Education
Cassandra holds a BA in Psychology and a Master of Social Work from Grand Valley State University, with an emphasis in Macro Social Work, systems theory, and policy. She also earned an LLM (Master of Laws) specializing in Human Rights and Transitional Justice with a focus on International Law from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Experience
Early in her career, Cassandra witnessed a troubling pattern: professionals and community members working toward shared goals often operated in such disconnected ways that they undermined their own long-term impact. Determined to bridge these divides and “speak the language” of diverse stakeholders, she chose to pursue her legal studies in one of the world’s most contested regions to understand how principles of justice and healing function under the most challenging conditions.
Cassandra is a social worker with a mind for data-driven results and a legal perspective and has the strategic range needed to problem solve from a variety of angles. When she finds a new problem, she asks herself: “how can we find sustainable, long-term success at the intersection of what is just, enforceable, helpful, and achievable”. She has applied these principles in government, community-based, non-profit, and for-profit sectors.