The Brave team is an unlikely collaboration of people with lived experience, technical brilliance, and compassionate activism. We identify as activists, engineers, people who use drugs (PWUD), philosophers, sex workers, and entrepreneurs.
Brave and everybody who works at Brave is here entirely because of the opioid epidemic. Each team member is proud to be part of our mission to end overdose fatalities. Collectively, we’ve reversed more than 200 overdoses.
Team members listed in alphabetical order by first name.
Client Success
Adam is Brave’s Client Success Lead, guiding teams from “What is this sensor?” to smooth, confident day-to-day use. He runs onboarding sessions that make even the most chaotic facilities feel organized, and once installations are live, he’s the person who makes technical issues disappear - usually before anyone notices they existed. If something breaks, Adam already has a fix, a plan, and a polite Canadian apology ready to go.
His brave life
Outside of work, Adam divides his time between Muay Thai and hanging out with his dog - both activities where he gets punched in the face less than you’d expect. He’s an open, personable person with the energy of someone who reads manuals for fun. If you need him after hours, he’s probably walking the dog or icing something from Muay Thai.
Software Developer
Corey is responsible for developing, maintaining, and testing Brave products.
His brave life
Corey treasures quality time with family and friends, whether it’s playing games, sharing a meal, or enjoying heartfelt conversations. However, he also finds great satisfaction in his own company, spending much of his free time exploring new topics, discovering fresh music, or diving into new activities. For him, an ideal night is spent cozied up at home with something engaging to focus on.
Founder & CEO
Gordon currently focuses on sales and partnerships. More generally he’s trying to find the things we’re missing, to eliminate as much as possible, and to learn what we need to learn, just in time. Call it strategy, or leadership, or just an attempt to view things from a higher perspective - something like that.
His brave life
In 2016, Gordon walked away from a career in law and finance in Curacao to relocate his family to Vancouver, BC so he could figure out ways to use technology to help people in need. It wasn’t his first big adventure–he’s hiked Kilimanjaro with his siblings and traveled around the world–but it has been his most rewarding.
Hardware Technician and Customer Support
Johnny answers customer questions and provides technical support for installation of Brave Sensors and Buttons. He also manages the hardware workspace and product assembly.
His brave life
Johnny is an avid coffee and craft beer drinker. He enjoys listening to a variety of music ranging from hyperpop to hardcore punk and can be found at Red Gate or the Rickshaw on any given weekend. Johnny has academic interests in urban planning and engineering solutions that are accessible to all types of people.
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Account Executive
Nicole runs sales and relationship management at Brave, combining her obsession with old-school marketing, her love of genuinely human relationships, and her uncanny ability to locate the one person in a facility who can actually say “yes.” She’s part strategist, part translator, and part professional chaos-untangler, building trust with libraries, housing providers, and community organizations who want to keep their spaces safer. Her work is grounded, practical, and people-first — the way harm-reduction tech should be.
Her brave life
When Nicole isn’t helping clients or untangling a procurement puzzle, she’s probably hiking with her dog, lifting something heavy, cooking something slightly unhinged, or at a poetry event. She has a streak of early-morning optimism that she refuses to apologize for, and a talent for showing up for her community with the same energy she brings to her work: focused, warm, and a little intense in the best way.
Design & Development Director
Richard leads the development of The Brave App, bringing together developers, designers and product owners to rapidly evolve software to best serve the needs of people who use drugs.
His brave life
His brave life: Richard is a life-longer learner with degrees in Computer Science and Psychology, and a diploma in law. He’s been developing software since he was a child and has a deep passion for turning ideas into reality.
Pilot Manager
Shawna is the glue that holds Brave together. Since delivering unequivocally successful results as Pilot Manager for our very first button pilot, she’s remained a key touchstone between the organization and communities we serve.
Her brave life
Shawna is passionate about overdose prevention and safer drug use. She’s bravely committed to making sure people have the tools they need to be safe.
Our board members play an important role in building the future of Brave. They volunteer their time and expertise to keep our corporate governance grounded and running.
We will soon welcome three new board members when the Brave Co-Op nominates and elects a customer, investor, and labor member from the co-op to serve on the board.
Tamara plays an integral role in establishing community and institutional partnerships to increase Brave’s impact. She also volunteers as a Brave Supporter. A seasoned fundraiser with an aptitude for technology, Tamara partnered with Brave in 2017 after winning a hackathon for an application called Medical Call and Response, a community response tool for the opioid crisis.
Brad is instrumental in guiding Brave’s financial outcomes. He has deep experience advising both private sector and non-profit organizations, and spent a decade in the co-operative sector in BC working for groups such as CCA/CMC BC.
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Oona and Gordon met Dylan when she spoke at a town hall meeting exploring syringe service programs in Ohio. They immediately fell in love with her—her resounding, powerful voice, her fierce love for her daughter, and her persistence and determination. Over the next two years, we spent countless hours with her sharing cars, rooms, tears, and laughter. When we heard she had died the day before International Overdose Awareness Day in 2020, we both broke down… we promise that, when the time is right, we will help to ensure your daughter knows how beautiful you were and how much you cherished her.
Alida participated in our first design jam in early 2018. She was interested in joining as a full-time team member once we had a role for her. We planned for her to lead the Button pilot in June 2018, but she took another job opening up an overdose prevention site and instead introduced us to her best friend, Shawna. Alida died of an accidental overdose in 2021. We all miss her, nobody more so than Shawna.
Spike was one of our first advisors. He was a peer support worker and harm reduction advocate in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He worked as Brave’s on-the-ground outreach lead and the community liaison between Brave and the local community that our digital platforms serve for many years. Spike died of an accidental overdose in 2021. RIP Spike - we're still listening.
These are the folks we turn to when we have questions or need guidance.
Brave Advisor since
June 2020
Expertise:
Team development and organizational change
Brave Advisor since
June 2019
Expertise:
Harm reduction and community development
Brave Advisor since
January 2017
Expertise:
Harm reduction and technology
Brave Advisor since
June 2020
Expertise:
Research and harm reduction
Brave Advisor since
June 2017
Expertise:
Harm reduction
Brave Advisor since
June 2017
Expertise:
Community development
Brave Advisor since
June 2020
Expertise:
Go-to-market strategy
Brave Advisor since
January 2018
Expertise:
Statistical and data science
Brave Advisor since
June 2020
Expertise:
Harm reduction and community development
Brave Advisor since
January 2018
Expertise:
Technology, investment, and advocacy
Brave Advisor since
January 2018
Expertise:
Social enterprise
Brave Advisor since
January 2017
Expertise:
Harm reduction
Brave Advisor since
August 2016
Expertise:
Health and compassionate care
We thrive on collaboration and opportunities to work with us abound.
