After graduating from BYU, Cherstyn lived in Washington, DC for ten years, working for members of both the House and the Senate. After Washington, she gained subsequent experience working with a Political Action Committee (PAC) in California, a PAC in Salt Lake City, then a think tank, The Sutherland Institute, and later joining their governing body, the GFC Foundation as Partner and Government Relations Manager. Cherstyn then joined a trafficking non-profit organization for three years as their Director of Development, and that experience led her and her husband to ultimately create a new non-profit charity called Dahlia’s Hope; a complete aftercare program here in Utah for survivors of sex trafficking. Cherstyn has served as a delegate in her local precinct, as Chair of her local high school’s Community Council, and on the board of her children’s charter school. She and her husband, Matt, reside in Pleasant Grove and are the parents of six children.
Board
|
|
Matt Stockwell
Founding Board Member Community Relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Directors
Ally Beames, CTRS
Director of Recreational Therapy |
|
Clinical Team
Camery Victor, LCSW
Clinical Therapist |
Kristi Franknberger, CTRS
Recreational Therapist |
Emilie Minshew
Case Manager |
Support Team
Camilla Gibson
Director of Marketing |
Madison Fox
Volunteer Coordinator |
Contractors
Brayan Meza-Ahumada
Accounting |
Nicole Brinkerhoff
Grants Manager |
Colleen Merced
Grant Writer |
Sarah Shelden
×Sarah Shelden is vice president, corporate affairs for XPO Logistics, Inc., a top 10 global logistics provider. She’s responsible for internal communications for 50,000 US employees, including labor communications, as well as public affairs programs, stakeholder engagement and sustainability initiatives.
Prior to joining XPO, Sarah served as senior director in Burson-Marsteller’s Public Affairs and Crisis Practice and a member of the firm’s national labor relations and workplace communications team. During her 13-year tenure at Burson-Marsteller, she developed and managed programs related to contract negotiations, corporate campaigns, employee strikes and lockouts, third-party activist demonstrations, class-action litigation and corporate reputation management. She’s also managed communications programs for reduction-in-force announcements, facility closures, workforce restructuring and change management initiatives.
Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Sarah served as a press and legislative aide on Capitol Hill. She has a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies/Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Brigham Young University.
Heather Lambert
×Heather joined Dahlia's Hope in 2019 as a Development Director, bringing her over-20-years of experience as an independent and corporate consultant, director and manager. She has coached, mentored and trained hundreds of business professional toward great success. Heather has also personally served on several community education boards, as the PTA President of elementary and middle school, as well as various school community councils, with a mission to make our schools a better place for students to learn and to be safe. Heather is thrilled to be working for Dahlia's Hope and to combine her personal interest in supporting children with her professional experience, now spreading awareness and opportunities for individuals and organizations to support survivors of trafficking in every aspect of their healing journey. Heather and her husband, Scott, are the parents of three children and reside in Draper, Utah.
Layne Thompson
×Layne Thompson is a committed husband and father that is dedicated to his faith. He is a Realtor & business owner that has been instrumental in the success of numerous sales organizations. He currently serves as a board member & director of volunteer opportunities for the non-profit Follow The Flag. He learned the value of hard work in the small rural town where he was raised and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from UVU. His passions are to create unity, relieve suffering, and bring hope to others.
Caroline Marriott
×Caroline is our board member over the clinical program here at Dahlia’s Hope and holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Utah and a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Columbia University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who describes herself as a behaviorist that loves to empower human trafficking survivors to choose and create a life worth living. She appreciates seeing the confidence survivors gain through processing past traumatic events, advancing their education, learning professional and life skills, experiencing effective relationships, regulating their emotions, and effectively tolerating distress in their lives.
Before joining the Mental Health profession, she worked for 16 years in Washington, D.C. in the Federal Government, Non-profit and Private sectors specializing in strategic planning, performance management, organization efficiency and business process reengineering. She found this experience helps her in therapeutic sessions to understand a survivor’s desire to set and achieve goals, succeed in their personal and professional relationships, and create happy relationships for themselves. Specifically, her business experience helps her understand and effectively target the program development needs of the Dahlia’s Hope organization. She is honored and extremely happy to be involved in the clinical side of Dahlia’s Hope – an organization that truly wants to make a difference in their human trafficking survivors’ lives.
Besides the impactful relationships Caroline enjoys in Utah, living here allows her to ski the greatest snow on earth, ride horses in the mountains, and enjoy the beautiful, cool summer nights!
Steve Lindsay
×Steve serves as Chairman of the Board. In that capacity he brings business perspective and accountability to stay true to our mission, while executing our strategy to increase the number of survivors we help to heal, increase our capacity to help survivors heal, deliver high quality professional care to survivors, and to be effective financial stewards. He draws on experience as a business executive over the past 25 years leading People (Human Resources), Operations, Sales and Relationship Management functions at public companies including FranklinCovey (FC), UnitedHealth Group (UHG), and HealthEquity (HQY).
Steve grew up in Minnesota among a lot of great people doing good. His formal service to others began in 1990 in Guayaquil, Ecuador as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has continued in a variety of capacities including board positions in the Salt Lake chapter of SHRM, and informal service to the Utah Foodbank and The Road Home, organizations that give hope and resources to individuals and families in their journey to become self-reliant. He met Tim Ballard, Founder of Operation Underground Railroad in 2015 and learned about the global pandemic of sex trafficking. When approached to serve with Dahlia’s Hope to help sex traffic survivors heal, he and his family felt it was time to engage formally to stop trafficking and help the millions affected heal through high quality, expert care, and love.
Matthew Anderson
×Matthew Anderson is the IT and Web Administrator for Dahlia's Hope. He donates his time to develop our website and keep the technical side of things running in the background. Matthew has a Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho and a Master's degree from the University of Utah. He currently works as product manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he manages several web, mobile, and voice products.
Matthew has over 10 years of experience building websites both in his professional career and while working side jobs through his company Blue Cardigan Design. He loves technology, checklists, and finding solutions to problems. When he's not working at a computer, he loves exercising, reading, movies, and spending time with his wife and two children.
Christopher Anderson
×Christopher Anderson is CFO for Dahlia’s Hope and a founding board member. He holds dual licenses in tax preparation (EA), and investment advising (IAR). Chris founded an accounting, and wealth advising firm in 2007. His clients rely on him for his sound financial and tax advice to keep their companies solvent and stable. With this experience Chris serves as Dahlia’s Hope’s number cruncher and works to ensure that we always have healthy finances. He is also instrumental in making sure that your financial donations go to helping our survivors and limit overhead costs. This is vital to our mission statement of providing aftercare to as many sex trafficking survivors we can. Chris is passionate about this work and hopes that you can help us make a difference in the lives of our survivors, whether financially or with your time.
Bacall Hincks
×Bacall Hincks, LCSW is the Chief Clinical Officer for Dahlia’s Hope. She has her Masters of Social Work and her Bachelor’s of Psychology from University of Utah and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Utah. Bacall has over 15 years’ experience working in the social work field, specifically with children and families that have experienced trauma. She has spent the past 6 years working with kinship families in Utah as a program director and was drawn to Dahlia’s Hope by seeing children in kinship care not getting the needed support after returning to a safe environment and realized she wanted to support programs that filled in this gap in services. Bacall is excited to be part of a comprehensive aftercare program for survivors of sex trafficking in Utah.
Bacall is currently trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, and Parent Child Interaction Therapy and believes that it is important to take a trauma informed approach in all the work that she does. Bacall values relationships and the growth that can be obtained through building safe spaces to develop relationships. Through her work with kinship care, Bacall has gained a knowledge of program development and advocacy that she hopes to bring to support the mission and values of Dahlia’s Hope.
When outside of work, Bacall loves to travel and spend time with her family. Her family loves to camp and spend time outdoors, but Bacall also enjoys just spending time at home. She finds that the balance in being outside and enjoying friends and family provides peace and support.
Ally Beames
×Ally graduated from BYU-Idaho with a degree in Recreation Management. She is passionate about recreational therapy and believes it to be an effective and valuable tool for healing.
Throughout her schooling, she worked at a disability agency where she ran the center's activity program. During her summers off from school, she lived in the mountains as a camp counselor. It was at this camp she realized the importance of healthy recreation and the positive impact it can have on a person's mental health.
Shortly after finishing her schooling, she completed an internship at Scenic View Academy- A non-profit transitional school for young adults with autism and other learning differences. After her internship, she worked at a nonprofit summer camp for a short time. She eventually ended up at the Utah State Hospital where worked as a recreational therapist for the youth unit. She has also been involved in many volunteer organizations including the Special Olympics and the American Cancer Society.
Ally has many years of experience helping individuals with trauma, mental health challenges, and physical limitations. She is inspired by the resilience she has witnessed over the years from those she has worked with. She loves the proverb "The body heals with play, the mind heals with laughter, and the spirit heals with joy" and tries to incorporate play, laughter, and joy into her interventions.
During her free time, you can find Ally climbing mountains with her husband, drinking Mountain Dew, and riding her mini motorcycle.
Ann Anderson
×Ann is a founding board member for Dahlia’s Hope and she oversees our therapeutic farm. Ann has been passionate about helping others from an early age, and is all about spreading love wherever she goes. When the opportunity came to be a part of Dahlia's Hope, Ann was excited to get to work. Growing up in upstate New York in farming country and working on her family’s farm, Ann was excited to use these same skills and bring them to the Dahlia's Hope Therapeutic Farm. Connecting to nature and working hard has been something that Ann holds dear. It has been through hard and persevering work of her own that she has overcome her own challenges.
Throughout her schooling, she worked at a disability agency where she ran the center's activity program. During her summers off from school, she lived in the mountains as a camp counselor. It was at this camp she realized the importance of healthy recreation and the positive impact it can have on a person's mental health.
After meeting Cherstyn and Matt Stockwell, and realizing the great need there was to found an aftercare organization for sex trafficking survivors, Dahlia's Hope was created. The strength to escape human trafficking is monumental, but to get help and improve one’s life after such trauma is hard work. To see women and men dream for a better life and then go out and make it happen is... POWERFUL. Ann is all about changing the conversation in the world about sex trafficking. We can only stop such injustice if we rise up and lift one another. Beautiful things are possible. Ann is a witness to it.
Ann and her husband Chris reside in Pleasant Grove and are proud parents to three children.
Nicole Brinkerhoff
×Nicole joined Dahlia's Hope in Oct. 2020 as a grant writer. Nicole earned a Bachelor and Master's degree in Marriage, Family and Human development and a second Master's degree in Public Administration with an emphasis on non-profit management from the BYU Marriott School of Management in 2012. Between degrees she moved to Alaska and worked for Wells Fargo as a traveling banker for 3 years. She also lived in Maryland and worked at The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC as a research fellow. Nicole has worked as an executive director and program director for multiple non-profits that promote marriage and family, including The National Organization for Marriage, The Ruth Institute, The Sutherland Institute and SA Lifeline, a sexual addiction recovery organization. She is passionate about the non-profit space and is excited to be able to use her education and experience to further the mission of Dahlia's Hope. She and her husband Michael live in Bicknell, a small town in southern Utah, and are living the life of her dreams with her 4 children on their small homestead.
Camery Victor, LCSW
×Camery Victor, LCSW is a clinical therapist for Dahlia’s Hope. She has a Master of Social Work from the University of Utah and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Utah. Camery is passionate about working with trauma, addiction, grief/loss, and mental health. Camery has previously worked in a domestic violence program as well as residential and outpatient addiction recovery programs. Camery feels honored to be a part of each client's healing journey and is excited about the mission of Dahlia's Hope.
Camery is currently trained in EMDR. She also incorporates IFS, ACT, CBT, DBT, MI, and creative and expressive tools in therapy. She strongly believes that it is important to take a client-centered and trauma-informed approach in the work that she does. Camery values cultivating safe and inclusive spaces within individual and group therapy.
Outside of the work, Camery enjoys anything artsy and spending time with her loved ones. She likes to interact with animals, especially cats. Camery often appreciates the beauty in nature where she can be mindful and find peace.
Madison Fox
×Madison Fox is the Program Assistant for Dahila's Hope. She has a bachelor's degree in Public Health from Brigham Young University. Madison has spent years doing work with adolescents at New Haven Residential Treatment Center. She has worked as a case manager for the homeless population and there gained an understanding of the way trauma can affect individuals. Madison has also worked as a school counselor, a mental health case manager for the police, and a disease investigator for the health department. She is passionate about trauma-informed care and wants to use her background and to create an inclusive and understanding space at Dahlia's Hope.
Outside of work, Madison loves to travel, read, do outdoor activities, and spend time with her cat and dog. Madison also welcomed her first child in 2022 and is learning and loving to be a mom.
Amanda Meyer
×Amanda is passionate about nonprofit and community-driven solutions. She serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Dahlia’s Hope.
Prior to joining Daliah’s Hope, Amanda oversaw the daily operations, human resources, and financial compliance at State Policy Network. She also led a nation-wide network of senior operations leaders where she facilitated educational, professional development, and networking opportunities.
Amanda Meyer is a graduate of the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University’s Romney Institute of Public Management. She is also a Certified Professional in Human Resource Management through the Society for Human Resource Management.
In her free time, you can find Amanda at getting her hands dirty in the garden, snacking on buttery popcorn at the local Cinemark, or cheering for her three eye-rolling athletes as a proud mom.
Camilla Gibson
×Camilla joined Dahlia’s Hope as the Marketing Manager in 2023, after over ten years in a corporate setting. During that time, she also volunteered within multiple organizations assisting human trafficking and domestic violence survivors, including on the board as the communications director of SHEROES United. Being a part of spreading the word about the global human trafficking crisis and doing what she can to promote change is something that Camilla is very passionate about. She has followed the growth of Dahlia’s Hope over the last couple of years and is excited to officially join with the team in furthering their mission.
In her free time, Camilla writes as much as she can. She considers herself a collector of stories, especially ones of transformation, about those who have overcome their circumstances and are now creating a space for others. Her latest project, Disarming the Dictator, a book about Briell Decker and her journey of healing after escaping the FLDS cult, is set to be released in the fall of 2023. Briell’s story and others like it, including Faith’s and the creation of Dahlia’s Hope has always been an inspiration for Camilla and pushed her to want to do more.
Colleen Merced
×Colleen Merced has a BS in Psychology, education in Social Work and a MS in leadership and development. She has 22 years’ experience working with families and youth who have been victims or survivors of child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking. She has over 16 years’ experience writing grants and overseeing finances for non-profit management. She started her career in NYC working with a street outreach program that worked with youth that were high-risk and associated with gangs and violence. She then went on to be the program Director of a rape crisis/Domestic violence program for 11 years, where she helped start the child advocacy center in Otsego County. For the past 9 years she has been at McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center as the Associate Director, becoming the Executive Director in 2018. She oversees the Onondaga County Task Force on Human Trafficking and oversees the Multidisciplinary team at McMahon Ryan. She has dedicated her life to serving victims and volunteers her time to helping the disadvantaged.
Emilie Minshew
×Emilie Minshew is a case manager for Dahlia's Hope. She graduated in 2021 from Utah Valley University with a BA in philosophy, and double minor in peace and justice studies, and criminal justice. In December of 2021, Emilie began working as a resettlement caseworker to assist refugees fleeing the crisis in Afghanistan. Emilie enjoys the complexities of casework and building meaningful relationships with her clients. She has a passion for working with vulnerable populations and empowering survivors.
In her free time, Emilie enjoys spending time with her husband, two cats, and two dogs. She loves all things crafty, but especially crochet.
Ali Martin
×Ali is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. She has been practicing as a professional counselor since 2012. She graduated from University of Phoenix with a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, having also completed the Master’s program for Educational Counseling.
Ali has specialized training in substance use/addiction, trauma, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, mindfulness, grief and loss, motivational interviewing, psychodrama and is also a certified interventionist. Ali also specializes in issues that impact the LGBTQ community.
She believes that the keys to living well are to develop a sense of self love and learning to live life authentically. She also believes that trauma work is vital to the healing process. Ali utilizes many therapeutic techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Relationship Trauma Repair, among others.
Ali enjoys traveling, spending time in the mountains, photography, creating resin art and spending time with her wife and beautiful 5 year old daughter.