technologies, Inc. from 1995 until 2000 when it was acquired by Ariba (now SAP). He served as Chairman of MF Lightwave, dba CustomCable.com until 2016 when it was acquired by Amphenol Corporation. Since 2003, Stewart has initiated and managed all of Murray Bertron’s investments in the PODS portable on demand storage container system. He has served on the boards of the University of Tampa, Tampa Bay Technology Forum, Young Life in Tampa and Created Women, Inc. which serves women who have been exploited in the commercial sex trade. Stewart earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC-Chapel Hill.