Every Child Deserves a Safe Childhood
When a child goes missing, every second matters. NCMEC is the nation’s leading child protection organization, working to find missing children and keep all children safe.
NCMEC operates in real time alongside law enforcement—coordinating urgent responses, analyzing critical reports, and providing expert guidance when it matters most. In the face of the unthinkable, families turn to NCMEC as a trusted partner—offering clarity, compassion, and steady support during the most overwhelming moments.
Story Behind the Leadership
Tamara Asher
2026 NCMEC Board
Join me in supporting NCMEC. A donation today can make an immediate, life saving difference for children and families.
Tamara serves on the NCMEC Board of Directors, bringing a deeply personal commitment to protecting children and supporting families when it matters most. At just sixteen, in her home state of California, she was abducted at gunpoint while sitting in a friend’s parked car. She was forced into the backseat and held captive for hours as her family searched desperately for answers. Every second mattered.
She was ultimately rescued after California issued its first-ever AMBER Alert, mobilizing law enforcement and the public in a race against time. Her description—and the suspect’s vehicle—spread rapidly across highways, television, and radio, turning everyday people into eyes on the ground. Behind the scenes, NCMEC worked urgently to push out critical information and support the search.
A vigilant citizen recognized the suspect’s vehicle and made the call that changed everything. In that moment, a life was saved—and a lifelong commitment was born to strengthen the systems that help children reach safety and families find hope.
She has seen firsthand how coordinated, thoughtful responses can change outcomes and remains committed to improving prevention and response while keeping children and families at the center.
Every child deserves to be safe, supported, and found.
Your donation keeps critical resources in place so NCMEC can respond the moment a child goes missing. It strengthens prevention efforts that protect children before harm occurs. And it provides ongoing support for families and survivors on the path to recovery. Our board members help lead this work alongside a dedicated team committed to protecting children every single day. We invite you to join them.
Make a gift today and stand with the families who need it most.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
At NCMEC, our teams work around the clock—responding to urgent reports, supporting families in crisis, and helping bring children home safely. We partner with families, private industry, law enforcement, and communities to find missing children, stop child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization.
This work never stops. And neither can we.
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NCMEC holds a perfect 100% four star rating on Charity Navigator, a gold seal of excellence from America's Best Charities, and a top charity rating from the Better Business Bureau, among several other awards and recognitions. Over 92 cents of every dollar raised goes towards NCMEC's programs and services. When you give to NCMEC, you can rest assured that your donation helps to find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization.