CO-FOUNDER AND GLOBAL AMBASSADOR
Natalie Grant
Natalie Grant, the co-founder of Hope for Justice and a Global Ambassador on behalf of our work and mission, is a nine-time GRAMMY® nominee and five-time GMA Dove Awards Female Vocalist of the Year.
As Global Ambassador, Natalie uses her platform to share our vision – to live in a world free from slavery – and to raise awareness and move people into action.
About Natalie
Outside of Natalie’s personal success in the music industry, she is married to award-winning composer, producer and songwriter Bernie Herms. The couple live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their three daughters.
The Christian singer-songwriter first heard about the global issue of human trafficking in 2004 when she was watching an episode of Law and Order that depicted children being bought and sold.
Natalie’s heart for the cause grew and she travelled to Mumbai, India, to learn more and see firsthand how one organization was working to end modern slavery. During the visit, she saw children for sale on the street and a six-year-old girl locked inside a cage. Two weeks after returning from the trip, Natalie heard a news report about 12 girls under the age of 15 being rescued from a brothel in her hometown, Nashville.
Compelled to do more, Natalie founded an organization called Abolition International, with the first goal to raise enough money to build an aftercare facility for women with children in India.
Abolition International was one of three organizations that merged to become Hope for Justice in 2014. Natalie has helped to start a movement that is now bringing freedom to people right across the globe, as well as working to prevent human beings from being exploited in the first place.
We are thankful for everything Natalie is doing to inspire the multitudes to join the fight to eradicate human trafficking.
Giving testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Giving testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Natalie, who is a mother to three daughters, said:
"Now this issue is more important to me than ever before. Now I see that though maybe I don’t have the power that you have, I have the power of a voice […]. It’s not up to us to do everything, it’s just up to us to do something. Every single one of us can do something. Every single one of us, no matter who you are, no matter where you’re from, no matter whether you have a platform or you are just serving your family, every single one of us can do something to make a difference.
"And though I’m grateful to get to do it on a large scale, I feel the greatest difference I am making is when my twin daughter’s sixth grade teacher came to me and said ‘I was talking about the abolishment of slavery in the classroom today and one of your twin daughters raised her hand and said ‘That’s not true. Slavery actually still exists in the world today' and I realized I must be doing something right. Because although my heart swelled with pride in that moment, it also broke at the same time, that my daughters are living in a world where slavery still exists, where someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s niece, someone’s granddaughter is being ravaged day in and day out.
"I just say to you that though this issue demands my attention and my commitment, I believe that the same must be said of you. It demands your attention and commitment. I commit my life to Proverbs 31:8 which says 'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Ensure justice for those being crushed.' I have seen those who are crushed, and I say that together, we must do whatever it takes to give them justice."