A New Season for Child Protection: A Message from our CEO

Greetings everyone!

I hope this new year ushers in an exciting phase of promise and renewed hope as we all work together to make the world a safer place for children. We appreciate your generous support for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s important mission.  

It’s been nine months since I stepped into the role of President & CEO and I continue to be humbled to lead this amazing organization. When I walked through the doors of NCMEC 25 years ago as an analyst for the newly launched CyberTipline, I was filled with energy and wide-eyed amazement that I could come to work every day and make a real difference in the life of a child.  All these years later, that humility and sense of purpose remains as strong as ever.  It is the honor of a lifetime to lead an organization filled with the most passionate people you’ll ever meet.  As a mother myself, I’m grateful to know an organization like NCMEC exists where every single person has dedicated their lives to protecting all of our children.

So much has changed during my more than two decades with NCMEC – from the early days of faxing posters of missing children to now pushing AMBER alerts to mobile phones in the vicinity of a child abduction.  And we’ve witnessed firsthand the evolution of how children can be targeted by online predators from anywhere in the world.  Technology has made us more connected than ever, and we intend to continue to harness its power to mobilize the community of good people who want to help.

Like you, we believe every child deserves a safe childhood and we will continue to lead the fight to protect our kids by creating vital resources for them and the people who keep them safe.  There are children and families counting on us.

On behalf of our NCMEC Family, thank you for your support and I wish you a peaceful and prosperous new year.

Warmly,

Michelle DeLaune

President & CEO 

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children