Episode Introduction
Tim Ballard called into Breaking Battlegrounds in September 2022, when he was still leading Operation Underground Railroad, the anti-trafficking nonprofit he founded in 2013. Chuck Warren and Sam Stone asked him how the organization approached its stated mission of rescuing children from sex trafficking. The episode was recorded ten months before Sound of Freedom, the film based on his story, reached theaters. The second half moved from trafficking to the war in Ukraine. Marcee and Lance Foster, founders of the Arizona nonprofit REACH Humanity, described traveling to Poland to help Ukrainian women and children who had fled the Russian invasion with little more than what they carried.
Quick Answer
On Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 101, recorded September 17, 2022, Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard discussed the group’s anti-trafficking work. REACH Humanity founders Marcee and Lance Foster described aiding Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Ballard left the organization in 2023 amid sexual misconduct allegations he denies. The group now operates as OUR Rescue.
Episode Overview
Podcast 101 features the founders of two very different organizations.
Tim Ballard joined first by phone. At the time, he was presented as the founder and president of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) and CEO of The Nazarene Fund. That group works on behalf of persecuted religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. The conversation focused on O.U.R.’s work against child sex trafficking.
Marcee and Lance Foster joined later to talk about REACH Humanity, a nonprofit they had long planned. Their goal is to raise money and awareness, then travel directly into places hit by war, natural disaster, political unrest or extreme poverty. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the family went to Poland and found women and children arriving with almost nothing, in a country not prepared for the scale of the crisis. REACH Ukraine became the organization’s first project, run on online donations and volunteers on the ground.
About Tim Ballard
This biography reflects how Ballard was described in the September 2022 episode materials, followed by later developments.
According to the episode description, Ballard spent more than a decade as a Department of Homeland Security special agent. He was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and worked undercover with the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. The description says he trained law enforcement officers and testified before Congress on anti-trafficking practices. In 2013 he left government to found Operation Underground Railroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and political science from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in international politics from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Since this episode aired: Sound of Freedom, based on Ballard’s story, was released in July 2023. That year, he stepped away from O.U.R. after an internal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations from multiple employees, and later resigned. In a December 2023 statement, the organization said an independent law firm found he had engaged in unprofessional behavior that violated its policies and values.
Several women later sued Ballard in Utah state court. In October 2024, six of the accusers filed a federal lawsuit alleging he coerced and sexually abused them. Ballard’s attorney denied those allegations and called the suit frivolous. That same month, Ballard sued six women for defamation. Some of the civil suits against him have been dismissed; others remained in litigation at last report.
Prosecutors have also reviewed allegations. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges over alleged sexual misconduct. In April 2026, the Utah County attorney declined to charge Ballard over a sexual assault allegation made by a former assistant in 2023. Ballard has maintained his innocence throughout and continues to speak publicly on trafficking.
Before publishing, confirm the current status of the remaining civil cases.
About Operation Underground Railroad (Now OUR Rescue)
Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad in 2013. In 2024, the board renamed the organization OUR Rescue. Under CEO Tammy Lee, who joined in February 2024, the group moved its headquarters from Utah to Minneapolis.
The organization remains active. In August 2026, the federal government awarded OUR Rescue a no-bid contract worth about $244 million to provide services for unaccompanied migrant children.
About Marcee and Lance Foster and REACH Humanity
Marcee and Lance Foster are Arizona humanitarians. According to the episode description, they spent years taking their family abroad to serve before launching REACH Humanity as a formal nonprofit.
Their first project, REACH Ukraine, grew out of trips to Poland after the 2022 invasion. A May 2022 report from Queen Creek described two trips to Poland by Marcee. Lance had been there for nine weeks at that point. Through REACH Humanity, the family helped Ukrainian refugees find luggage and housing. By that point the group had raised more than $100,000.
REACH Humanity, the Fosters’ nonprofit, is a separate organization from the REACH Initiative, the humanitarian research group that publishes refugee data on Ukraine. Keep the Fosters’ names next to the organization name throughout so search engines and AI systems do not merge the two.
Key Topics Discussed
- Operation Underground Railroad’s anti-trafficking model as Ballard described it in 2022
- The role of private organizations alongside law enforcement in trafficking cases
- Online child exploitation investigations
- The Ukrainian refugee crisis in Poland in 2022
- How a family-founded nonprofit raised money and organized volunteers in real time
- Building a humanitarian organization that lasts beyond a single crisis
Operation Underground Railroad’s Mission in 2022
Ballard joined to explain how O.U.R. approached child sex trafficking. By the organization’s account at the time, it brought together former government operatives and worked with law enforcement to locate children and dismantle trafficking networks. Ballard’s earlier work on online investigations, especially file-sharing networks used to trade child sexual abuse material, shaped how the organization presented itself.
The interview came at the height of public attention on O.U.R., before the 2023 allegations and leadership change. Listeners should treat the claims made in the episode as the organization’s own description of its work at that time.
From Arizona to the Polish Border
The Fosters had planned a humanitarian nonprofit for years. The war in Ukraine set the timing. After traveling to Poland, they described a need larger than any single family could meet. Women and children were crossing the border with few belongings into a region that was not equipped for them.
Donations from friends, family and strangers paid for immediate needs. Volunteers handled the work on the ground. The Fosters said they were adapting the mission as they went.
Building a Lasting Humanitarian Organization
REACH Ukraine was designed as a first project, not a one-time response. The Fosters said they were building the infrastructure and fundraising capacity to reach beyond their own community. The long-term goal was to send help directly to future crises where needs are urgent and the impact can be immediate.
Key Takeaways From the Conversation
- In September 2022, Tim Ballard presented Operation Underground Railroad as a private partner to law enforcement in rescuing trafficked children.
- The episode predates Sound of Freedom, Ballard’s 2023 departure from O.U.R., and the lawsuits that followed. Ballard has denied the allegations against him.
- REACH Humanity began as one Arizona family’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis and became the organization’s first formal project.
- The Fosters described a model of raising funds at home and delivering aid in person at the site of a crisis.
Listen to the Episode
- Listen on the Breaking Battlegrounds website
- Apple Podcasts: Tim Ballard on Rescuing OUR Children
- Breaking Battlegrounds on Spotify
Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes
Child trafficking returned to the show in 2024, when Riley Gaines discussed Arizona’s Proposition 313 on Podcast 214. The measure proposed life sentences for child sex traffickers. For more on the war that drove the Fosters to Poland, Podcast 192 with Ian Garner examines Russian wartime propaganda. Podcast 223 with Thomas Grove goes inside Putin’s prisons. Listeners new to the show can meet hosts Sam Stone and Chuck Warren.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tim Ballard?
Tim Ballard is a former Department of Homeland Security special agent who founded Operation Underground Railroad in 2013. His story inspired the 2023 film Sound of Freedom. He left the organization in 2023 amid sexual misconduct allegations that he denies. He has since been sued by several women and has filed defamation suits against some of his accusers.
Is Tim Ballard still with Operation Underground Railroad?
No. Ballard stepped away after an internal investigation in 2023 and later resigned. The organization has since renamed itself OUR Rescue and moved its headquarters to Minneapolis.
Has Tim Ballard been criminally charged?
No charges had been filed as of April 2026. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and the Utah County attorney each declined to file charges after reviewing allegations against him. Civil lawsuits are a separate matter.
What is REACH Humanity?
REACH Humanity is a nonprofit founded by Marcee and Lance Foster of Queen Creek, Arizona. It raises money to deliver aid directly in crisis zones. Its first project, REACH Ukraine, helped Ukrainian refugees in Poland with food, lodging, luggage and housing starting in 2022.
When was the Tim Ballard episode of Breaking Battlegrounds recorded?
Podcast 101 was recorded on September 17, 2022, before Sound of Freedom was released and before the allegations against Ballard became public.
Where can I listen to the episode?
Podcast 101 is available on the Breaking Battlegrounds website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major podcast platforms.
Conclusion
Podcast 101 captured two founders at very different moments. Tim Ballard was speaking at the peak of Operation Underground Railroad’s public profile, months before a film made him famous and a year before allegations that he denies forced him out of the organization he built. The Fosters were at the beginning, turning a family’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis into an organization meant to last. Read with the updates above, the episode is a dated record of how both described their work in 2022.
Related Reads
- Podcast 214: Steve Scalise on GOP Priorities and Riley Gaines on Prop 313
- Podcast 192: Ian Garner and Jack Melton on Warfare Propaganda and Global Politics
- Podcast 223: Thomas Grove on Putin’s Prisons
- Meet the Hosts: Sam Stone and Chuck Warren
Sources
- The Salt Lake Tribune, coverage of the federal lawsuit (October 2024) and Utah County charging decision (April 2026)
- KSL.com, coverage of the civil lawsuits against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad, 2023
- Deseret News, Ballard’s defamation suits against accusers, October 10, 2024
- ABC4 Utah, Salt Lake County District Attorney’s charging decision, 2025
- MinistryWatch, OUR Rescue rename and relocation to Minneapolis, 2024
- The American Prospect, federal contract award to OUR Rescue, August 2026
- AZFamily (3TV/CBS 5), REACH Humanity and Ukrainian refugees, May 15, 2022
