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DEFEND (“DEFEND”) is a 100% volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization (Registered under the Canada Not-For-Profit Act) striving to reduce risk for children and other vulnerable people online. DEFEND’s initial efforts are focused on three main areas: Advocacy, Technology and Education.
DEFEND's Story
OUR STORY: DEFEND was founded by Dermott M. of Ontario, Canada (in August 2020) who was inspired by the work of concerned groups around the world looking to bring about change in the area of online child sexual abuse. Along with his wife Shannon, they began to forge what DEFEND has become today. DEFEND’s first point of action was an online petition with the sole focus of implementing age/ID verification on all social media for all persons to protect kids from being contacted by random adults. That petition has now evolved into nearly weekly meetings to shape several teams into hyper-focused goal achievers. The DEFEND logo was designed by Jesse Wallace.
On May 8, 2021 DEFEND officially announced the start of 65square, a project which will become the world’s healthiest social media platform. Follow the progress HERE.
On October 21, 2023, DEFEND officially registered 65square as its own for-profit entity which is wholly owned by nonprofit DEFEND. 65square’s mission is to push forward DEFEND’s mission and to create technology that gives priority to safety and well-being. One of the reasons 65square was registered as a for-profit entity, was so that we could give most of the profits back to our team. 65square is also open for investment opportunities with the right ethical social enterprise partners.
General responsibilities for teams/team members? Click HERE to learn more.
OR Send our HR Department an EMAIL with your resume/CV to start an application today: hr{at_sign}helpusdefend{dot}com
What do each of the teams do? Click HERE to learn more.
Team members are located across: 15 countries
Total women (both organizations): 45%
Women in leadership (both organizations): 55%
Current team members who joined in 2023 or prior: 28
Current team memebers who joined in 2024: 23
Current team members who joined in 2025: 37
Board Members (DEFEND)
Julian, Carol, Meshaal Khan
Management Committee
Daisy, Nava, Scott, Jason, Deep (Head of Advocacy) Leigh
Advocacy Team
Eva
Deepak
Maaha
MAPs Team
Fay
Workshops Team
Shawn
Sheila
Podcast Team
Ecio
Nicolas
Education Team
Blake
Christina
Dami
Elham
Greg
Pauline
Racine
Khaled
Fundraising Team
Amir
Social Media Team
Deanna
Pamela
Heaven
Simon
Marketing Team
Andrea
Bryan
HR Team
Stephanie
Uzma
Chidimma
Lorraine
Nithya
Mahima
Ore
Rahul
Justin
Pintu
65square
Ahsan
Radhika
Mohammad
Kostia
Lebohang
Jennifer
Meenakshi
Abdullah
Hassan
Alex
Simon
Zihang
Anne
Cade
Sangeetha
Jocelyn
65square
Sam
Mingming
Abdullah
Fernando
Marina
Folake
Carly
Rajesh
Anastasiia
Duncan
Francis
Robin
Akpomena
Jeremy
Haider
65square
Gahee
Joseph
Kriston
MoonYoung
Gurleen
John
LaDonna
Kashish
Christian
Thelma
Simi
Adam
65square
Maulan
Philip
Reshmi
Khaliq
Liam
Melvin
Katherine
Michael
Anhadpreet
Oladuni
Mfon
Nnaemeka
Angeline
Harry
Ryan
Roshish
Avtar
65square
Nazish
Harsh
Palakdeep
Drew
Manfred
Ruth
Deeksha
Sarath
Hieu
Wesley
Zhen
Kseniia
Vincent
65square
Lavanya
Sakshi
Alex
ShanYi
Jennifer
Yan
Aldo
Tetiana
Neethu
Angela Charles
Eric (Director)
Ian (Director)
Think one of our volunteers should be recognized for their hard work? Nominate someone for our Star of the Quarter program HERE