Scott Durrah

Scott Durrah joined the SAFER Board of Directors in 2008.

Scott is a chef and restaurateur who has opened successful restaurants in California and Colorado. He is currently executive chef and owner of 8 Rivers Restaurant in Denver's LoDo district. 

Steve Fox

Steve Fox co-founded SAFER and joined its board of directors in 2005.

Steve served as SAFER's executive director from November 2005 to November 2006, and he has been a member of the SAFER Voter Education Fund Board of Directors since co-founding the SVEF in 2006. He is also coauthor of Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Do We Drive People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, 2009). 

Steve currently serves as director of state initiatives at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Previously, he served as director of government relations for MPP, during which time he successfully lobbied for the introduction of the first medical marijuana bills in the U.S. House and Senate. He also held positions in the U.S. Commerce Dept. and in Bill Clinton's infamous "War Room" during his 1992 presidential campaign. He  is currently a communications consultant in Washington, D.C.

Aaron Houston

Aaron Houston co-founded SAFER and joined its board of directors in 2005.

Aaron is the director of government relations at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C., where he previously served as national field director.

Prior to joining MPP, Aaron worked as a political consultant in his home-state of Colorado, managing and advising a variety of successful candidate and initiative campaigns. He also served as the executive director and lobbyist for the state's largest membership-based non-profit advocacy organization, and he spent three years as a staff member in the Colorado State Senate.

Aaron is frequently in the news being interviewed or quoted on marijuana and marijuana policy, and he was featured in the Showtime original documentary "In Pot We Trust." 

Scarlett Swerdlow

Scarlett Swerdlow joined the SAFER Board of Directors in 2005.

From 2004 to 2006, Scarlett served as executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), one of the largest student-based advocacy organizations in the nation, and she is the co-chair of the National Organization for Women (NOW) Committee on Women and Drug Policy.

Scarlett currently resides in Chicago where she serves as communications coordinator of the Illinois Arts Alliance, a statewide arts advocacy and service organization promoting the value of the arts to residents of Illinois.

Mason Tvert

Mason Tvert co-founded SAFER and joined its board of directors in 2005.

Mason currently serves as the organization's executive director, as well as a member of the SAFER Voter Education Fund Board of Directors. He is also a coauthor of  Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Do We Drive People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, July 2009). 

Previously, Mason led Arizonans for Medical Marijuana, a grassroots campaign that advocated for federal medical marijuana legislation and educated the public about opposition among members of Arizona's congressional delegation. He has also worked in the Phoenix City Council Office, the Office of the Arizona Attorney General, the Virginia State Senate, and on a variety of local and federal candidate campaigns.

Mason is an alumni of the Center for Progressive Leadership's Colorado Political Fellowship. He currently serves as president of the Colorado Center for Progressive Leadership Alumni Board.  

See Mason's staff bio for more information. 

Ann del Llano

Ann del Llano joined the SVEF Board of Directors in 2006.

Ann is an attorney and lobbyist based in Austin, Texas, who recently founded her own lobbying and campaign services firm, Capitol City Solutions.

Previously, Ann worked with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, specializing in the Texas criminal justice system and the state budget. She has contributed to several successful efforts to pass state and local legislation and budget priorities, as well as a variety of educational campaigns.

Steve Fox      (see above)

Michael Rothman

Mike Rothman joined the SVEF Board of Directors in 2006.

Mike is a Maryland-based trial attorney whose practice focuses on criminal defense, commercial litigation, and intellectual property.

Prior to founding the Law Office of Michael S. Rothman, he spent several years as an attorney at a large law firm in Washington, DC, litigating cases in both state and federal court.

Mason Tvert    (see above)

Brian Vicente

Brian Vicente joined the SVEF board in 2006.

Brian is an active criminal defense attorney in Colorado and serves as executive director of Sensible Colorado, a non-profit organization advocating for a more sensible and effective approach to marijuana and other drug policies in the state. He is also a principle at the Canna-Business Institute, which provides education and training for those interested in working in the medical marijuana industry.

Brian currently serves as chairman of the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel appointed by Mayor John Hickenlooper, and he coordinates the Colorado Bar Association's Drug Policy Project. Brian also serves as director of the People's Law Project, a legal collective formed prior to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in order to defend First Amendment rights, inform people of their rights, and provide legal observers at rallies and protests.