Community Response Works is a predominantly Black organization committed to group-centered leadership.
Our work is informed and led by those most impacted by police terror, and our team is abolitionist and feminist, queer and straight.
We’ve built nonprofits from the ground up, led direct actions, developed tech products, and delivered services to those in need.
Most importantly, all of us are still learning — about ourselves and what it will take to build a life-affirming world where police are obsolete.
We’re humbled to share this journey with you.
brandon Anderson (no pronouns)
Founder, Executive Director
brandon is a Black queer abolitionist organizer. brandon was born and raised in Oklahoma City during the 1980’s crack epidemic and the 1990’s global HIV pandemic. Before founding Community Response Works, brandon served five years in the army, completing two tours in Iraq as a satellite engineer before earning his BA from Georgetown University. brandon is a former Guest Lecturer at MIT and Claremont College; and is a 2019 TED Fellow, a 2018 Echoing Green Fellow, and a Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award nominee.
Jasmine Banks (she/her)
Deputy Director
Jasmine Banks is a queer black feminist and mother of four. She was born and raised in Indian Country in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jasmine has anchored efforts in the progressive movement spaces as an organizer, activist, and executive leader intervening toward social, economic, and racial justice. She received a Master's of Science in Community counseling from John Brown University and a certificate of Interfaith Innovation from NYU. Jasmine is a Higher Heights Black Women Leadership Fellow, a Rockwood Democracy Fellow, and a member of UC Berkeley's Democracy and Belonging Forum. Jasmine has co founded multiple nonprofits including Reconcile Arkansas, a mutual- aid/community response project to protect the safety, dignity, and belonging of transgender children in Arkansas.
Jadon Thomas (she/her)
Training Manager
Jadon Thomas is a black activist born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She has led training programs and cohorts focused on black-centered mental health, social justice, and community response. At Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD) in Atlanta, Jadon started as a Community Responder and later served as the Training Manager, where she developed the training program. She created agency-wide training strategies, coordinated internal trainings, and led trainings for neighborhood groups, advocacy and grassroots organizing groups, service providers, and faith-based organizations. Jadon has a Master's in Forensic Psychology and is passionate about advocating for systemic change by cultivating safe spaces that stand on truth, restorative justice, and transformative justice.
Nancy Mariano (they/she)
Software Engineer
Nancy is a queer Chamoru engineer whose mission is to create technology to make life easier for marginalized communities. Prior to joining Community Response Works she worked as a backend developer for Tableau and F5 Networks. In her free time she is an interdisciplinary artist as well as an active volunteer for several Seattle area organizations.
Nadav Savio (he/him)
Product Director
Nadav is compassionately curious about the problems people face and all-in on solving them. Before joining Community Response Works, he led product design for Google Search and User Experience for Google.org. Nadav has spent the past 25 years designing digital things to help people thrive, including an emergency alerting system for Google.org, an electronic medical records system for Médecins Sans Frontières, a civic engagement platform for Greenpeace, an energy-saving smart thermostat, and core emergency features of Android phones.