BY ERIC HAVEN
Special to the Clarkston News

When you encounter a person who lives by principle, consistent in belief and action, it’s worth taking note. Nate Knapper is such a person.
I remember the first time I met Nate. He walked into a Clarkston City Council meeting where I was a member in 2014. He introduced himself as a candidate to represent Clarkston, Waterford, and Lake Angelus in Michigan’s 43rd House District.
As I think back to the initial encounter, I liked what I saw in Nate. He is a strong communicator and a hard worker.
During that campaign season, I watched as Nate knocked on thousands of doors, introducing himself to voters and listening to their concerns.
Nancy and I even invited him to our home to discuss the Clarkston Independence District Library funding issue with other area residents.
Nate was not elected that year, but his experience was not lost. He added the knowledge he gleaned from his campaign to the educational and professional training he had already acquired from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Pepperdine Law School (Malibu, Calif.), and the Michigan Department of Attorney General (Lansing, Mich.).
Today, Nate is an FBI special agent.
He serves in the bureau’s Detroit Division, where his investigative responsibilities have included violations of the federal human trafficking laws.
In this capacity, Nate has seen heart-wrenching stories of abuse, some involving society’s youngest members.
Yes, slavery still exists today.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world, and it’s happening here in southeast Michigan.
Many times, trafficking victims are lured from middle class homes and enslaved by threats, beatings, and addictions.
Their exploitation is ultimately designed to line the pockets of violent pimps and drug dealers.
But there’s an even deeper problem.
Even those who survive their trafficking experience are far from free. Many survivors face legal challenges that prevent them from moving forward. Criminal records and broken families create challenges that must be resolved through the justice system.
Sadly, victims often do not have the resources to fight these legal battles.
Leveraging his legal and law enforcement experience, Nate saw an opportunity to help trafficking survivors escape these tragic circumstances.
In 2018, he incorporated The Joseph Project, a nonprofit organization that connects human trafficking survivors with pro bono legal counsel. Based on the biblical narrative of history’s earliest recorded survivor (Genesis 37-50), The Joseph Project recruits skilled attorneys to join a pro bono network of ‘Legal First Responders’ to serve human trafficking survivors free of charge.
In less than three years of operation, the Joseph Project has achieved incredible victories on behalf of trafficked individuals. Through the power of attorney representation, survivors’ debts have been erased, their criminal records have been resolved, and their families have been reunited. The organization has fielded referrals from states across the country, including Michigan, California, New York, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, and Arizona. At the time of this writing, nearly 120 prospective clients have had their legal needs assessed, and attorneys in sixteen states have volunteered to join the Legal First Responders network.
A 25-year Clarkston resident, Nate is now leveraging every resource at his disposal – including every skill and connection he forged during his state representative candidacy – to establish a “national justice delivery system” that extends pro bono legal assistance to every identifiable human trafficking survivor.
His gratitude to all who supported him is tangible.
“When I think about that campaign, my mind is immediately drawn to the many people who volunteered their time and financial resources to support the effort – especially my dad, Dan, and my mom, Annette,” Knapper said. “I hope every person who gave views their contribution as an investment that is still yielding positive returns across the country.
“Every day, I use the skills I acquired during that campaign to give human trafficking survivors a voice within the criminal justice system. Their victories ultimately belong to our whole community.”
If you are interested in donating to further expand the Joseph Project’s life-saving work, visit josephproject.com/donate.
If you know an attorney who is interested in joining the Legal First Responders network, email info@josephproject.com or visit josephproject.com/volunteer for additional information.