Our Board of Directors, advisory board, and volunteers reflect our model. We value the expertise each member of the team brings to the table from their professional life, personal experiences, talents, and passions. Together, we are stronger, more efficient, and capable of accomplishing more.
Retired Chief Phillip Crowell is a lifelong resident of Auburn, a military veteran, holds a BS degree in Criminal Justice and a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 218. He has been responsible for many initiatives that include starting Auburn’s Citizens Police Academy, the first Somali Citizens Police Academy and the first Youth Court for the State of Maine.
He is actively involved with human trafficking initiatives locally and internationally, serving as a board member on the Foundation for Hope and Grace, Co-Founder of the Not Here – Justice in Action Network, and past member of the Attorney General’s Workgroup. He has received numerous awards recognizing his efforts to enhance law enforcement efforts. He was honored in 2018 as “Chief of the Year” by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
Phil is currently the City Manager for the City of Auburn, Maine.
Bill Legere is a Family and Emergency Medicine Nurse Practitioner currently practicing at St Mary’s Regional Medical Center. He has cared for people in emergency departments for over 20 years, has been the recipient of several honors and awards, and uses his talents to help educate the next generation of healthcare providers.
His area of passion remains with working with vulnerable populations where he has focused on childhood instability and abuse, refugee and immigrant populations affected by torture and trauma as well as victims of gender-based violence and exploitation in human trafficking.
His heart for the vulnerable began almost 15 years ago during a medical mission trip to Romania. Since then he and his wife, Teresa, have adopted six girls from around the world, led several mission trips, founded the Foundation for Hope and Grace to help care for vulnerable children, and co-founded Not Here Justice in Action Network (NHJAN) in an effort to facilitate collaboration with key members of society to address the threats of human trafficking and exploitation, child abuse, sexual violence and gender inequality.
His current area of focus is addressing the need to improve care to those struggling with mental illness related to trauma and abuse. He has recently completed a post-graduate program at Harvard Medical School that focused on mental health care delivery to Refugees and Immigrants who have experienced trauma and torture. He is also transitioning his practice to include board certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. His research interest lies in understanding how Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) impact long term health outcomes for individuals and communities, and the potential for ACEs research to build more resilient communities through systemic changes in public health policy.
Teresa began her career as an emergency department nurse but gave that up to stay home and raise her five daughters. She reentered the workforce as a care coordinator at East Auburn Baptist Church and is currently the director of the community center at Pathway Vineyard Church. She has always had a heart for the vulnerable and the marginalized and has received her Masters in Social Justice through Kilns College. She lives in Auburn with her husband, Bill, and her family.
Tricia Grant is a strong advocate for survivors and youth vulnerable to exploitation, and a leader in the anti-trafficking movement. She is also the Founder and Director of If Only 1, and the Program Coordinator for Sophia’s House in Lewiston, Maine. Tricia is a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking who now educates and mentors youth and adults in large group and one-on-one settings about the reality of human trafficking and exploitation. Having been trafficked in Maine and throughout New England when she was 15 and living on her own with her little boy, Tricia has been able to connect deeply with at-risk youth and encourage victims of trafficking and sexual trauma as they move forward in their healing process. She shares her story with the hope that it will help others understand that trafficking can happen to anyone anywhere, and prevent victims from waiting 16 years to talk about it, as she did.
Steven M. Dyer is Professor of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Nova Southeastern University where he is studying Criminal Justice with a concentration in Behavioral Science. His doctoral dissertation includes a phenomenological look into the victimization of human trafficking and the intersection of adverse childhood experiences. He has a Bachelor of Science in Economics & Finance, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration, and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry. Professor Dyer has been a Thomas College faculty member since 2010. He has ten years of experience as a police officer and 16 years in the private sector where he did work on various types financial investigations.
Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Hope & Grace and as the Scholar in Residence for the Not Here Justice in Action Network. Steve recently received his board certification as a Certified Human Trafficking Investigator.
Steve has been married to his bride, Amy for 30 years. They have two children, Ryan, age 18 and Meaghan, age 15.
Jennifer became involved with the Not Here Justice in Action Network after looking for a local organization involved in eradicating human trafficking. Jennifer is passionate about raising awareness and rallying communities to get involved with local initiatives working to eradicate human trafficking, provide aftercare, protect the vulnerable from exploitation, and stand for justice.
Serving for several years as the Program Director of Not Here, a leading organizational voice in the anti-trafficking movement in New England, Jennifer helped to build and connect a multi-disciplinary network of individuals and organizations committed to working collaboratively to combat human trafficking and exploitation, and to support those who have been victimized by this fast growing crime.
Her previous professional experience has focused on business to business sales, product design & development, and business management and development. She is currently employed as the Work with ME! Coordinator for the Auburn Police Department where she enjoys working with 15 – 19 year old youth in Auburn, Maine coordinating a job skills development, mentoring, & coaching program.
Alec Stevens has worked in the financial services sector for over 35 years, currently working as a financial advisor assisting clients in meeting their financial goals. He is active in many sports, and enjoys collecting antique gasoline engines, a hobby that has brought him on travels to over half of the US.
Alec became a Christian at a youth event in Rockland, Maine when he was 16, and his faith has since inspired him greatly over the years to serve others. He has produced a series of short daily radio shows called “His Money” on WBCI radio out of Topsham, Maine for over 13 years, sharing his knowledge in the area of financial stewardship with others. They can be heard online or live at 2:00 PM on WBCI, Monday through Friday.
Inspired by his faith, Alec joined the board to lend his expertise and time in serving the needs of vulnerable populations, including children and those vulnerable to human trafficking. He has lived and worked in Falmouth, Maine for nearly 3 decades.
It was a 1997 mission trip to India where Barb Cousineau was first introduced to marginalized, vulnerable at-risk children. That was a defining moment in her life. She continued to take multiple missions trips (Taiwan, Kenya, Ecuador) working with similar populations. As an adoptive mom of two children, one with a significant trauma history, Barb sees the damage done in the early years and its impact many years later. She has a real desire to help protect others from such abuses, and to help bring healing to those who were not able to avoid these adverse childhood experiences.
After meeting a deaf gentleman at church and being unable to communicate with him, Barb recognized the importance of learning American Sign Language (ASL) to best be able to interact with those who communicate using sign language. She committed herself to learning ASL, and has now been working as an interpreter for the deaf, primarily in medical setting, for over 25 years. She also volunteers as an ASL interpreter at East Auburn Baptist Church in Auburn, Maine.
Barb has been happily married to her husband Roger for 38 years. She is a mom to 3 biological children and two adopted children, and she is a grandmother of three biological and three adopted children. Barb brings her passion in and commitment to serving at-risk and trauma impacted children, and marginalized populations in general, to the board of the Foundation.