Our Board
Fidencio Rivera
AATN President and Board Chair
Fidencio is currently Senior Director, Partnership Relations, with CoreCivic, leading partnership relations on the U.S. Marshals Service account at the company. Fidencio served over 26 years with the U.S. Marshals Service before retiring in June 2017 as the Chief Deputy, U.S. Marshal in the District of Arizona. Fidencio also held the position of Inspector General for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which was responsible for fraud and employee misconduct investigations, DES internal audits, security programs, and appellate services.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona, a Master’s in Management, and a Master’s in Education with an emphasis in Human Relations. Fidencio has participated in numerous leadership programs and received numerous awards and recognitions during his tenure with the U.S. Marshals Service. In addition to his service on the AATN board, he is also on the Executive Advisory Committee for the U.S. Marshals Survivor Benefit Fund. He also served as a Seton Catholic High School advisory board member.
Valentina Restrepo-Montoya
AATN Vice President
Valentina Restrepo-Montoya, Esq. is the Executive Director of Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS), a non-profit law firm serving vulnerable youth and trafficking survivors in Maricopa and Pima Counties. She and her colleagues assist women and children with family law matters, criminal history repair, and immigration applications.
Prior to joining ALWAYS, Valentina was a Mental Health Attorney at The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. Before that, she was an Assistant Public Defender in Birmingham, Alabama. Valentina began her career at The Southern Poverty Law Center after graduating from Berkeley Law. She is a proud Colombian-American woman who is driven by her belief that all people deserve the same opportunities.
Nancy Baldwin
Co-Founder and AATN Treasurer
Nancy is a Co-Founder of AATN, along with Marilyn Seymann and the late John Whiteman. The trio saw the need to consolidate efforts around Arizona to fight human trafficking and address prevention, community involvement, male engagement, and demand. She assists the AATN Program Directors in their day-to-day efforts and provides oversight of the organization’s financial affairs.
As the Executive Director and a Trustee of the Hickey Family Foundation, Nancy is the primary liaison between HFF and all external entities. She manages and coordinates all administration, operations, and activities of the Foundation.
Nancy holds a B.S. in Business Administration, an A.A.S. in Marketing and A.A.S. in Management. In 2011, Nancy received her certification in nonprofit management from the Nonprofit Management Institute, ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Innovation.
Barbara Strachan
AATN Secretary
Barb recently returned to Catholic Charities Community Services as the Manger of DIGNITY Services/Diversion Programs. These programs address both the supply and demand sides of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in AZ.
Prior to returning to the Diversion Programs, she was the Senior Associate of the Social Impact Programs for the Girl Scouts AZ Cactus-Pine Council for more than 16 years. She was responsible for reaching girls in some of the challenging areas of our communities including group homes, girls whose parents are/were incarcerated, justice involved girls, girls in refugee programs and several Boys and Girls Clubs, community centers and schools where more than 95% of the children are on free and reduced lunch. Girls in these programs were given the same opportunities as girls in traditional volunteer led troops; the only difference is there are a cadre of part time staff, interns, and volunteers to create the consistent safe place and safe space for girls to thrive.
Barb has come full circle. She was the second graduate of the DIGNITY Residential Program in 2000. In 2001 she went to work for Catholic Charities DIGNITY Programs as an intake specialist, then a case manager, and finally the supervisor. The Diversion Program is for people who are involved in the sex industry. Approximately 69% of the clients are between the ages of 18-28 years old. Much of what Barb learned at the Girl Scouts applies to working with this younger population. She is excited to return to Catholic Charities DIGNITY Programs.
Todd Larson
AATN Board Member
Todd Larson is the Director of the What You Do Matters (WYDM) Institute focused on training criminal justice personnel across the United States. Prior to this role, he was the Associate Vice President of Workplace and Public Safety for a large Arizona Hospital System and was responsible for Security, Emergency Management, Central Communications, Access Control, Military Partnership, Simulations Training Center, Trauma Outreach, Injury Prevention, and the Forensic Nursing Program across six hospitals and over 100 other locations.
Prior to working in Healthcare, Todd retired from the Scottsdale (AZ) Police Department after 22 years of service. He spent the majority of his career investigating felony crimes within the Special Investigations Section, Violent Crimes Unit, Federal DEA Phoenix Task Force and served over ten years on the Scottsdale Police Department SWAT Team as an operator, sniper, and team leader. Todd has authored numerous court orders and warrants as well as serving as an instructor for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Scottsdale Police Department, and The Arizona Narcotics Officers Association (ANOA) Annual Conferences.
Todd is a graduate of The Advisory Board’s High Performing Leadership Fellowship, The Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command, and is a Certified Force Science Specialist. Todd has authored several published articles involving police training, tourniquet research, TBI research, and healthcare technology. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northern Arizona University, a Master’s Degree in Leadership with Emphasis on Crisis Management and Disaster Preparedness from Grand Canyon University, and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Xavier Walker
AATN Board Member
Xavier is the Vice President of Donor Relations for NPH-USA which provides home and family for 7,600 orphaned and disadvantaged children across Latin America and the Caribbean. Everyday Xavier oversees a staff team and creates strategies to raise $6,000,000 annually.
Xavier is a proud Wildcat for life, and a graduate of the NAACP NextGen Fellowship program, active in his local branch. He is also a Guest Lecturer at California Polytechnic State University.
Xavier lives to give, and he began his career at the YMCA of Southern Arizona. He has served numerous nonprofit organizations as a board member or programmatic volunteer, including the American Cancer Society, Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona, Susan G. Komen Arizona, Tucson Urban League and TUSD-Legacy of Excellence. He also currently serves on the board of the Educational Enrichment Foundation, and the Tucson Unified School District Foundation. He is also the Executive Director of the Walker Family Fund which distributes charitable contributions to non-profit organizations that better the quality of life for children and other marginalized populations across the United States and around the World.
Marilyn Seymann
AATN Co-Founder and Emeritus Board Member
Marilyn, along with Nancy Baldwin and the late John Whiteman, is a co-founder of Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network. AATN’s prevention program, Community School Initiative (CSI) was created out of Marilyn’s love and concern for our community’s most vulnerable youth – those who are often homeless and many of whom attend Children First Leadership Academy, a school established for this population.
Marilyn is respected nationally for her insightful guidance of both private and public institutions. She is Chief Executive Officer of Caring Capital, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in creating innovative solutions for community collaboration, legacy creation, and the compassionate use of capital. Prior to forming Caring Capital, Marilyn was the CEO of the Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation, which emphasizes issues related to social justice and vulnerable populations and founded the Arizona Foundation for Women.
Committed to her community, Marilyn has taken leadership roles in a wide range of non-profit and charitable organizations and has received a multitude of awards for her civic engagement.
AATN Staff
John Meza
CEO and President
John Meza serves as the President and CEO of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network (AATN), leading statewide efforts to combat human trafficking through education, prevention, and victim support initiatives.
With over 30 years of experience in public safety, Meza previously served as Chief of Police for the Mesa Police Department, where he prioritized community engagement, public trust, and employee wellness. He was instrumental in implementing innovative programs, including the CompStat approach to data-driven policing, to enhance department effectiveness.
Before joining AATN, Meza held the position of Inspector General for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, overseeing efforts to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud, waste, and abuse, while ensuring the security of all DES facilities.
Now leading AATN, Meza continues his commitment to public safety and victim advocacy, working to build strong partnerships and expand efforts to create an Arizona where no one is bought, sold or exploited.
Nick Lembo
Program Director, Just.Men.Arizona
Nick is the Program Director of Just.Men.Arizona, an important AATN effort to engage men in conversations to understand the inherent harms sex buying causes individuals and communities. As the Just.Men.Arizona statewide Director, he helps disrupt demand by recruiting men as volunteers to engage buyers during their attempts to arrange dates and engage them in these important discussions about human rights and dignity.
Since 2012, Nick has been involved in standing against Human Trafficking with various organizations. He is an Emeritus Board Member of Shared Hope International and also founding Board Member of the Rebecca Bender Initiative. Nick has become networked across the nation with anti-trafficking organizations, speaking to advocates at national conferences sponsored by Shared Hope International, and presenting in state and regional meetings.
Ashlynn Rooney
Program Director, SAFE Action Project
Ashlynn is the Program Director of SAFE (Saving All From Exploitation), an initiative in Arizona aimed at training all levels of industry professionals across the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors to identify, report, and prevent human trafficking. A proud graduate of Arizona State University, she earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in both psychology as well as family and human development while excelling in Barrett, the Honors College, completing her studies in May of 2022.
Ashlynn’s academic path has provided her with a unique perspective, which bridges both scientific research and hands-on fieldwork. As a leader in the fight against human trafficking here in Arizona she is able to highlight the importance of utilizing research and practical intervention to address this issue within the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors.
Outside of her professional duties at AATN, Ashlynn finds joy in travel, hiking, and discovering new and exciting spots in Arizona.
Stacey Sutherland
Program Director, Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking (TRUST); Public Information Officer, AATN
Stacey is the Program Director of Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking (TRUST), AATN’s premier program that provides training, resources, and collaborative engagement to engaged community members, companies and organizations fighting human trafficking. Stacey has dedicated almost a decade of her life to battling modern-day slavery by training thousands of first responders, victim-facing agency staff members, and medical personnel to respond and help victims. She uses her diverse background as a former first responder (EMS), victim advocate and parent to impact the hearts and minds of those she trains and works with.
She has dedicated much of her career to working with rural communities to build local capacity to serve victims of human trafficking. Stacey began her work in the anti-trafficking field by building a rural regional human trafficking program for the Pinal County Attorney’s Office which focused on collaboration between survivors, stakeholders, and community members.
Stacey is a strong leader within the sector, making her a dynamic advocate for the anti-trafficking field. She has extensive experience as a grant writer focused on nonprofit and law enforcement anti-trafficking funding.
Sutherland is a member of the Phoenix Human Trafficking Task Force and is a member of the Childhelp Human Trafficking Advisory Group. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Political Science from Arizona State University. Stacey also is a board member for several organizations including public safety, officer memorials and child advocacy. In her spare time, she focuses on being the best mom possible to her three kids.
Shannon Tiffany
Program Director, Community Schools Initiative (CSI)
Shannon Tiffany has been working with Marilyn Seymann and CSI for the past 4-years along with being the TRUST Coordinator for AATN. Shannon has a Bachelors’ Degree in Marketing and Communications. She also has a Masters of Arts in Organizational Management.
Prior to working for AATN, Shannon worked for Saint Francis Xavier School as a Script Manager handling the fundraising program for the school. She also worked for the Arizona-Mexico Commission for the State of Arizona. There, she was the liaison between the coordinators in Arizona and Sonora and coordinated Plenary Sessions between the two States on behalf of the Governor of Arizona.
Shannon also worked as a Special Projects Manager for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. There, she coordinated all special events, maintained budgets, marketing and logistical details for the events. She also worked for American Express as a Human Resources/Organizational Development Team Assistant. Shannon has been involved and has supported various non-profit organizations including Youth At Risk, Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, Foundation for Blind Children, Free Arts for Abused Children and Home Fur Good.
