ABOUT OUR TEAM

What makes our message so special is our leadership and amazing team of youth whose voices are normalizing this conversation for our students in Marin County, so we are creating a safe place for our youth. Students see others who are coming forward and they realize their voice matters and they want to be heard.

 Meet the Board

  • Executive Director

    Marlene Capra is the Founder and Executive Director of SpeakSAFE: Save Adolescents from Exploitation that aims to fund and implement a collaborative approach to provide preventative education on human trafficking and exploitation of youth in the Bay Area. In addition to managing all aspects of the program, Marlene personally conducts trainings in conjunction with a youth team, all of whom are survivors of abuse. Both in person and on social media, they present on exploitation and the victimization of youth and what support is needed to encourage them to find their voices and come forward, enabling them to find assistance and healing. Through this forum, victims have mobilized their voices in partnership to make lasting change while working together on this initiative. Hence, SpeakSAFE.

 

  • Secretary

    Linda Witong has been a NGO Delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women between 2013-2019 and as appeared on a virtual basis as a NGO delegate for SI e.g.as a delegate to the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice which was held in March in Kyoto, Japan. Linda has also acted as a Special Advisor/Research Consultant to the President of SI from 2016 to the present and was elected as a member of the UN Alliance of NGO’s on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2021. As a retired prosecutor she is also presently volunteering for law enforcement agencies as the CATCH Team creator and coordinator for the Criminal Apprehension Team for Cold Case Homicides which investigates unresolved homicide cases for local police agencies and also act as a consultant on active investigations.

  • President

    Paula Kamena grew up in Oakland and has lived in San Rafael since 1997. She worked for the County of Marin for 35 years, first as a probation officer, then as a prosecutor, retiring as the elected District Attorney. She holds a B.A. and Masters of Criminology from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from San Francisco Law School. Kamena has remained involved in the community by volunteering her time and energy with both the First Responder Support Network and Soroptimist International of Marin County, raising funds for many projects that support women and girls. Her pro-bono work includes investigating cold cases for Marin County law enforcement, assisting with jury selection in high profile prosecutions and raising awareness on human trafficking. She has also been a delegate to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

 

  • Treasurer

    Jill Brown Hardy’s career in public service spanned over 35 years with the State of California. The majority of her time was spent with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where she had a variety of assignments including appointment as Warden at San Quentin State Prison. Although the majority of her work was with adults, Jill discovered during her career that she has a strong affinity for children and young adults. Her community involvement includes volunteering with Soroptimist International of Marin County as well as other community-based organizations that are dedicated to improving the lives of women and children. Jill holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

  • Vice President

    Michael Pritchard began his career on both the comedy stage and as a juvenile counselor in San Francisco’s Youth Guidance Center. In 1980, Michael Pritchard won first place in the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition as well as winning the prestigious California Probation Officer of the Year. Drawing from his counseling background, Michael Pritchard began using humor to inspire, teach communication skills, anger management, diversity, conflict resolution and overcoming burnout and stress. In recognition for his award winning work in social emotional education and promoting nonviolence with youth, Michael Pritchard was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hartwick University.

 Meet the Youth Team

  • I was drawn to work with SpeakSafe because this education is not in schools when it should be. It is vital that we get education on sexual exploitation and sex trafficking to youth, and I am proud to be a part of that.

  • Working together we can provide victims the resources to recover and turn our experience into something we can use to help others.

  • I work with SpeakSafe because the organization gives me the opportunity to stand up for those who might not have the capability to be their own advocate. Working together we can provide victims the resources to recover and turn our experience into something we can use to help others

  • I started working with Speak Safe because I realized how much of an issue exploration in youth is. I want to do my part in helping to bring awareness to a topic people don’t feel comfortable discussing. Speak Safe is a great community of people making a difference!    

  • I am passionate about working with SpeakSafe in order to share my personal experiences and provide a youthful perspective on teen pressure, victimization, and exploitation. Through SpeakSafe I plan on continuing to spark these difficult conversations and bring a focus to these topics in my community.

  • My involvement with SpeakSafe was prompted by a desire to interrupt the normalcy of sexual harassment and assault. While the life long struggles that succeed a situation of exploitation are inescapable, there is a way to prevent and protect against some of those situations all together: education.

  • I was excited to start working with SpeakSafe because I strongly believe everyone in our community should be educated on the exploitation of youth and how to identify and support students in these situations.

  • Being a part of SpeakSafe is important to me, especially when it comes to educating others on topics that are always silenced. Educating others on the dangers of youth exploitation and abuse is crucial; you can’t solve the problem if you don’t recognize it.

  • I decided to work with SpeakSafe because as a female and part of the Latino community I understand what it feels like to be exploited and believe no one else should have to be ashamed to speak up because of who they identify by

  • I began to work with SpeakSafe because as a teenage girl, I'm aware of how common exploitation is among young people. I want to do my part to educate others on how to identify exploitation in order to spread awareness and ultimately prevent exploitation in youth.