Jesse Baker, PhD, Executive Director of the Board
In 2000, Dr. Baker began working on the Jubilee Movement to redeem victims of human trafficking and slavery in Sudan, which ultimately led to the Sudan Peace Act. His work culminated with a variety of campaign efforts through the entertainment industry in 2001 to educate people about the general realities of human trafficking and modern-day slavery issues. Shortly after, Dr. Baker began work on his PhD in Environmental Policy – specifically focused on the social consequences of environmental change on an international scale. Rather than going straight into academia upon finishing his graduate work, Dr. Baker founded a grassroots nonprofit organization to directly educate people about the comprehensive elements of sustainability – a growing movement that often fails to include the localized social components of economic globalization and environmental change. His work includes projects in Haiti, the Bahamas, Mexico, and various parts of the US. Dr. Baker is a current International Sustainability Fellow at the University of California at Irvine; he lectures frequently throughout the US, and has taught a variety of sustainability courses at UC Irvine, Chapman University, and the College of Charleston.
Dawn Rucinski, President
Dawn Rucinski’s main focus as an abolitionist has been to combat human trafficking in the United States by mentoring and inspiring task forces in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev. and in Chico, Calif. Dawn successfully established the first Abolish Slavery Day in Chico through diligent and passionate work with the mayor and local government. She helped galvanize law enforcement into forming task force meetings, consequently inspiring the city into backing its civic leaders and law enforcement community. Dawn also escalated federal support for task forces in Nevada by bringing in the FBI to work with police departments in Las Vegas and Reno. Many people don’t realize that the majority of the human trafficking cases in the United States involve runaway minors. Dawn has made this particular area the primary emphasis of her human rights activism. The success of her campaigns show that when people come together in a combined force, we can truly make great strides in abolishing slavery.
Elizabeth Matthews, Board Secretary
Eliza began as a volunteer with the organization and earned her seat on the Board through endless hard work researching and applying for grants and follow-through. She went on to help found the Aloha Freedom Task Force, an organization that provides resources for human trafficking task forces to impact and counter human trafficking. Since then, Eliza has become an intricate part of Ukraine Disaster Relief and we are better for it.
Noel Brevick
Noel was introduced to Abolish Slavery Coalition in 2012 while he was videotaping a benefit in Las Vegas that assisted our work. That meeting turned into a partnership that has lasted years. As a producer/designer, video technician, illustrator and so much more, Noel quickly became the go to person for redesigning the AS website, multiple logos, graphics and much of our social media. His passion for AS was immediately imminent in his confidence, quick response and can-do approach to every task put in front of him. No matter the request, we can count on Noel to provide the very best of it with his immense talent. We are grateful to continue to work with him and to include him as a member of the Board of Directors at AbolishSlavery.org!