"Since law enforcement agencies began partnering with citizens through community policing, we've seen significant drops in crime rates."
- John Ashcroft

Nola Theiss - Director, Human Trafficking Awareness partnerships, Inc.

Nola Theiss is the Executive Director of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships, Inc. She became involved in the human trafficking issue through the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva which spearheaded a community effort to form a human trafficking task force with the cooperation of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office which has since been called “a model of citizen activism”. She was an organizing partner in the National Conference on Human Trafficking held at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in February, 2006 and has won numerous awards for her human trafficking work.

Nola has served as Mayor of Sanibel, FL and on state and national committees through the Florida and National League of Cities and the SW Regional Planning Council. She owned and operated her own business for 20 years and also worked as a high school teacher for 10 years and recently served as Program Coordinator for the Renaissance Academy of Florida Gulf Coast University. She is a writer of numerous articles on human trafficking and has spoken on the issue throughout the United States, the Bahamas and Australia.