EIN: 84-3024867
National Trafficking Hotline Number: 1 (888) 373-7888 | SMS: 233733 (Text "HELP" or "INFO") Open 24 Hours, 7 Days a Week
Founder/CEO
Maria Aparis is the Founder and CEO of Lotus Rising International, a non-profit organization that advocates for the wellbeing of children who have been exploited by sex trafficking and organ harvesting. Her mission is to support rescue operations, to provide tools for recovery for survivors, and to help survivors reclaim their lives through scholarships, training and education.
A Bestselling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Visionary whose focus is creating radical transformation in life through Health and Wellness.
Maria was the Founder/CEO of Spa On Location, a luxury mobile day spa that brought decadent spa services to various locations including DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony and South Bay Studio’s. Her clients included productions such as: Jupiter Ascending, Franklin & Bash, The Social Network, Nip/Tuck, The Office, CSI Miami, Dancing with the Stars, Numbers, Til Death, Close To Home, The Closer, HBO, WB and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (14 years).
She is a certified Life Coach, Kundalini Yoga & Meditation Instructor, Reiki Healer, Belief Clearing Practitioner, Massage Therapist, Raw Food Chef, Crystal & Gemstone Healer, as well as a gifted businesswoman and entrepreneur. Her #1 bestselling book The Essential Gut Awakening – Mastering Hashimoto’s and other Autoimmune Diseases is the courageous and inspiring account of her personal journey with Hashimoto’s disease, and how she embarked on a quest to reclaim her life by questioning the traditional approach to treatment.
In 2018, she became aware of how massive the global issue of sex trafficking of children truly was and she made the decision to take a stand, dedicating her life to the rescue and recovery of these children and to help them reclaim their lives.
Maria’s vision is that this generation will see a world free of dis-ease, free of dis-harmony and free of crimes against humanity. She believes that when we uplift and inspire others and lead by example we can create a tipping point for the realization that we are all connected and that our divine right is to live amazing thriving lives.
Autumn Graca
Founder/COO
Autumn Graca is the COO of Lotus Rising International who has linked arms and works with other like minds whom share the same vision, in regards to ending human trafficking. Autumn believes that it truly takes a village to be able to come together and shed light on this dark subject. Her passion to end human trafficking happened in 2012 when her friend brought to her awareness the dark reality these children face everyday. Once Autumn realized that one person can make a difference, her team came into alignment and Co Founded Lotus Rising International.
Autumn has been in the health and wellness industry for over 10 years being a certified massage therapist, assisting in holistic dentistry, and certified yoga teacher. Autumn discovered she had a health crisis in 2016 and since then has been working with eastern and western medicine. She is a firm believer that the body is able to heal itself. Since then she has been able to take back her health into her own hands and support others in doing the same.
Autumn is currently a Sampoorna Yoga Teacher in California where she teaches breath work, meditation, hatha yoga and empowers others to live their best life.
Joe Evans
Founder/CFO
Hello my name is Joe Evans and I am the CFO and one of the founders of LRI. I have worked as a financial advisor for over 30 years and have supported families, business owners and non-profits in realizing their financial goals and dreams.
Children being sold for any purpose is evil. Sex trafficking is a dark underbelly of our society. I am fully committed to making sure your donations are used to support Rescue, Recovery and reclaiming the lives of these children so they can live a life they were meant to live. I acknowledge YOU and your support.
I am excited about my life! My passions are personal growth, emotional intelligence, golf, travel and putting an end to child sex trafficking. I am single and live in Sacramento CA.
Sara Cole
Sara Cole is the Communications Manager of Lotus Rising International who has come together with this wonderful team to help end child sex slavery. Sara currently resides in a small mountain town in Colorado where she has made connections with local advocates to help bring awareness to child trafficking. Sara also organized a “Save Our Children” march in 2020 to raise awareness about child trafficking in her own community. Sara’s goal is to help educate those on how to advocate for survivors, and ways to help parents keep their children safe online. Sara is working on going back to school to finish her degree in communications with a minor in social services.
Darin Heames
actor… writer… songwriter… artist
Darin has built a career spanning 30 years in the entertainment industry as an actor, and can be seen recurring or guest starring on shows such as 9-1-1, the Rookie, SWAT, Magnum PI, Lethal Weapon, Chance, Chicago Fire, Sons of Anarchy, Perception, CSI, Castle, the Mentalist, Justified, 24 and Parenthood, as well a multitude of feature films including Let Us In, CBGB, Angels in Stardust, Kayla, Simone, Of Fortune and Gold and PCU, to name a few.
His artistic journey began in his youth, when he discovered his passion for all things creative, a passion he has carried with him throughout his life. When he is not acting, he can be found burning the midnight oil writing screenplays, recording music, or immersed in the Studio creating original works of art.
A fierce advocate against the sex trafficking of children, Darin works very closely with Lotus Rising International to take a stand against this global issue, inspiring others to find their voice and rise up against this crime. Through raising awareness, he believes we can create a massive shift that will help bring an end to the suffering of these children.
Together we can make the change.
"Everyday I hope to inspire, guide, and empower people to open their hearts to live in their highest potential. However, there are individuals who are walking this planet who don’t have any ability or resources to escape gruesome misfortunes. There are citizens who are mistreated with such cruel acts as they are imprisoned by monstrous and barbarous individuals. Sex trafficking is a severe problem that is ruining millions of innocent lives. These beautiful souls are enslaved and subjected to inhumane and torturous treatment - all to make dirty money. There are children and young women who have been so broken inside and out that they lose all hope, desire, and faith in humanity. It seemingly feels impossible.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Tens of millions of lives have lost this basic human right. Lotus Rising International is offering a selfless act of love to help bring healing, dignity, hope, and full recovery to those who need it the most. We must empower these tormented, enslaved and abused human beings. Let’s give these children and women their lives back. Let’s do what’s necessary. Let’s do impossible."
Sara Bohmholdt
Sara Bohmholdt works in marketing for a large technology company and has years of experience in media and marketing strategy as well as building out new product solution offerings within both agencies and in-house marketing teams. Sara spent nine years developing brands and launching marketing programs for technology startup companies and consulting for SMB companies. For the past 14 years, Sara has focused on higher education marketing where she led student acquisition for institutions across the country in addition to running the agency’s branding and media services team. Sara is also a mentor for the Westminster MBA Capstone program working with students to provide guidance and coaching in completing their final project for graduation. Sara has participated in numerous volunteer positions while in her current role including; the Grant Review Panel determining which non-profit organization proposals should be funded, the Pro Bono Initiative Residency which addresses and solves a critical need within a non-profit, and various leadership programs.
Sara is a graduate from Westminster College, where she received her MBA in Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, fitness, travel, reading, baking, volunteering, health and wellness coaching and supporting local theater.
Sujon Datta