Meet the Team
Aswad Thomas
VP, ASJ & National Director
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Aswad Thomas
VP, ASJ & National Director
On August 24, 2009, Aswad was 26 years old and just three weeks from going to Europe to play professional basketball. As he left a convenience store, he was approached by two men intent on robbing him and he suffered two near-fatal gunshots to his back, ending his basketball career. Today, Aswad leads ASJ’s organizing efforts as the Vice President.
In this role, Aswad is dedicated to expanding ASJ’s national network of crime survivors to include those most commonly affected by violence, including young men of color, and help elevate those voices in state and federal policymaking debates. Aswad received a Master of Social Work, with a concentration in Community Organizing and focused area of study in Urban Issues, from the University of Connecticut, and a B.A. in Business Management from Elms College. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his Wife.
Aswad’s story has been featured in the New Yorker Magazine: “Black Wounds Matter”, NPR: “Black Men Who Are Crime Victims Have Few Places to Turn”, Sacramento Bee: “California’s crime survivors must speak out for smart justice”, VICE/The Marshall Project: “How I Came to Terms with the Man Who Shot Me”, Marshall Project: “We are Witnesses”, and the Hartford Courant: “On Hartford Streets, A Life Nearly Derailed by Bullets” and “Hartford Shooting Survivor Stands Against The Violence”. Prior to his time at ASJ, he was one of Connecticut’s most outspoken supporters of additional resources for victims of gun violence and became a leader in building coalitions across racial lines to advance justice reform and prevent gun violence. Aswad founded Hartford Action, a grassroots organization working to empower communities to change policy and improve the relationship between the Greater Hartford community and the justice system.
Jonathon Lewis
Managing Director
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Jonathon Lewis
Managing Director
Jonathon is a skilled community organizer who, prior to joining ASJ, worked as a Manager of Organizing Strategy for Leadership for Educational Equity – Louisiana, where he coached and provided strategies for teachers and former teachers to change education policies locally and statewide. He was also a Project Manager for Grassroots Solutions LLC, in Washington, DC, as well as a Regional Field Fellow with the NAACP and Deputy Youth Vote Director with the Obama campaign in Ohio.
Jonathon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX and a Masters in Public Administration from Bowie State University. Jonathon begin his organizing career during his collegiate years, where he mobilized young adults across the state of Texas around education, issue advocacy, and civic engagement.
He lives in Houston, Texas.
Priscilla Bordayo
Partnerships Manager
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Priscilla Bordayo
Partnerships Manager
Priscilla joins ASJ as the MI CSSJ Statewide Manager and is a local and National sexual abuse advocate. She has been sought out, as a motivational speaker by numerous community organizations, such as, her Local Law Enforcement, The National Guard, Prisons across the United States, both Public and Private Schools all to discuss her story of overcoming incest and bring awareness through education in order to end abuse. She has been invited to speak before the Senate and House of Representatives. She was apart of the “Clean Slate Bill” her first bill, that was signed by Governor Whitmer.
Priscilla has been featured on TCT, Moms Of Miracles, Driven By Women, The Every Day Series, Every Dope Girl, Cover Of Women’s Lifestyle Magazine (2019). She was the 2019 Women of the Year and 2020-10 over the next 10 award winner. She is currently up for the Governor’s award! Priscilla currently works for two non profits called EVE( Ending Violent Encounters) and Crime Survivors For Safety and Justice. CSSJ is her first National position where she is currently working on the Michigan Safer Act that focuses on victim Compensation and rehabilitation for those who commit crimes. Her newest role is, the State-Wide Manager for CSSJ.
Writing Addition:
Priscilla Bordayo was born in Texas but raised in the mitten, the beautiful four-season state of Michigan. She was the first in her family to attend and receive a degree at the college level. Priscilla comes from a very large family. Her mom had eight brothers and sisters while her dad had fourteen. She knew breaking the cycle of sexual abuse, even in education, was key to her success. She attended Southwestern Assembly of God University where she earned a Bachelors degree in elementary education. In the past she utilized her degree in childhood education, as a full-time Au Pair. Priscilla has such a passion to invest in the lives of children because she believes they are the future. She continues to mentor kids in and outside of school.
Priscilla is also a strong woman of faith and loves to sing. She currently is the Worship Director at Rivers of Life Church in Holt, Michigan, where she serves the ministry faithfully. It’s her passion to worship through song and to help others encounter Jesus through the gift he gave her. She believes Worship is a weapon for a breakthrough. She’s also the Events Director where so oversees all events.
In her free time, Priscilla loves watching movies. She also enjoys watching and playing all kinds of sports. She’s a finger lick’in rib eater with extra bbq sauce, and her favorite snack is French fries.
Many would say she’s a jack of all trades, as she is a go getter, a mover and a shaker, (the definition of her name),and not afraid to take a step on the adventurous side. On the top of her list are two of her favorite hobbies, shopping and interior design. It’s always a toss up to either buy a new blouse or Targets newest decorative pieces.
Juan Pablo Chavez
Organizing Manager
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Juan Pablo Chavez
Organizing Manager
Juan Pablo has been working in Latino communities and with faith leaders for over 20 years. In 1992, he began organizing youth groups for the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1999, he helped implement the CeaseFire model in the Southside of Chicago, a program to reduce shootings and murders while offering positive alternatives, and mobilized faith communities to respond when a shooting happened. Working with immigrant students (DREAMers) and clergy in Illinois, he helped secure in-state tuition for undocumented students in the state.
After moving to Florida, he worked with low-income senior citizens and faith leaders to access affordable housing and better public transportation. He has also worked with Latinos and faith leaders though the Florida Immigrant Coalition. As the Director of Clergy Organizing for Faith in Florida, he engaged 2,200 people of faith for various campaigns in support of proactive immigration policies while training 150 lay and clergy leaders to support local, state, and national policy changes in support of immigrant families in Florida.
Mary Dunne
Social Media Manager
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Mary Dunne
Social Media Manager
Mary serves as our Social Media Manager. A few of her greatest passions include criminal justice reform, breaking down diet culture, house plants, and music. She and her fiance have four dogs who they love to take on hikes, walks, kayak trips, and camping trips. Mary lives in Milwaukee and enjoys the coastal beauty of Lake Michigan! She spends most of her free time devouring books – especially historical fiction – and writing. She teaches hot yoga and is passionate about making yoga accessible to everyone. She’s a big traveler and loves to immerse herself in the culture and history of a new place.
LaNaisha Edwards
Member Engagement Manager
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LaNaisha Edwards
Member Engagement Manager
LaNaisha Edwards is our Member Engagement Manager and recently earned her Master Certificate in Restore Justice at Vermont Law school with the goal of advocating for more Restorative programs within the justice system and impacted communities. She is a survivor of multiple violent crimes, activist, restorative justice practitioner and advocate. Since the murder of LaNaisha younger brother she continued to share her story publicly with the goal of showing their is healing in storytelling. She is dedicated to creating opportunities for transformation and healing for everyone impacted by violence including people who have been harmed and people responsible for harm. LaNaisha supports victims/survivors in elevating their voices in many areas; local, and state policy in advocating for change. She consults, trains, and supports survivors with their media present and understanding it is important for victims/survivors to share their own narratives.
Tricia Forbes
Senior Member Support Manager
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Tricia Forbes
Senior Member Support Manager
Tricia leads CSSJ’s Member Support Program, which offers a menu of resources for healing and wellness. She has 25 years of experience working in the movement for social, economic, and racial justice. Her career began at a feminist collective family violence program in Asheville, NC doing community outreach and training. She obtained her Masters in Social Work from the University of North Carolina and did her practicums as a policy intern at the Common Sense Foundation and a counselor for sexual assault survivors at the Duke University Women’s Center.
After moving to Austin, TX in 1998, Tricia served as the Executive Director of ProTex: Network for a Progressive Texas and was a co-founder of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. She has also held leadership positions as the Grassroots Advocacy Director at the American Heart Association; Executive Director at the SIMS Foundation, a mental health organization serving Austin musicians and their families; and Deputy Director at the Texas Fair Defense Project.
Tricia has extensive consulting experience and has worked with criminal legal reform organizations like the Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable, as well as several projects that advocate for access to health care. A survivor of violent crime herself who has been in recovery from alcohol and drugs for 14 years, she is passionate about working with other survivors to promote healing. She lives in Austin in a full house with her two amazing teenagers, two rowdy dogs, and a precious cat.
David Guizar
Training & Chapter Engagement Manager
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David Guizar
Training & Chapter Engagement Manager
David currently serves as our CSSJ Training & Chapter Engagement Manager. He previously was in the role of CSSJ Membership Engagement Manager.
When David was 10 years old in 1983, his older brother – and idol – was murdered. No one told him what happened, and David struggled in his teen years with fear and anger about the loss. After decades of drug and alcohol addiction, David became clean and sober. Then in 2012, another brother was killed while attempting to stop a stranger from entering a wedding party. David helped his family navigate this ordeal and has developed first-hand expertise in what needs – often unmet or hard to meet – people have after experiencing trauma.
Tashante McCoy
Membership Engagement Manager
Celina Meadows
Organizing Manager
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Celina Meadows
Organizing Manager
Celina serves as our Arizona CSSJ Statewide Manager. Celina’s passion for community service and the spirit of collaboration began in her youth. As a teen, she started her work in community programs, volunteering at public schools as a youth program assistant and at the local YMCA as the youth art coordinator, supporting programs to garner a safe space for youth otherwise displaced by community and family trauma.
After primarily working within military legislation and lending her voice to what is now the 2018 Military Families Protections Act (MFPA), Celina began to bridge her legislative efforts to create better practices in civilian legislation—supporting local AZ legislators in collaboration with the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (ACESDV). Later, Celina helped Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ) in a victorious 2021-2022 legislative cycle, in which CSSJ had (2) bills signed into law HB 2604: Domestic Violence-emergency orders of protection and HB 2594: trauma recovery centers; grants.
Her work continues in community collaboration by expanding her advocacy to revisit her work in community crisis prevention while supporting best practices for system servicing trauma.
Kristina Plummer
Program Manager
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Kristina Plummer
Program Manager
Kristina is the Program Manager for CSSJ at the Alliance for Safety and Justice. In this role, Kristina continuously collaborates with team members to ensure the division meets their organizational goals and benchmarks.
Her career in social justice began when she was working with a nonprofit organization located in Washington, DC who provided trauma-informed art therapy services for youth, children, and families who were experiencing various forms of trauma including financial crisis, homelessness, and crime. As a passionate lover of the arts and serving the community, Kristina also served as program manager of a local arts agency who provided grants to local artists, schools, and community arts organizations to enrich the lives of others.
Kristina received her M.A. in Nonprofit Arts Administration from Goucher College and her B.A. in Vocal Performance from Agnes Scott College. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her beloved husband and puppy!
Kimberly Youngblood
Organizing Manager
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Kimberly Youngblood
Organizing Manager
Kimberly serves as our Texas CSSJ Statewide Manager. She recently worked as a Senior Organizer and the Family Projects Coordinator at the Grassroots Law Project, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that works to transform the American legal system. In her role at Grassroots Law Project, she assisted in the development, coordination, and implementation of family advocacy projects and campaigns designed to support families impacted by America’s policing system. Prior to working with Grassroots Law Project, Kimberly served as an organizer at the Real Justice PAC, an organization that worked to help elect civil-rights minded prosecutors across the nation who would use their power to reduce mass incarceration, police violence and injustice in America. In 2018, she worked on the Beto for Texas Senate campaign as an Organizing Field Manager in Houston, TX where she mobilized voters in African American and Latino communities to exercise their right to vote. Prior to her electoral work, Kimberly worked with The Harris Foundation for more than eight years, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by the “First African American Astronaut to Walk in Space”, Dr. Bernard A. Harris, Jr. The Harris Foundation provided education, health and wealth programs for middle school students in under-served and under-represented communities. Kimberly is excited to join the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice organization to continue her advocacy work in serving the community.