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Laura Parker is the CEO and co-founder of The Exodus Road, a nonprofit that finds and frees people trapped in human trafficking and works toward a world where no human is bought, sold, or exploited. She and her husband Matt moved to northern Thailand with their three kids for a short humanitarian stint at a children's home for hill tribe girls, where they learned how fake job offers pulled teenage girls into sex trafficking in Bangkok and Pattaya. Matt became the organization's first undercover operative, working with the Thai Royal Police to identify minors in bars and brothels. Today The Exodus Road runs intervention work with law enforcement, aftercare through Freedom Home (a government-approved residential shelter in southern Thailand), and Influenced, a prevention program that teaches kids and families how to stay safe online. Laura and Joseph cover the origin story, forced labor, trafficking-run scam compounds in Southeast Asia, and the goal of impacting one million people in five years.Timestamps:[00:31] What is The Exodus Road’s mission?[01:10] Why did Laura take on human trafficking?[02:18] How do fake job offers lure girls in Thailand?[03:08] How did Matt become a police informant?[03:42] What happened on Matt’s first case?[04:06] How did a creek-side talk start The Exodus Road?[05:54] How does Laura stay hopeful in this work?[08:46] How did they weigh the danger with three kids?[11:22] Why did Thai police need a Western man?[12:33] How has sex tourism in Thailand changed?[14:26] How does buyer demand drive trafficking?[16:54] Why is spotting a trafficking victim so hard?[18:33] Why does aftercare matter?[19:24] What is Freedom Home?[21:04] Why do survivors often go back?[21:44] How many Freedom Home survivors stay free?[22:08] Should sex tourism be banned?[23:36] What should governments do?[25:45] How does cheap consumer demand fuel forced labor?[26:28] What other types of trafficking exist?[27:14] Why are some scammers trafficking victims?[28:57] How many are trapped in Myanmar’s scam compounds?[29:33] What keeps victims inside scam compounds?[30:24] How should we view the people who scam us?[31:20] Where is The Exodus Road headed in five years?[31:57] What is the Influenced program?[32:39] How will they reach one million people?[34:10] How can listeners get involved?[36:28] What is Laura’s closing message?Guest Links:Website: https://theexodusroad.com/LinkedIn (Laura Parker): https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlauraparker/LinkedIn (The Exodus Road): https://www.linkedin.com/company/theexodusroad/home/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheExodusRoad/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theexodusroadYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theexodusroadGTZP Links:Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

Maria Bryan is the Partnership Marketing Manager at DonorBox, where she runs the ambassador program after spending two years as a DonorBox ambassador herself, and the founder of When Bearing Witness, a trauma-informed storytelling training program and podcast for nonprofit storytellers and fundraisers. She facilitates the When Bearing Witness Trauma-Informed Storytelling Certification Program, which trains storytellers to gather and tell painful stories in ways that promote safety and wellness while resisting harm. She holds a Master's in Public Administration and a Bachelor's in Journalism, and is certified in Trauma and Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment and Regulation. In this episode, Maria explains the difference between being trauma-informed and trauma-responsive, walks through the full story journey from consent to publication, and shares why her own week in the NICU with her newborn daughter changed how she reads fundraising appeals.Timestamps: [00:48] What are DonorBox and When Bearing Witness? [03:12] What is trauma? [04:53] What does trauma-informed mean? [05:56] Trauma-informed vs. trauma-responsive? [06:35] Is trauma more common in nonprofits? [07:54] Why aren't fundraisers trained on trauma? [09:36] Are good intentions enough? [10:27] What did Comic Relief change? [12:46] Why copy 20-year-old campaigns? [13:07] How did the NICU change Maria's view? [15:30] What should you ask before telling a story? [16:11] Who does every story affect? [17:19] Is the story owner ready? [17:44] Does your ask use guilt or shame? [18:31] What is asset framing? [19:28] Why let story owners review first? [20:46] When should a story stay anonymous? [21:27] What if they want it taken down? [22:09] How do you ask without false urgency? [23:14] What is a "go-away gift"? [24:54] Can storytelling be too safe? [26:34] Who draws the line on painful stories? [28:23] What will donors stop responding to? [29:32] How can tools protect donors? [31:23] What should every storyteller hear?Guest Links:Website: https://www.mariabryan.comDonorBox: https://donorbox.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariabryancrtv/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donorboxInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/donorboxTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@donorboxGTZP Links:Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

Weanne Estrada is the Mental Health Specialist at ADRA International, the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. ADRA serves in about 120 countries across roughly 1,000 projects in health, nutrition and water, education, livelihoods, and disasters and emergencies, with a mission to serve humanity so all may live as God intended. Weanne grew up in the Philippines, where recurring typhoons made disaster relief a regular part of life. After college she volunteered in the government response to Typhoon Haiyan, providing psychological first aid to survivors airlifted to Manila, and left that work asking what happens to people once their loss fully sets in. That question led her into humanitarian mental health. Today she builds mental health support into ADRA's other programs, including psychological first aid for distribution volunteers, child-friendly spaces, and World Health Organization training for non-specialist health providers in places like Sudan, Yemen, and Myanmar.Timestamps:[00:26] Who is Weanne Estrada, and what is ADRA's mission?[01:21] Why did Weanne choose mental health?[02:09] What did Typhoon Haiyan show her about the gap after a disaster?[03:22] Is mental health its own program at ADRA?[05:22] What is psychological first aid?[06:45] What do people miss about the psychological impact of disasters?[08:16] Why is a disaster where "no one died" still full of grief?[09:06] How do you help children heal after trauma?[10:47] How does mental health care change for adults?[11:31] What do you do when there is no psychiatrist nearby?[13:10] How does faith shape the way ADRA serves?[14:41] What would be lost if ADRA's mental health work disappeared?[15:21] What happens to children and trafficking survivors who never get treatment?[16:27] How can trauma affect memory enough to get someone denied resettlement?[17:34] How do you measure the impact of mental health work?[18:33] Why does Weanne have beef with Maslow?[19:59] What small signs show that hope is returning?[20:53] Is media a help or a harm for the people ADRA serves?[23:55] What would a perfect mental health response to a disaster look like?[25:11] Why does ADRA adopt existing health facilities instead of building its own?[25:42] What is task shifting, and how did it work in Myanmar?[26:56] Can AI help close the mental health gap?[30:19] What does Weanne hope to see from ADRA in 10 years?[31:23] How can listeners get involved with ADRA?[32:06] What makes ADRA Connections different from other short-term trips?[33:43] Can someone get psychological first aid training on the way to a disaster?[34:54] What does Weanne want listeners to take away?Guest Links:Website: https://adra.orgLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/adra_2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinADRAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrainternationalGTZP Links:Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

Claire Smith is the founder and CEO of Beyond Investing, a firm that builds investment products for vegans and environmentalists. After more than three decades in finance, including years at UBS and as a research analyst and partner at Albourne Partners, she left her hedge fund analyst role in 2017 to start the company.Beyond Investing runs two ETFs, the US Vegan Climate ETF (VEGN), operating since 2019, and the International Vegan Climate ETF (VEGX), which launched recently. Both screen out animal exploitation and fossil fuels across the supply chain.She also leads Beyond Impact, a venture arm backing animal-free startups, co-founded the Beyond Animal networking platform, and heads the Beyond Cruelty Foundation, which campaigns for a proposed SDG 18 on zero animal exploitation.Timestamps:[0:00] Why did an $8 million coal trade bother Claire?[0:22] Who is Claire Smith?[0:39] What is the mission of Beyond Investing?[1:28] Why did Claire take up this cause?[4:49] What qualifies a company as vegan?[6:26] What are the less obvious ways companies harm animals?[8:52] Is it wrong to assume big tech has no animals involved?[9:14] Why is Amazon excluded?[10:15] Why was Microsoft removed from the portfolio?[11:28] How has the portfolio changed geographically?[13:06] What should a CEO do to get into one of the indexes?[15:59] Why was Apple removed, and did it change the Apple Watch?[17:29] How does Beyond Investing measure carbon?[19:37] How does Claire balance capitalism with personal conviction?[21:14] What was the hedge fund story that changed her path?[23:52] Why did that trade feel wrong to her but not to him?[25:16] Why did Claire have to build the funds herself?[26:38] What is a "cow unit," and why did Claire interrupt a pitch?[28:01] Is cruelty-free better for business?[30:39] Will eating meat be a delicacy in 100 years?[32:38] How can listeners get involved?[33:58] Can you buy the ETFs through Fidelity?[34:46] What is the Beyond Cruelty Foundation, and what is SDG 18?[37:07] Any final words?Guest Links:Website: https://beyondinvesting.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-smith-8a461a1/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondinvesting/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondinvesting/GTZP Links:Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

Sarah Jakle is the founder and executive director of DemocraShe, a national nonpartisan nonprofit that gives historically underserved high school girls free online training in resiliency skills, public policy leadership, and civic engagement, paired with a stipend so cost is never a barrier to participating. Sarah built the program after a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis derailed her career as a social worker studying trauma and resilience through a military-focused master's in social work. She turned that research into practical tools (what DemocraShe calls "amygdala skills") for regulating fear and self-doubt, first for herself, then as national outreach director for a voter registration organization and Get Out the Vote director for California NOW, and now for the thousands of girls who go through DemocraShe's programs. She founded DemocraShe in January 2021 after learning that high school is the last point where boys and girls believe they can run for office equally. The organization is now 92 percent girls of color and 70 percent first generation Americans, and Sarah's five year goal is to grow the program to serve 115,000 girls by 2030.Timestamps:[00:00] Cold open: what did a rheumatologist tell Sarah she'd never do again?[00:56] Introduction[01:09] What is the mission of DemocraShe?[01:31] Why did Sarah found DemocraShe, and what's the origin story?[05:31] What are the early signs a woman is counting herself out?[07:17] Is there an evolutionary reason women's brains respond to risk differently than men's?[12:07] What can a woman do right now to work through that response?[15:55] How does DemocraShe turn these practices into an actual program?[17:35] What changes do girls see in themselves before and after the program?[22:12] What are DemocraShe's plans for the next five to ten years?[29:25] How can someone get engaged with DemocraShe?[30:58] What does Sarah want to leave listeners with? Guest Links:Website: https://www.democrashe.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/democrashe/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DemocraShe-110108011246367Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/democrasheorg/GTZP Links:Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp