Our Team

Scaling Safety is a joint project between Community Based Public Safety Collective (CBPSC) and Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ). Together, CBPSC and ASJ have more than 15 years of experience cultivating new approaches to public safety. Our leadership includes:

Aqeela Sherrills

Aqeela Sherrills, co-lead of Scaling Safety and founder and executive director of Community Based Public Safety Collective, is a nationally recognized leader with three decades of experience building community solutions to urban violence.

After launching Newark Community Street Team in Newark, New Jersey, Aqeela founded Communty Based Public Safety Collective in 2021 to advise and train grassroots public safety organizations in methodologies to reduce and prevent violence. Previously, Aqeela was the chief architect of a gang truce in Watts, Los Angeles, that lead to the launch of The Reverence Project, which brought together activists, healers and artists in urban “war zones” to shift the culture from violence, shame, guilt and fear into forgiveness, compassion, reverence and truth.

Aqeela has also served as a senior advisor and co-architect of The White House’s Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, the first-ever White House initiative on community violence intervention. For more information on Community Based Public Safety Collective, visit their website at cbpscollective.org/

Lenore Anderson

Lenore Anderson, co-lead of Scaling Safety and founder and president of Alliance for Safety and Justice, has 25 years of experience advancing safety and justice reform at local, state and federal levels.

She founded Californians for Safety and Justice and the Alliance for Safety and Justice, and co-created Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, the nation’s largest victim advocacy program. Previously, Lenore served as Chief of Policy at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she spearheaded community partnerships and victim protection initiatives.

Lenore also previously served as Director of Public Safety for the mayor of Oakland, overseeing violence reduction initiatives, and as Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, overseeing city-community safety partnerships. She is also a recipient of a James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and a Crime Victim Attorney award. For more information on Alliance for Safety and Justice, visit their website at asj.allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/