This post was adapted from a special email announcement sent by LCHT Executive Director Amanda Finger on August 6, 2026.
Today, I write to share some significant news about leadership transitions at the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking. After ten years as our Development and Communications Director, Craig Nason has accepted a new opportunity to lead philanthropic efforts with a local mental health provider. On behalf of our small team, and with my co-founder lenses, I am taking a moment to share with our LCHT community a bit about the legacy that Craig leaves behind.
The role that development staff play for nonprofits is absolutely vital – they communicate missions of nonprofits to many different people and industries, translating how your resources can truly have an impact. With a complex issue like human trafficking, it’s an absolute art and science for how we share our impact, how we ask for what we need. And the turnover for these positions averages less than two years across the U.S., a major hurdle for the individuals and the organizations they serve.
In 2014, LCHT had just wrapped up dissemination of our signature research endeavor, The Colorado Project, and had closed out the grant funding that supported that project. By that Fall, we were down to one full-time employee and decided to focus on strategic planning – our second hire was a full-time trainer, and our third hire in 2016 was Craig to sustain and grow LCHT toward the vision we so fervently believe in. Since then, Craig has been my right-hand partner in growing an organization where staff (11 of us now!) feel supported and can grow and sustain their own careers.
He is a tireless champion for the nonprofit sector and for bringing awareness to the human rights issues of our time. He has helped us craft our approach to responsible storytelling, centering lived experiences in a way that invites people to listen deeply to the ways that we all can be more empathetic to survivors. He has also guided us to be proactive in preventing violence (not simply listening to traumatic details or stories of heroes and villains). I hope you can see that Craig’s leadership role was never just about fundraising; he was an integral part of our team, helping build an anti-trafficking movement across our state.
As Craig transitions to his next great adventure, I asked him to share a few reflections on his time with LCHT:
“It has been the honor of my career to help grow resources for LCHT and this critical mission in Colorado. I am beyond fortunate to have worked alongside wise leaders, brilliant colleagues, and survivors who are the heartbeat of this movement. My faith and support of this organization carry on.
To every person and organization that chose to step toward LCHT and the issue of human trafficking with your time, talent, and resources—you are helping create a world free from exploitation. I encourage you to continue toward that dream with LCHT.”
— Craig Nason
If you’d like to send Craig a note of appreciation for his leadership or how he made an impact on your connection to our mission, please leave a video/audio message here by August 17th that we’ll share with him on his last day, August 21st.
With this staff change, we are beginning our search for a new Development Director, to carry the baton forward into LCHT’s future! For details and instructions on how to apply, please view the detailed job description here. We encourage you to share this opportunity with your networks, too.
With gratitude,
Amanda Finger
Executive Director, Co-Founder