Vera Institute of Justice

Savannah Castañeda is a senior program associate with Vera’s Redefining Public Safety initiative.

Previously, Savannah worked at the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Public Safety within the Department of Gang Reduction & Youth Development managing programs and partnerships that provided housing, employment, and health care to system-impacted people and their families, before transitioning to the New York City Mayor’s Office, where her work helped lead to the city reducing stop-and-frisks of marginalized youth.

In addition to her work, Savannah is an organizer and facilitator at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.

Savannah is a first-generation Latina scholar. She holds a BS in communications and a BA in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA and MSW from Columbia University.