Before starting at the National Network for Safe Communities, Sasha worked as a Director of the Minneapolis Office of Violence Prevention (Minneapolis OVP) in the Minneapolis Health Department. The Minneapolis OVP is responsible for coordinating violence prevention initiatives across the city and engaging with communities throughout Minneapolis to better address violence and safety issues using innovative community centered strategies. The Minneapolis OVP houses violence prevention programs including; a Group Violence Intervention model as well as a Hospital Based Violence Intervention program. Ms. Cotton’s work experience prior to her current position includes serving as the National Resource Center Coordinator at The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC), as well as serving as the Prevention Program Manager for the Violence Free Minnesota, the state’s domestic violence coalition. She is currently representing Minnesota on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Sasha holds a Bachelor of Arts from Metropolitan State University and a Restorative Justice Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.