We have named Jessica Raven as our interim executive director!

Raven, currently a CASS board member, will serve in this role as the organization reevaluates its structure and conducts a comprehensive search for a permanent Executive Director.

“I could not be more excited to have Jessica take the reins for this organization,” said Mindi Westhoff, CASS Board Chair. “Her dedication to our mission of ending street harassment is extensive, and her past work with CASS and other social justice organizations more than demonstrate her ability to steer CASS during such an important time.”

In addition to her work as a CASS board director since 2014, Raven has worked with a number of community organizations tackling poverty, oppression, and gender-based violence. She led the individual giving program at Polaris, supporting the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, among other programs that seek to eradicate sex and labor trafficking in the United States, and she previously managed communications at local poverty relief agency, Bread for the City.

“It’s an honor to be a part of CASS’s leadership at this time,” Raven said. “Public sexual harassment is an issue that affects more than 12,000 people in our city every single day. CASS’s work with companies like WMATA and Zipcar makes commuting safer for the people most at risk, and I’m thrilled to work collaboratively with the staff, volunteers, and community to make DC a safe space for everyone.”

In the coming months, Raven will work with CASS’s volunteer communications, workshops, and policy teams to continue growing its community-based services, including the continuation of the WMATA anti-harassment campaign, SafeBars, and RightRides DC, which provides safe rides home for women and LGBTQ-identifying individuals through a partnership with Zipcar.

The CASS Board also recognizes the significant contributions of former Executive Director Zosia Stzykowski, and wish her the best as she commences graduate studies in England.