Global Leadership

Gary Haugen is CEO and founder of International Justice Mission.

Before founding IJM in 1997, Gary was a human rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, where he focused on crimes of police misconduct. In 1994, he served as the Director of the United Nations’ investigation in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. In this role, he led an international team of lawyers, criminal prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and forensics experts to gather evidence that would eventually be used to bring the perpetrators of the genocide to justice. Gary received a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard University, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

Gary has been recognized by the U.S. State Department as a Trafficking in Persons “Hero” – the highest honor given by the U.S. government for anti-slavery leadership. His work to protect the poor from violence has been featured by Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, the New Yorker, The Times of India, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, the Guardian and National Public Radio, among many other outlets. He is the author of several books, including Good News About Injustice (Intervarsity Press) and, most recently, The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence (Oxford University Press). Gary was invited to share the themes of The Locust Effect at the annual TED Conference in a talk entitled: The hidden reason for poverty the world needs to address now.

Barry serves as IJM’s Chief Information Officer, leading the strategy and teams responsible for strengthening IJM’s technology systems and infrastructure, driving innovation, automating business processes, and enhancing employee performance.

Most recently, Barry held the interim CIO role and before that joined IJM in June 2021 as Vice President, Information Technology Strategy and Operations. He has over 20 years of experience in the technology field, 15 of which have been spent leading IT teams and driving digital transformation efforts. Prior to joining IJM, Barry held IT leadership roles at the National Academy of Sciences, College Board, and Gategroup, where he managed IT infrastructure platforms and oversaw IT modernization efforts globally. Barry holds a dual bachelor’s degree in engineering and computer science from Kingston University in England, as well as a master’s degree in information technology from Virginia Tech.

Barry is married, has two daughters, and has lived in the Washington, D.C., area for the last 23 years. He was born and raised in Ghana and still calls Ghana home. He is very thankful for the work IJM does there and is excited to be a part of the IJM story.

Blair Burns serves as IJM's Chief Program Officer, leading the development and execution of the global program strategy to make justice for people in poverty unstoppable. Blair also oversees the development and drives the execution of a global activation strategy that mobilizes critical centers of global power and the Global Survivor Network to provide the resources and influence necessary for transforming local justice systems.

In previous leadership roles at IJM, Blair directed IJM's casework operations around the world in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, developing intervention strategies and advocating with local and national authorities; he supervised the HQ Field Operations, Aftercare, Investigations and International Church Mobilization departments. Before that, Blair served as Southeast Asia's Vice President of Regional Operations. Blair joined IJM Chennai in 2004, and throughout four and a half years, he led a team to rescue more than 700 people from modern slavery.

Before IJM, Blair worked as an associate lawyer at Bersch, Rhodes & Butler, where his practice focused on business, corporate and elder law. Blair holds a B.A. from James Madison University and a J.D. from Wake Forest University. He lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife, Christina and their three children.

Bill Clark serves as IJM’s Chief Resources Officer developing and leading strategies in collaboration with IJM Regional Presidents to increase global resources to fuel the mission.

Bill has 30 years of leadership experience with expertise in fundraising, brand management, marketing, communications, strategic partnerships, customer service, and operations. Bill has served for 10 years with International Justice Mission leading teams that have pioneered IJM revenue and movement building strategies.

In addition to his work at IJM, Bill has served in executive leadership positions across a broad spectrum of industries including Client Services Group Manager at PDSI Software, Chief of Strategy and Staff at Fuller Seminary, and Chief Advancement Officer at A21.

Bill graduated with honors in Political Science from the University of California at Irvine in 1992 and is currently engaged in a master’s program in conflict analysis and resolution at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Bill lives in California with his wife and two children.

Stacy McMahan serves as Chief Financial Officer at International Justice Mission. She brings 30 years of experience in serving public companies, serving as CFO at nVent (NYSE:NVT), Spectranetics (NASDAQ:SPNC) – acquired by Royal Philips (XAMS: PHIA), and MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA). Previously, she served in financial leadership roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly and Company.

Stacy is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, holds a MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a Certified Management Accountant.

Brad is IJM’s Chief Risk Officer & General Counsel, leading the legal, governance, risk management, security, and compliance teams. He has served IJM in a variety of capacities, beginning as a Legal Fellow in our Kampala, Uganda, office, and progressing to a decade of in-field leadership in our Latin America region. He directed our work in Guatemala as Country Director and later throughout the Northen Triangle area of Central America as Regional Vice President. Immediately prior to stepping into the CRO/GC position, he served as Executive Vice President of Global People Support, providing interim leadership to that division.

Before joining IJM, Brad practiced law for nearly 25 years in New York City and Chicago. He was a litigation partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, and was Senior Vice President and Divisional Counsel at Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley. Brad received his B.A. with honors in Government & International Affairs from Augustana University and his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law. He and his wife, ReJean, live in the Chicago area.

Paloma was born and raised in Mexico and has had a 20+ years career in different areas of Business Management and Human Resources. She is a results-driven leader who is passionate about designing strategy and connecting it to operations. She has a bachelor’s degree in international business and an MBA with a focus in International Management and Human Resources. She began her HR career at General Electric and has worked in both for-profit and NGOs in different countries, including Uganda, Bolivia, Mexico, and Kenya.

Paloma loves tennis, travel, food, music, and reading spiritual growth and leadership books in her spare time. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their daughter.

Ben Webb is the Chief Marketing Officer at International Justice Mission (IJM), where he leads global marketing, communications, and brand strategy. He oversees a unified function that advances IJM’s mission—amplifying the organization’s voice, deepening engagement with supporters, and strengthening alignment across regions.

Ben brings more than 15 years of experience across nonprofit leadership, startups, ministry, and creative consultancy. His passion for justice and storytelling was sparked while serving Roma communities in Bulgaria through grassroots outreach and development initiatives. He later served as Director of Communications for Serve the City in Brussels, where he partnered with EU institutions, ambassadors, and civic leaders to expand volunteer movements across Europe.

Before joining IJM, Ben led global marketing functions at Compassion International, guiding multi-disciplinary teams across digital, innovation, and experience design in more than 30 countries. He’s also spent time in the private sector, helping shape operations and brand strategy in the real estate space. Ben has studied organizational leadership at the Kellogg School of Management and has advised a range of purpose-driven organizations at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and systems change.

Originally from Australia, Ben lives in Colorado with his wife, Jules, and their two children.

Saju Mathew serves as IJM’s Regional President of South Asia. IJM currently has offices in five cities in India, and Saju oversees our work to rescue and secure justice for survivors of trafficking and slavery and to transform the justice system so the poor are protected from violence.

Saju joined IJM in 2008 as the Field Office Director in Chennai, where he led our collaborative casework to rescue families from slavery and pioneered a flagship program to partner with the government to make reforms that will help end slavery in India.

Saju has fourteen years of litigation experience in both federal and state courts working for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. He received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law. Saju lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Anu, and their five children.

Sharon serves as IJM's Regional President of North America, leading the strategy and teams responsible for IJM's constituent, government and corporate partnerships in the United States and Canada.

Sharon has more than 20 years of leadership experience with IJM. Prior to her current role, Sharon managed and led all of IJM’s programs in the field for 10+ years before she began pioneering IJM’s Justice System Strengthening projects. Sharon also led IJM’s anti-trafficking efforts in South Asia and Southeast Asia, including establishing anti-trafficking operations and implementing IJM’s first USAID police training grant in Cambodia. Most recently, as Principal Advisor on Violence Against Women and Children, Sharon led IJM’s center of excellence in addressing violence against children, trafficking, and intimate partner violence, and developed globally applicable best practices for IJM’s extensive programs worldwide.

Sharon received her B.A. with honors in Government & Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She lives in the DC area with her husband and three children.

Andy originally joined IJM in 2011, and in 2019 returned as the Regional President for Africa and Europe. During his career Andy has led teams in a number of different disciplines, sectors and regions.

Andy grew up in Brazil where his parents served as missionaries to indigenous people. After returning and studying in England, Andy led a successful career as a corporate lawyer specializing in sports and media, eventually becoming the global head of business and legal affairs for Endemol Group, the world’s largest independent TV and digital production company. He left Endemol to serve IJM as the Field Office Director for IJM Chennai, India, from 2011 to 2014, leading the team through the innovative Google Intervention Project. The total number of people rescued globally by IJM was doubled within 2 years as the IJM Chennai team pioneered the model of “scaling through partnership”.

Between his engagements with IJM, Andy became Global Director of Governance for VisionFund, the microfinance arm of World Vision, leading Board and Governance policy development with 35 organisations and 7,000 staff around the world. He then served as Chief Executive of Laureus Sport for Good, working with a network of 180 community-based partner organizations in 40 countries to support local change and development through sport. After 4 years leading Laureus Sport for Good, during which it doubled its revenue and partnership network and pioneered impact measurement for sports-based interventions, Andy rejoined IJM in 2019 as the Regional President for Africa and Europe.

Andy is based in London, England with his wife and 2 daughters

Peter Williams serves as IJM’s Regional President for Asia Pacific. Peter began his career as a Crown Prosecutor in Auckland, New Zealand. He began his IJM journey in 2010 as a fellow at IJM Chennai, India, where he provided legal support to IJM attorneys and local government officials to address bonded labor. He later served as Field Office Director in IJM Bangalore, India, where he led efforts to combat bonded labor, overseeing the rescue of more than 1,300 individuals and training over 2,000 government officials. Under his leadership, the Bangalore team became IJM’s first bonded labor Justice System Reform project, pioneering prevalence measurement tools and forging strategic partnerships for lasting impact.

In 2016, Peter became the Country Director for IJM Cambodia, where he advanced anti-trafficking efforts across Southeast Asia. His work included securing convictions, advising governments, and fostering partnerships with key organizations like the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to expand IJM’s global reach.

In 2020, Peter and his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as IJM’s first Principal Advisor for Modern Slavery and later as Vice President for Program Excellence, leading global anti-slavery initiatives and ensuring IJM’s programs achieve the highest standards of impact.

Originally from New Zealand, Peter and his wife, Tammy, along with their two daughters, are preparing to relocate to the Asia Pacific region.

Juan Miguel Rivera serves as IJM’s Regional President for Latin America. Juan Miguel began his journey with IJM in 2016 as Regional Security Manager, based in Guatemala City. In 2017, he relocated to San Salvador, El Salvador, where he led IJM’s assessment of how its model could address the country’s high rates of violence. His leadership resulted in the opening of IJM’s El Salvador office, which has since become a trusted partner in transforming the nation’s citizen security and justice systems.

In 2022, Juan Miguel returned to Guatemala to serve as Regional Vice President for the Northern Triangle Region, overseeing IJM’s work in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. During his tenure, he has become a recognized leader in combating violence against women and children, while fostering strategic partnerships with justice institutions and launching innovative projects to address violence.

Before joining IJM, Juan Miguel worked with international organizations such as Transparency International, Action for Peace, Child Fund, and Peace Corps, focusing on citizenship engagement, citizen security, and community development. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rafael Landivar University, a master’s degree in Development from Universidad Católica de Murcia, Spain, and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.

Juan Miguel and his wife, Veronica, live in Guatemala City with their three children.