OUR BOARD
Lauren BATEMAN
Lauren’s background is in Social Work. Lauren received her BSW from Lincoln University and has worked as a caseworker and was the live-in Residential Supervisor for a transitional living program for youth in Jefferson City. For many years Lauren lived and worked with some amazing young ladies and their kids. In those years Lauren met several survivors of trafficking and was blown away by their resilience. This subject became very close to her heart and she knew it was something she wanted to work to end. Lauren lives in Columbia.
audrey Kaufmann
Audrey started as a volunteer for the Coalition in 2016. She is a Business Exit Coach as well as a realtor and continues to work in promoting natural health and wellness. Audrey has Mid-Missouri roots, but also spent 5 years in Boston and 8 years in Luxembourg Europe where she worked in the Global Custody Division of BBH&Co. In 2002 her family moved back to Jefferson City and she opened Cafe Via Roma, a European style Café across from the Capitol. During this time she graduated from Rochurst University’s Helzberg School of Management with an Executive MBA. Through the EMBA program and on behalf of businesses and her staff she began to testify to legislative committees on the need for child care assistance. For the last 12 years she has organized Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for 150 residents in low-income housing. In 2013 she organized gardens and fruit trees for Amethyst House in Kansas City, housing for mothers who have successfully graduated from drug rehab programs. In 2014 she was awarded the Zonta Women of Achievement Award. She has 3 children.
WILL PIEPER
pete selenke
Pete became involved with the Coalition in 2018, regularly contributing a unique expert perspective at monthly meetings. He has been in the banking industry for 30 years. The last 20 years of his work has been in financial crimes. Since early 2018 Pete has been the Banking Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer for Central Bancompany. He is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. Pete currently lives in his future retirement home in Bunceton, MO with his wife Heidi. They have three children, Michael, Kate and Joe. “As a BSA Officer, I see a lot of the bad side of people through their financial activity. By helping in the little ways I can with the Coalition, I hopefully can make a difference to help with good and not just witness and report the bad side of things.”
Nanette Ward
Nanette Ward is a co-founding member of the Stop Human Trafficking Coalition of Central Missouri. She has been an active volunteer for the past 15 years. Nanette has been involved in all the various aspects of the Coalition’s work. She conducts presentations and trainings in the community and as a full-time volunteer, works closely with service providers and law enforcement to provide direct support to victims and survivors. She serves as the Coalition’s representative on the Missouri Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force. She also served on the Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the social service arm of the US Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri Human Trafficking Rescue Project. After coming to Boone County from the Kansas City area in 1994, Ward worked for the Governor’s Council on Disability, Services for Independent Living, the City of Columbia Human Rights Commission, and the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Nanette strives daily to achieve the Coalition’s vision for communities to be free of modern slavery.
Ed Williams
Ed was born and raised in Mexico, MO where he currently lives and works. He attended college in Atlanta, GA where he majored in Film/TV Production, then moved to New York City where he began work at a financial business. After becoming a victim and survivor of the 9/11 attacks, he relocated back to Missouri. He enrolled in the Missouri Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Academy and began work with the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office. He was a patrol supervisor for many years and later the jail administrator. He is currently the Captain of the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division and is an instructor for the Missouri Sheriff’s Association. Ed is the president of a local non-profit organization Anointed Lifesaving Ministries. It is geared towards youth, offering an alternative to hanging out on the streets, while providing free after-school tutoring and educational programs.