About Us
In 2016, Sierah Joughin’s life was cut short by a repeat violent offender. Since then, the Justice for Sierah organization has been committed to ensuring no more young people meet this fate. Our multifaceted approach to creating safe communities through empowerment, education, and advocacy is focused on preventing assaults and abductions and establishing systems for quicker recovery if someone is in danger.
Sierah Strong for the Community
Sierah Strong is our self-awareness and defense program that we provide to the community free of charge. We teach young people ages 6-16 how to defend themselves in dangerous situations and provide laminated KidPrint IDs that feature the child’s photo, fingerprint, and vital statistics to help find a missing child. Since starting in 2019, we have taught more than 1,000 boys and girls this program!
Sierah Strong for the Schools
Based on the success of our community programming, we have developed the Sierah Strong for the School’s curriculum to bring self-awareness and defense training into schools. Seven health and PE lessons teach functional skills to keep young people safe online and in the community. Our long-term goal is that Sierah Strong will be taught each year from kindergarten through 8th grade, with repetitive training making young people more likely to respond appropriately if faced with a compromising situation.
Sierah’s Law
Following Sierah’s death, Sierah’s family worked tirelessly to educate Ohio lawmakers on the value of a violent offender database in providing community awareness and expediting the process of finding kidnapped individuals. In December 2018, Sierah’s Law passed unanimously in the Ohio House with a vote of 85-0, and it created a database that can now be used by law enforcement and everyday citizens to find out where violent offenders live in our communities.
Our Vision
Justice for Sierah’s vision is for young people to grow, learn and thrive in safe and supportive communities. We will provide communities and schools with the tools to empower students with self-awareness and defense training and provide education on the importance of Sierah’s Law nationwide.
Our Mission
Justice for Sierah, Inc. is a nonprofit organization working to protect communities by implementing the Ohio violent offender database, known as Sierah’s Law, in all 50 states. Our work also includes empowering our youth by establishing self-awareness and self-defense into school curriculum and communities through the Sierah Strong Program.
Our Values
EMPOWERMENT
We believe empowered, prepared individuals are their best advocates and the best line of defense from potential harm.
INTEGRITY
We say what we will do, and we have the courage to do the right thing. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards in teaching, public engagements, and service to our community, and we welcome accountability.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
While we want every individual to be able to protect oneself, we also know that we are stronger as a community of individuals that care about the well-being of one another.
RESPECT
We honor the intrinsic dignity, autonomy, and worth of each person. We treat others the way we want to be treated, and we ask that of our community.
INNOVATION
We research and evaluate the necessities of the curriculum to maintain relevance.
GROWTH
We embrace opportunities to learn, improve, and invest in our community.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Founder and President: Tara Ice
Secretary: Crystal Mathias
Treasurer: Nick Ice
BOARD DIRECTORS
Bailey May
Cathy Shaffer
Maria Schmalzried
Monica Perez
Nicole Candle
Erin Hafner
Allison Murawski
Brandon Rodriguez
John Anderson
Tasia Lane
ADVISORY BOARD
Sheila Vaculik
Howard Ice
Melissa Andrews
HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Randy Gardner, former Ohio Senator
