Sues Hess
Executive Director
A full commitment to advance His Kingdom and equip the Body of Christ to help those who are hurting has shaped Sues’ life. She has worked with ministries in Illinois, Texas, Europe and Colorado, as a pastor/missionary wife, coordinating women’s ministries both in the US (including transitional housing) and abroad, globally coordinating emotional/spiritual care following disasters, relief and development, refugee and trauma issues, leadership development and teaching ESL and global sports initiatives.
Her first direct exposure to human trafficking was in 1977, when she worked at a Christian youth hostel in the Red Light district in Amsterdam. She has served as a Restore Innocence/Reclaiming Hope Board member since 2018, and has participated in the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado off and on for 11 years. She has also shared her home with survivors.
Our loving Father comforted her through the abuse of an alcoholic husband and divorce. He provided for her as a single mother of three boys. And he again sustained her through breast cancer and chemotherapy. As an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, she has served as a deacon and on church committees.
She married Tom in 2010. She enjoys a thriving marriage and good health.
Mandie Hoehne
Director of Survivor Care
Mandie first found Restore Innocence several years ago when she felt led to do volunteer work with anti-trafficking. The book that was later made into a movie [The Blind Side] opened her eyes to the needs of foster kids aging out of the system, which led to finding out more about how affected they are by trafficking. She has been volunteering with Reclaiming Hope, The Place, The Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado, and the Diversion program for several years. God led her to ask about a job with Reclaiming Hope and here she is!
She has a vision for housing and community mentorship including teaching life skills and offering opportunities for survivors. She wants to be a part of bringing Christ’s love, joy, and hope to mentees. She wishes people really understood that human trafficking is real. There is so much to learn about why people end up trafficked and how the community can get involved in eradicating trafficking altogether. This cause is so important to her because this is one of the most vulnerable populations among us.
Mandie has been married for over 20 years and has two sons. She is a Colorado Native and an avid outdoor fan.
Abby Leonard
Director of Hope Bag Program
Abby is passionate about supporting the exploited and hurting. She first became aware of trafficking here in the United States through the passion of a friend and her heart was broken by the trauma of its survivors. She felt called to respond and was trained to become a Mentor with Restore Innocence/Reclaiming Hope. She mentored two Survivors before filling the role of
Director of Survivor Care between 2017 and 2019. She is now excited to support Survivors by directing the Hope Bag program. She loves providing for the practical needs of Survivors. She feels that continuing to serve Survivors is a great honor and privilege.
Abby has a husband of over 20 years and 4 beautiful children. She has been mentoring a group of teens for years and is excited to journey alongside them through high school. Abby has regularly volunteered in her childrens’ schools, at church, and with her local quilt guild. She also has a background in tutoring as well as in the corporate world.
Allison Harshbarger
OFFICE Manager
Since childhood, Allison felt called to help people who were hurting, which led to her degree in Human Services and Substance Abuse Counseling. She has plans to continue to a degree in Social Work.
In 2022, Allison moved to Colorado Springs, a place she always dreamed of living, with her 2 young children and 2 rescue dogs, while going through a divorce, she felt called to Colorado and Reclaiming Hope to grow in God, heal her own heart, and to help others. Reclaiming Hope is her first interaction with human trafficking. She believes that her experience with substance abuse counseling, volunteering, and her eagerness to learn make her a strong contributor to the Reclaiming Hope team.
Aside from being a mother and providing administrative support to Reclaiming Hope, Allison loves to work with animals, read new books, and take her kids on adventures to see all the God-made wonders of Colorado.
Samantha Caputo
Case Manager
Samantha has always had a calling to help others. At university, she worked part time at a juvenile justice residential facility where at-risk teens were court ordered to live for treatment and she helped to rehabilitate them and to return home. Seeking a more holistic approach, so she moved to a community mental health agency, as a case worker for adolescents, where she saw more stability and better outcomes for her clients. Her next step was an alternative school setting, helping kids and their families, stay out of the court system, access the resources they needed and find educational success.
After 10 years of social work, Samantha married and her husband whisked her away to The Netherlands. While he completed his PhD, she navigated life in a foreign country and language. After spending nearly 10 years abroad, and 3 kids later, the Lord brought them to Colorado and stirred Samantha’s heart to help serve others struggling here. She first stepped into a role at her church that allowed her to help those in the foster care community and others in need. That’s where she met Mandie, while delivering a CarePortal gift, and Mandie shared with her about Reclaiming Hope and the amazing work God is doing through them.
Andrea Kohlman
Community Relations Director
Andrea was first confronted with the idea of trafficking in the early 1990’s when reading a modern-day retelling of the story of Hosea; that kind of story was very foreign to the healthy, Christian upbringing that Andrea had experienced.
She married young, but the cycle of alcoholism/substance abuse/etc. led her to divorce and raise her 3 kids on her own. In 2010, Andrea married Paul, who adopted her children. Blending their families prompted Andrea to study a Christian healing modality, exposing her to healing of severe trauma.
After 20 years of childcare, Paul and Andrea began a career together in real estate. Through Peak Producers they learned about Reclaiming Hope. In 2023, Andrea heard about Reclaiming Hope’s new office space – and need for a stager. While helping figure out use of space/furnishings, she learned that we were seeking a part-time Community Relations Director. She immediately felt a pull that this position was for her. She joined staff in July 2024.
She looks forward to bringing awareness and understanding to the community as well as connecting others to opportunities to come alongside survivors and bring true Hope!
Board of Directors
Chris Burns, Chair
Wendy Smith, Vice-Chair
Bob Dinolfo, Treasurer
Sues Hess, Executive Director
Cherise Selley
Chris Vuk
Founders
Jason and Michelle Korth