Natasha Haunsperger has been a Portland Police Officer for fourteen years and is currently assigned to the Office of Community Engagement, Chief's office. In her current position, Officer Haunsperger has been working on addressing complex criminal justice-related issues with immigrant and refugee communities in the Portland Metro area. Ms. Haunsperger created a unique police program that focuses on connecting police officers with newly arrived refugees and immigrants as a part of building trust, promoting cultural awareness, and welcoming and assisting new community members in their process of adaptation.
In her previous assignment at the Criminal Intelligence Unit, Ms.Haunsperger focused on both intelligence and criminal investigations involving foreign-born labor trafficking subjects in the state of Oregon. Officer Haunsperger also co-produced a documentary film on foreign-born labor trafficking, "Reclaiming Their Lives," and is actively working on raising public awareness about trafficking trends in the Pacific NW. Officer Haunsperger is committed to developing a training curriculum for first responders and community-based stakeholders, focusing on early detection and identification of possible labor trafficking activities and victims identification and rescue.
Ms. Haunsperger received her B.A. in Russian Language from Portland State University in 2004. In 2015, Ms. Haunsperger was a recipient of the Rotary International Peace Studies scholarship and completed a three-month course in "Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies" at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2020, Ms. Haunsperger received a Master's Degree at the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS).
As a former war refugee and an immigrant from Croatia, Ms. Haunsperger is very involved with the immigrant and refugee communities in Portland and committed to promoting social and community justice. Her interests entail gardening, baking, and exploring the PCNW. She resides in Portland.