Kristy Forteza
Senior Staff Attorney and Grant Writer
Kristy's desire to use her legal degree to bring about justice and to make a positive difference in the world led her to Free to Thrive. Like many people, before Kristy started doing this work, she thought of human trafficking as something that happened abroad. She did not realize that it was a pervasive issue across the US, including right in our very own communities. Prior to working at Free to Thrive, Kristy was a member of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP's Intellectual Property Department where her practice focused primarily on technology transactions. Kristy began her legal career as a Deputy District Attorney in Colorado.
Upon attending a human trafficking training in 2017, where she met Free to Thrive's Founder and Managing Attorney, Jamie Beck, Kristy was compelled to do her part in the fight against human trafficking. Kristy joined Free to Thrive in 2017, just before the organization began serving its very first clients. She started as a volunteer attorney and then became a staff attorney.
As a Senior Staff Attorney and Grant Writer at Free to Thrive, Kristy is passionate about serving human trafficking survivors, ensuring they have access to our legal system and providing trauma-informed support for all of their needs. Based on her experience working at Free to Thrive since inception, Kristy knows that survivors often come to Free to Thrive with several legal needs. It can be extremely challenging for survivors to know how to begin to find representation for all of their needs. Kristy helps to ease that challenge for survivors by providing connections to pro bono attorneys. She helps Free to Thrive’s clients get one step closer to justice by connecting them to pro bono attorneys who have expertise in specialized areas of law, including employment matters, immigration, business formation, personal injury, and much more.
Kristy also applies for government, foundation, and other grant funding to ensure Free to Thrive can continue to offer all of their services free-of-charge. In addition, Kristy helps manage Free to Thrive’s secured funding and helps cultivate donor relationships. Kristy also has experience obtaining restraining orders for survivors, providing criminal record clearing services, and training pro bono attorneys.
Kristy received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Sociology from the University of San Diego, and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School. She is admitted to practice law in Colorado and California.
Kristy enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, and coffee shops. The ocean is her happy place. She loves spending quality time with her husband, daughter, and cheeky rescue pup, Sprinkles.