About Us

Jennifer Wilson

Secretary of the Board of Directors

Jennifer’s practice at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, allows her to represent clients on both litigation and government relations matters, including state legislative consulting for entities in need of advocacy before government entities, legislative policy analysis, bill drafting and appropriations strategy, as well as representation for state licensure and procurement matters. She also represents clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters, including breach of contract disputes, contested foreclosures, shareholder disputes, consumer debt collection claims and real property issues. Prior to joining Shumaker, Jennifer served as a Chief of Staff in the Florida Senate. In that capacity, she gained extensive experience working in the depths of complexities of public policy analysis while developing valuable and enduring relationships in the state Capitol. Jennifer regularly advises clients regarding the legal implications of proposed state rules, regulations and statutes that affect their business licensure and eligibility for government contracts. She has also done extensive work as a political consultant and understands the political risks entailed by various legislative strategies. Jennifer also worked as a top advisor and campaign manager for several Florida state senators and representatives including Florida Senator Tom Lee and former state senators Victor Crist, Alan Hays and Jack Latvala. Jennifer is well versed on a wide range of the major public policy matters that face her clients, and that are important to her community. She is a skilled problem-solver who understands the needs, operations and goals of the industries she represents before the Legislature, and she is a tenacious advocate for her clients. A 2007 graduate of the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Political Science and Leadership Studies, Jennifer received her J.D. and her LL.M. from the Stetson University College of Law in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Her post-graduate degrees both came with high honors and she received several awards for her academic achievements, advocacy skills and pro bono activities. In the community, Jennifer volunteers her time for Bridging Freedom Tampa Bay, a non-profit organization that works to fight domestic minor sex trafficking by bringing restoration to those who are rescued and spreading awareness of its threat in the community. She also volunteers for AMI Kids, a youth mentoring and behavioral development non-profit that empowers troubled youth to reach their full potential through education and workforce development.

Vince Collie

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Vince Collie serves as an Account Executive with Converge Technology Solutions. He has had success within the IT business to business technical sales management for over 30 years. He has many industry certifications and has been successful in helping clients regarding Compliance Services, Artificial Intelligence, Business Analytics, Managed Services and other IT related disciplines. Mr. Collie’s strong technology background coupled with success in building loyal customer relationships has earned him many awards and success. Mr. Collie has been awarded multiple monthly and yearly Sales Accomplishment Awards, multiple years as Top 3 Account Manager, twice as Employee of the Year, and has had the esteem honor of earning the President’s Club Trip several times over his career. Prior to his career with Converge, Mr. Collie held the position of Senior Account Manager at Mainline Information systems and as Systems Engineer and Account Manager at Bay Resources/Sayers. Mr. Collie is a founding board member of Bridging Freedom.

Laura Hamilton, MPH

Member of the Board of Directors, Founder and President/Executive Director

Laura Hamilton is the Founder and President of Bridging Freedom. In this role, she oversees Bridging Freedom’s operations and start-up development in bringing the community and state together to establish a successful model in the Tampa Bay area for young girls rescued from child sex trafficking. Mrs. Hamilton facilitates Bridging Freedom’s collaborations with law enforcement, legislators, state agencies, universities, community service providers, faith-based organizations, and many business professionals within our communities. Ms. Hamilton has over 30 years of experience within the corporate and faith-based communities in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk Counties. Her specialties include business development, program planning, intellectual property, grants proposals and management, teaching and youth discipleship. During her time working with the Department of Justice Funded Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force Against Human Trafficking, Laura created an impactful process for the fight against human trafficking. She created a framework and structure for the task force’s community campaign, developed focus groups, and appointed and trained campaign leaders and subgroups which later became The Free Network. Additionally, she created a Gap Analysis of Services for child sex trafficking victims for the Task Force in 2010. The analysis was in response to the undercover agents need for placement solutions, indicating Florida’s urgent need for a successful safe home program. It was at that time that Ms. Hamilton founded Bridging Freedom to fulfill this urgent need. In April of 2014, Laura was invited by the National Director of the FBI, to join 57 others from around the nation to receive the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for the hard work she is doing in bringing a sustainable solution for the healing of our children within the Tampa Bay area. In March of 2023, Laura received a prestigious honor in the state of Florida. Laura’s unwavering commitment and tireless efforts had not gone unnoticed. She was selected as one of Florida’s Heroes, a recognition bestowed upon those whose selfless actions make a profound difference in the community. The acknowledgment of Laura’s contributions didn’t stop there. Her dedication drew the attention of Ron and Casey DeSantis, prominent figures in Florida’s political landscape. Inviting Laura to their home was a gesture of appreciation for her relentless advocacy and transformative work. Laura obtained her Bachelors in Bio-Medical Sciences and her Masters of Public Health in Global Health Practice at the University of South Florida. She had the honor of completing her Field Experience with the undercover agents who rescue children from child sex trafficking in Tampa Bay.

Angeline Wade

Member of the Board of Directors

As Director of Operations of Bridging Freedom, Angeline Wade has helped to establish the success of the program. As a graduate of the University of South Florida within the school of Psychology, her years of study and research have focused on Motivation, Social Psychology, and Drugs and Behavior. Mrs. Wade is a founding board member of Bridging Freedom, is a PTA officer at two schools and class teacher at her family’s church.

Mollyana Ward

Member of the Board of Directors

Mollyana's life journey is marked by a diverse set of experiences and achievements. She homeschooled her three sons for a decade while pursuing her own education at Hillsborough Community College, where she was inducted into the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. Her strong commitment to community service is evident from her service as President of the Central Florida Family Child Care Association at 21, continuing through her work with children and youth in her local church, where she served in the Children and Youth ministry and as the Director of Community Outreach. Furthermore, Mollyana has a rich background in the entertainment industry, having appeared in various commercials, TV/film, and interviews with local business leaders. Her talent led to her being recognized as the Best Actress of Tampa Bay by Creative Loafing in 2015. In her professional life, Mollyana transitioned to a successful real estate career, becoming a licensed Realtor in 2013 and subsequently achieving Broker status in 2016. During this time her and her family had the privilege of fostering a four year old little boy with hopes of a lasting positive impact. She also made significant contributions to her community by chairing the Women of Wesley Chapel program for the North Tampa Bay Chamber. Despite facing personal adversity, including her husband's battle with Glioblastoma brain cancer and his passing in 2019 after 25 years of marriage, she demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience by establishing her own Real Estate brokerage, Innovation Realty Group. Additionally, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, she created RAW Space Collaborative, the first coworking space in Wesley Chapel, in 2020, which quickly became a hub for local businesses and entrepreneurs. Mollyana's commitment to networking and community engagement continues as she serves as the Chair for the board of directors for CPRO, of the Pinellas Realtor Organization and currently partners with LPT Realty, where she leads her team of agents in both residential and commercial at the Innovation Group, contributing to her promising real estate career. Lastly, in 2021, Mollyana helped create and launch Icemann Development, a Building Contractor and Land Development company based in the Tampa area, whose mission is to build sports-centric community projects that improve both quality of life and economic growth. She works alongside her husband and CEO Gordie Zimmermann as the Chief Operations Officer. She also enjoys being an empty-nester and spending time with their three grandchildren.

Wendy Sheaffer

HR Operations & Communications Director

As the former Chief Product Officer of a behavioral assessment and HR consulting firm, Wendy brings over two decades of expertise in guiding organizations to select top talent, enhance management effectiveness, and cultivate high-performance teams using everyday tools and behavioral concepts. Wendy is dedicated to unleashing the potential of individuals and enterprises alike.