January 2026: CVI Leadership Academy students and staff at the kickoff event for its fifth cohort. Photo by Tarik Dennie.

The fifth cohort of the CVILA is composed of 22 community violence intervention leaders representing 17 localities across the United States.

Participating Localities

Cohort 5 Students

Jalilia Abdul-Brown

Executive Director, Change Starts With Community

Minneapolis, MN

 

Juan Avila

Chief Operating Officer, Garden Pathways, Inc.

Bakersfield, CA

 

Rosalee Anderson

Assistant Director, City of Portland Ceasefire

Portland, OR

 

Rodney Babb

Lead Violence Recovery Specialist, Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program (PTVRP)

Philadelphia, PA

 

Troy Bradley

CVI Outreach Liaison, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety Engagement

Baltimore, MD

 

Latoya Breckenridge

Independent

Newport News, VA

 

Darnell Brewer

State Representative Ohio House District 18, Ohio House of Representatives

Cleveland, OH

 

Terry Burnside

Executive Director, House of Hope Peoria. Inc

Peoria, IL

Keisha Coleman

Director, Office Of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery

Jackson, MS

 

Augusto Dolce

Executive Director, God’s Pantry

Pomona, CA

 

Trevon Fordham

Director, Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement

Columbia, SC

 

Angelica Hardy

Resilience Program Manager, Alliance of Local Service Organization

Chicago, IL

 

Karlton Harris

Executive Director, The Forgotten Third, Inc.

Houston, TX

 

Julia Irving

Deputy Director of Government and Community Affairs, Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement

Washington, DC

 

Dwayne Johnson

Violence Recovery Program Director, UChicago Medicine

Chicago, IL

James Marks

Executive Director & Associate Director, Dream Catchers Academy LBC/April Parker Foundation

Long Beach, CA

 

Ricardo Miles

Owner, Driven Concepts & Solutions, LLC

Washington, DC

 

Brenda Mitchell

Illinois State Chapter Lead, MOMS Demand Action and Senior Fellow, Everytown Survivor Network

Chicago, IL

 

Dr. Nicole Patrick

CEO, United Against Violence, NFP

Chicago, IL

 

Kenneth Thompson

Director of Programs and Community Outreach, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass

Philadelphia, PA

 

Dr. Asoye’ Uhurubey

Owner, Uhuru Revolution, LLC

Jacksonville, FL

 

Chris Williams

CEO and Founder, Complex Vision Newark

Newark, NJ

View a gallery of photos from the fifth cohort of the CVILA