The Good Life – March-April 2020

ON THE COVER | THAN BAARDSON
As a firefighter, his biggest gig was fighting a 120-
acre wildfire in Florida. What started as a spot fire,
quickly lit a path to destruction in the Everglades'
underbrush. "By the time we got there, 30-foot
flames were hitting our truck," Than says. "It was
pretty exciting."
Eventually, Than saw an opening in Public Affairs
and – with a degree in journalism and minor in film
studies – he knew it'd be the perfect union between
his Guard training and college education. Today,
he's still enrolled with the Air National Guard,
serving as a 16-year veteran with the 119th Happy
Hooligans.
'Living in Constant Tension'
Than's global experiences permanently shifted
perspective and further sparked a bigger idea. One
recurring thought propelled him forward: What
if we used all we've been given to help those in
greatest need?
On the heels of a year of research, Than reached
out to Minnesota-native Tanya Martineau – who
was living in Seoul, South Korea – to propose using
her photography talent for good … to co-found a
non-profit.
"In 1998, the U.S. had 3,000 cases of child sexual
abuse material across the nation – and we almost
wiped it out. The FBI knew how to track these guys
down ... and then the internet hit," Than explains.
In the next 20 years, that number would grow to an
astounding 18.4 million cases.
In 2010, Tanya agreed to collaborate and the two
began meeting regularly in early mornings to piece
it all together before heading off to their full-time
jobs.
"That got us in with some of our early partners
and opened the door for a tremendous amount of
work," Than says. "Tanya went back to Seoul very
quickly. So, Unseen really started in Fargo and
Seoul, South Korea."
Established in 2011, Unseen's mission is to
accelerate the work of anti-trafficking and rootcause
organizations. In the beginning, they served
seven partners in four countries with volunteers
alone. Now the capacity-building nonprofit impacts
3.3 million people in 35 countries and works with
36 partners to grow their organizations 10-times
faster than average. (Today, 46 partners remain on
Unseen's "interested" waitlist).
U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO BY: DAVID H. LIPP
"We live in constant tension: we celebrate the
incredible work that's being done, but we live in
the reality of how much we have yet to do," Than
says. "We have something that works really well,
and now we just need to do more of it."
Extinguishing Fire at Its Root Cause
In the past decade, Than has personally witnessed
the world's horrifying realities. "Pattaya is known
as the 'Disneyland of Flesh,'" he explains of a small
town in Thailand born as an R&R site during the
Vietnam War. "Then, you look at a place like India:
we have 11 million kids living on the streets in that
country alone."
Every country faces its own challenges, but it's
in these countries that Unseen has the greatest
opportunity to set a new precedence. "There's
brokenness everywhere," Than says. "But the
access and ease in other countries with increased
vulnerabilities makes it that much worse."
Vulnerability is the leading factor that feeds the
fire of human trafficking. "Every story is absolutely
unique, but that's the common thread," Than
explains. "We need a holistic approach: prevention,
protection and prosecution. If you forget one of
those, it's out of whack."
20 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com