We were lucky to catch up with Jared Miller and Stephanie Lamar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jared Miller and Stephanie Lamar, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Eliminating the transportation barrier within the world of human trafficking has had and will continue to have profound impacts on the way counter human trafficking is accomplished globally. Freedom Aviation Network, we believe that every individual, victim and survivor of human trafficking deserve unbridled access to a new life where they are able to thrive. Offering survivors of human trafficking transportation through private aviation shows them how infinitely valued and important they are.
Both Stephanie and Jared have past histories where the people who could have intervened did not, and combined experience in human services and aviation they came together to make an impact on an industry that serves the most forgotten of society. This effort is deeply personal to both founders, and we want to expand this opportunity to serve those who have been victimized to a greater audience of people who may have not otherwise had the opportunity to participate in the counter human trafficking effort. With a mutual love of aviation we are excited to educate aviators and invite them into this work with us. Volunteer pilots are a core part of our mission and we want to serve them to the best of our ability. As training increases in the pilot community, we can serve more survivors or VIP’s as we call them at Freedom Aviation Network.
Jared Miller and Stephanie Lamar, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Jared is an entrepreneur at heart who seeks out opportunities to create innovative solutions to modern challenges. He has served with international development, government, missions, and nonprofit agencies in a variety of capacities all over the world. He has established medical clinics, identified and brought aid to people living with HIV/AIDS in rural villages, supported church and mission development, led youth and family services initiatives, rescued survivors of human trafficking, and actively serves on an international disaster response team. All of this has taken him to 34 countries and counting where he has seen desperation and destruction, but also immense joy.
Over the last 5 years, he has led the operations and served on the board of Rescue 1 Global where he was introduced to the ever-growing blight that is human trafficking. In 2020, he recognized that survivors do not have adequate access to safe transportation when leaving their situation, and that anti-human trafficking agencies often struggle to secure efficient and rapid transportation for survivors when needed most. Discerning that private aviation may hold the key to this dilemma, he set out to become a private pilot. Shortly into his training, he connected with Stephanie Lamar and shared the vision to counter human trafficking by providing a transportation solution for survivors and their advocates. Since then, a network of aviators has been assembled and lives have been changed through these efforts. In the summer of 2022, he and Stephanie decided it was time to establish an organization dedicated to the safe, efficient, and rapid transportation of survivors and their advocates. Thus Freedom Aviation Network was born.
Stephanie began flying in 1996 and is currently a First Officer with GoJet Airlines/United Express. She holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education, and is a wife and proud mother of three exceptional young men, two of which she continues to homeschool.
In 2020, Stephanie started a pilot program flying for Rescue 1 Global which has now grown into Freedom Aviation Network. She flies and organizes flights that transport survivors of human trafficking, along with their rescue volunteers, who are taking their first important steps to recovery. “At first, I was overwhelmed by the idea that we couldn’t save everyone, and that as many people as we fly to safety, there would always be those left behind. Then Jesus reminded me that he is the shepherd, and he will leave the 99 to get the one. So, we at Freedom Aviation Network are here ‘For the One.’” Each flight carries someone to safety. One at a time we are making a difference.
Prior to her work with Freedom Aviation Network, Stephanie was Board President of Nashville Peacemakers for three years working side-by-side with community activist, Clemmie Greenlee
Despite a lot of people in aviation and in anti-human trafficking originally questioning if this could be done, Jared and Stephanie went out and pursued every resource to create a sustainable system that has not been done before. To date we have transported 80 passengers, and onboarded 134 pilots in 38 states. We are incredibly proud of the work that has been accomplished in Freedom Aviation Network, and are extremely grateful to the volunteers and supporters that have made this possible.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
In 2011, when Jared was in his freshman year at Lipscomb University, he was the swim coach of Stephanie’s son. We stayed connected through the years, and in 2020, Stephanie saw on social media that Jared was becoming a private pilot. She reached out, and they began talking about the reasons behind his pursuits in aviation. Jared was looking for a way to solve a problem with transportation in the anti human trafficking world and thought aviation may hold the key. Stephanie has a CFI, offered to help and they decided starting a volunteer pilot organization may be the answer.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Jared and I both work full time, but since the beginning we have not had to turn down a single flight. Somehow we have found a way to serve each and every survivor. God has provided for this organization at every step, from us getting our nonprofit status in 2 weeks, to having donors step up and pay for last minute tickets for a survivor. We do struggle with the time it takes to plan and manage flights, the lack of secure technology, and having to build something from scratch and lack of funding to allow even one of us to put in a full time effort into this organization. It’s hard to train volunteers, when we don’t have time set aside just for FAN. Despite all of the challenges the mission is being accomplished.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.freedomaviationnetwork.org
- Instagram: freedomaviationnetwork
- Facebook: Freedom Aviation Network
Image Credits
Brian Siskind took picture 6&7