Together, we can combat modern slavery.

Sharon Payt serves as IJM’s Vice President for Corporate and Government Partnerships. Since 2021, she’s directed the engagement strategies with the U.S. Government, Congress and multi-national corporations to champion the fight against human trafficking and other forms of violence impacting people in poverty.

With over 20 years of executive-level experience as a human rights advocate, Sharon is a systems reform entrepreneur combining campaigning and movement-organizing with international development for marginalized people. She has worked in the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa on a wide range of issues, including human trafficking, anti-genocide, citizen empowerment and defending democracy leaders in hostile contexts.

Sharon’s previous positions include serving at the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, J.K. Rowling’s Lumos Foundation, World Vision International and the U.S. Senate. With the U.S. Government, she served as lead Senate staff for the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and co-established the State Department’s anti-trafficking office. While serving with World Vision, she directed advocacy across 15 countries and regional humanitarian crises throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, resulting in over 50 government system reforms.

Sharon lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys cooking, entertaining and live music.

Nate King serves as Director of Congressional Affairs at International Justice Mission. At IJM, Nate leads strategic engagement with U.S. Congress and U.S.-based advocacy coalitions, working with legislators, their staff and civil society partners to shape and advance legislation and foreign assistance for U.S. efforts against human trafficking and violence.

Prior to his current role, Nate led grassroots advocacy and mobilization programs on the regional and national levels for IJM in the U.S. Before joining IJM, he worked in public engagement at Lutheran World Relief, an international nongovernmental organization focused on sustainable development and disaster relief. Earlier in his career, Nate served as a public policy and advocacy fellow at Lutheran Services in America and as an intern in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence.

FiscalNote and the Advocacy Association named Nate a Top Twenty in 2020 for excellence in advocacy. He was appointed as the U.S. representative in the 2022 cohort of McCain Global Leaders by the McCain Institute for International Leadership and was named a 2023 NextGen Global Leader by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Nate received a B.A. from Valparaiso University, where he graduated with honors as a Christ College Scholar.

Melanie French is the senior lead for advocacy campaigns & communications at International Justice Mission. In this role, French drives campaign and communication strategies to move U.S. policymakers and corporations toward effective anti-slavery measures.

Prior to joining IJM, French was the director of marketing and communications at Global Impact where she led marketing strategy for workplace giving and employee engagement, including the Combined Federal Campaign, and served was the lead writer and editor for the organization.

French’s past roles included communications, board relations, event planning and executive support at Airlines for America, the National Park Foundation and the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Congressman John Boccieri.

French received her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Texas A&M University and currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband (David), daughter (Josephine), son (William) and their dog (Jackie).