SPEAKERS

Peter Buck, Interfaith Program at Equal Exchange

Peter Buck is a Worker/Owner and Interfaith Program Representative at Equal Exchange, an employee-owned, 100% Fair Trade co-operative. Equal Exchange sells coffee, chocolate, tea, nuts, berries and bananas from 40 small farmer co-operatives in 20 countries and, through its Interfaith Program, partners with 12 national faith-based relief and development agencies, marketing to more than 10,000 congregations nationwide. Peter joined Equal Exchange in 2002, and is responsible for its participation in the Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Program, reaching out to over 900 Catholic congregations. He is a parishioner and lector at Sacred Heart Parish in Roslindale, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Lisa Lungren, National Education and Outreach Coordinator, Immigration & Human Trafficking

She brings a decade of experience leading and coordinating grassroots outreach, coalition building in multi-lingual settings, and developing educational resources for varied audiences. Ms. Lungren previously oversaw the development and implementation of multi and cross sector initiatives in Mexico, Colombia, and Panama to combat illicit activity and promote to rule of law (a culture of lawfulness). The project, which involved faith-based leaders as well as stakeholders from civil society and law enforcement, was recognized by the US Department of State, the World Bank, and the United Nations as an effective crime and corruption prevention strategy. 

Tomas Perez, President & Founder, The Epik Project

In 2010, Tom began engaging in the anti-trafficking fight and quickly noticed that while men are the primary drivers behind the demand that drives sexual exploitation, very few were practically involved in the fight to combat it. The EPIK Project is his attempt to bring men to this fight in effective and sustainable ways. Through an innovative and collaborative relationship with the Portland Police Bureau and the Multnomah County DA's office, Tom has led an all-volunteer effort that’s grown to a national effort and succeeded in intercepting more than 170,000 attempts to purchase sex by over  85,000 individual buyers in a little over 6 years. By training men how to engage local sex buyers directly at the point of sale, his work has helped to successfully disrupt the local online market for illegal sex. This model has been replicated in 14 cities across the country. In addition to this work, prior to joining the Oregon Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, Tom led a multidisciplinary team of law enforcement, prosecution, business and faith communities as the head of the Demand Subcommittee for the Multnomah Co. CSEC Executive Team. Tom has presented both locally and nationally on the centrality of equipping male allies and focusing on demand reduction as a critical component for any strategy serious about combatting sex trafficking. These presentations include the United Nations’ global Council on the Status of Women.