JILL BOLANDER, FOUNDER, THE LIFEBOAT PROJECT: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN ORLANDO
Virtual Meeting – FEB 11, 2021
Florida 501(c)3 nonprofit which increases awareness and provides wraparound services to victims and survivors of Human Trafficking such as trauma counseling, housing, personal development and educational resources. The life-long central Floridian Co-Founded the Greater Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force and the Zonta Club of Greater Orlando, an international organization which empowers women and girls. Jill is a four-time delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. In 2015 she was honored as one of two ‘Peace Seekers’ by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. Jill attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC in the spring of 2011 as a delegate and lobbied both Florida Senators and her Congressman to reenact the Violence Against Women Act, which was accomplished in 2013. Jill spearheaded the creation and development of a human trafficking educational gaming app designed to protect our youth. This app has received international awards and was developed by Central Florida’s Engineering Computer Simulation. In March of 2016, the app ACT-Awareness Combats Trafficking was presented at the United Nations during a parallel event. In 2017, Jill received the Humanitarian Award from the Women’s Executive Council of Orlando; and in 2018 she was presented with the Orlando Magic Creating Change Award for The Lifeboat Project. The Lifeboat Project is also a member of the Freedom Network USA, only one of six partners in Florida. Jill is also on the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of South Seminole, and is the Florida State Coordinator for RAGAS— Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery. She was Vice-President of her family’s Coffee Service which has served central Florida for over 45 years. Her passion and previous career are that of a professional Jazz singer and worship leader. Jill was educated at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina and Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. She and her husband, Gary, reside in Apopka, Florida.