About Us

Our Team

Kristen A. Jenson, MA

Founder and CEO

About

Kristen

Kristen is the founder of Defend Young Minds and best-selling author of Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids and Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.: A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds. Kristen is the CEO of Glen Cove Press LLC and the executive producer of the Brain Defense: Digital Safety curriculum. She is a leader in the Safeguard Alliance of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Kristen received her bachelor’s degree in English Literature and her master’s degree in Organizational Communication. She is a mother of three and grandmother of two, and currently lives with her husband and awfully cute dog in Washington State.

Vanessa Gardner

Executive Assistant and Content Editor

About

Vanessa

Vanessa is the Executive Assistant to Kristen Jenson and Blog Editor at Defend Young Minds. She is the mother of two and spent 6 years as a formal educator and many more volunteering with children. She was introduced to Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids when her children were small. She has seen the wisdom and ease of starting tough conversations with children early and often and has been an advocate of doing so for many years. She loves helping parents understand the importance of these conversations and teaching them ways in which to get started. Vanessa has a BA in Elementary Education.

Bianca Noah

Curriculum Coordinator

About

Bianca

Bianca Noah is the Curriculum Coordinator for Defend Young Minds and is passionate about educating parents and children about the dangers of the digital world. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Finance and a minor in Economics. She lives in Washington with her husband and seven children. Whenever she can find a free moment she enjoys running and reading a good book.

Sarah Marsden

Social Media Specialist

About

Sarah

Sarah Marsden is the President and Co-Founder of Bloomify Media. She is a Social Media Specialist for Defend Young Minds. Sarah launched her career in New York City, working for multiple PR & Social Media agencies in both the B2B and B2C spaces. She has worked in managerial positions, and lead out on social initiatives for clients in various industries including telecom, healthcare, professional services, technology and hospitality. Sarah is a wife and mom of three. She loves traveling, shopping, decorating, and the Red Sox.

John Jenson

Operations Manager

About

John

John Jenson is the Operations Manager at Defend Young Minds, among the many other hats he wears! He has been a software engineer for the past 30 years working on a variety of projects for companies large and small. He has worked to build medical equipment, satellite communications, CAD systems, and scientific test equipment. But he’ll tell you his most important work by far is helping Kristen and her team to help parents protect their children from the dangers of pornography.

Teri Harshberger

Shipping, Bulk Sales, and Bookkeeping

About

Teri

Teri Harshberger handles Shipping, Bulk Sales, and Bookkeeping at Defend Young Minds. She has a BA in Business Administration. She enjoys crafting, camping, cooking, decorating, reupholstering furniture and attempts to garden. She lives in Pasco, Washington with her husband, 3 kids and dog.

Advisory Council

Vauna Davis

Founder and Director of Reach 10, Chair for The Safeguard Alliance of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation

About

Vauna

Vauna Davis is the founder and director of Reach 10 and chair for The Safeguard Alliance of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. She is passionate about helping parents talk to their kids about pornography so they don’t have to live with the consequences of not talking. She has been involved in the cause opposing pornography for many years in her current roles and in her former roles as director of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography and the Outreach and Education Coordinator here at Defend Young Minds. Vauna received an MA in Communications from BYU and lives with her husband, Michael, in Springville, Utah. They enjoy spending time with their grown-up children and cute grandkids. She loves yard work – it gets her away from her desk!

Sam Black

VP of Business Development at Covenant Eyes

About

Sam

Sam Black is a vice president at Covenant Eyes Internet Accountability, and the author of The Porn Circuit: Understand Your Brain and Break Porn Habits in 90 Days. He joined the Covenant Eyes team in 2007 after 18 years as a journalist, and has edited 16 books on the impact of pornography and how to protect our families. Sam is a frequent speaker for family and men’s events.

Dawn Hawkins

CEO of National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)

About

Dawn

As Executive Director of National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Mrs. Hawkins has developed a national strategy uniting conservative, women’s rights, child advocacy and religious groups, including a bipartisan political leadership, to work together raising awareness of the pandemic of harm from pornography. Her initiatives have led to sweeping policy changes of policies that foster exploitation for targets such as Google, Verizon and the Department of Defense. She has appeared on many local and national television programs, including Fox & Friends, CNN and Good Morning America. She regularly authors articles and speaks around the country addressing the harms of pornography and all forms of sexual exploitation and what can be done to curb the growing public health crisis resulting from pornography.

Fr. Sean Kilcawley

About

Sean

Fr. Sean Kilcawley was ordained a priest for the diocese of Lincoln in 2005. Before entering seminary he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1996 and served for three years active duty as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army. From 2009-2013 Fr. Kilcawley studied at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome, earning a license of sacred theology (summa cum laude), and has completed training in sex addiction treatment from the SATP Institute, and the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals. He currently serves the Diocese of Lincoln as the Director of the Office for Family Life and as theological advisor for Integrity Restored—a non-profit agency which provides education, training, and resources to assist the Church in bringing hope and healing to individuals, spouses, parents and clergy who have been affected by pornography. For the past three years, Fr. Kilcawley has been educating parents, running support groups for addicts and their spouses, educating clergy, and speaking at conferences on the best practices and resources for addressing pornography at the parish and diocesan level. His speaking engagements have included: Mount 2000 youth conference (2016), the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (2015), the Global Set Free Summit (2016), The National Safe Environment/Child Protection conference (2016), and the International Theology of the Body Congress (2016).

Clay Olsen

About

Clay

Clay Olsen is a creative and passionate filmmaker, producer, marketer, public speaker, author, and social entrepreneur. In 2010 he co-founded Fight the New Drug (fightthenewdrug.org), a youth movement dedicated to raising awareness on the harmful effects of pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation through science, facts, and personal accounts. Clay has personally presented at hundreds of secondary schools, universities, and event centers and spoken to hundreds of thousands all over the country. He’s spoken at the United Nations, the World Congress of Families, the Set Free Global Summit, the annual End Sexual Exploitation Summit, and many more.

In February of 2013, he founded and lead the development of an online addiction recovery program called Fortify, to help individuals overcome their struggle with compulsive sexual behaviors. Fortify has already impacted 10’s of thousands of users in over 150 countries around the world.

In 2015, he was invited to join Top Youth Speakers (topyouthspeakers.com), an elite national speakers association dedicated to providing top tier talent to audiences around the country.

In 2016, he was awarded the Visionary Leadership Award by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation at their annual summit in Houston TX.

Clay sits on the Board of Directors for a number of different non-profit and start-up organizations and finds a lot of fulfillment in advising entrepreneurs in their efforts to make a dent in the world.

Heidi Olson, RN, MSN, CPN, SANE-P

About

Heidi

Heidi Olson is a Certified Pediatric Nurse, Certified Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and the SANE Program Manager at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. She has a wide range of experience in pediatric and forensic nursing and has also taught as an adjunct clinical instructor for the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the University of St. Mary’s. Heidi received the Excellent Nursing Student Educator’s Award in 2017.

Heidi’s current role includes performing forensic exams on children who have been victims of sexual assault, training new SANE nurses, running the day-to-day logistics of the forensics program, following up with victims and their families after discharge, communicating with law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, the FBI and educating the healthcare staff on relevant topics regarding children and sexual exploitation. Heidi also serves an expert witness for the prosecution during trials for victims of sexual assault. In last two years, Heidi has performed and reviewed over 1,200 pediatric sexual assault cases. Last year, Heidi testified in favor of a bill before the Kansas State Legislation to advocate for mental health treatment for children with problematic sexual behavior and it was signed into law.

Heidi has a huge heart for victims of sexual assault and sexual exploitation. Heidi has presented well over 200 times about recognizing human trafficking, the harms of pornography, sexual assault and sexual exploitation in various settings from nursing schools to international conferences. Heidi started and leads a human trafficking committee at Children’s Mercy Hospital to help bring together a multi-disciplinary group that will focus on better care for this vulnerable population. She is also on the planning committee for the Big Search KC (which aims to find missing children), presents with the Anti Internet Child Exploitation Team (a Canadian non-profit), and organized Empower KC, a community event to raise awareness about sexual exploitation in Kansas City. In her free time, Heidi loves being outside, listening to true crime podcasts, and learning.

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Geoff Steurer, MS, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Director at LifeStar of St. George, UT

About

Geoff

Co-author of Love You, Hate the Porn: Healing a Relationship Damaged by Virtual Infidelity. Co-Producer of Strengthening Recovery Through Strengthening Marriage. Co-author of numerous LifeStar workbooks. Featured in the Heart of the Matter Documentary. UCAP Conference Chair – 2010-present.You can view his website at geoffsteurer.com.

“Even though it’s possible for teens and adults to heal from the devastating impact of pornography and harmful media, I want to help influence efforts to protect young minds before they develop harmful patterns. I completely support Defend Young Minds as a quality resource for helping our children navigate today’s toxic media environment.”

Dr. Donald Hilton, MD

Author, Neurosurgeon and Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Texas

About

Donald

Donald L. Hilton, Jr., MD, is a practicing neurosurgeion and clinical associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas, San Antonion. He is currently listed in Best Doctors in America, and as a Texas Super Doctor and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Hilton also publishes and speaks on the subject of pornography and sexual addiction. He and his wife received the “Guardian of the Light” award from the anti-pornography organization Lighted Candle Society in 2008, where Dr. Hilton gave the keynote address, “Pornography and the Brain: Understanding the Addiction.” He authored the book He Restoreth My Soul, which explores the effects of pornography on the brain, along with spiritual paradigms of healing.

He and his wife, Jana, are the parents of five children and have three grandchildren.

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