Apr 2024
Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy Steering Committee and Curriculum Developers
The CVI Leadership Academy’s original program design and curriculum was developed by a powerful group of national CVI leaders who now serve as the CVILA’s Steering Committee. The Steering Committee includes leading researchers, organizers, activists, survivor advocates, faith leaders, and practitioners.
With the support of curriculum developers, this group drew from their expert knowledge and experience to craft a curriculum that prepares leaders for the unique challenge of sustaining an impactful CVI organization and fostering health and safety in Black and Brown communities.
Steering Committee
Dr. Shani Buggs
Dr. Shani Buggs is an Assistant Professor for the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California Davis and a health and public policy scholar with expertise in community-driven violence intervention and prevention efforts.
Dr. Antonio Cediel
Dr. Antonio Cediel is the Special Advisor for Live Free USA, where he leads community violence intervention efforts and supports the network’s Latino church organizing, and the CEO of First Revolution Consulting.
Erica Ford
Erica Ford is credited with reimagining effective pathways to public safety in inner-city communities. She is the Co-Founder and former CEO of LIFE Camp, Inc.; Lead Creator of NYC Crisis Management System; Co-Chair of the National Black & Brown Peace Coalition; and Co-Founder of Kush & Kemet.
Marcus McAllister
Marcus McAllister is a national violence prevention expert, speaker, and consultant. He is also the Dean of Students of the UChicago Crime Lab’s Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy.
Pastor Michael McBride
Pastor Michael McBride is the Executive Director of Live Free USA, a Square One Fellow at Columbia University Justice Policy Lab, the Co-Founder of Black Church PAC and the Black Brown Peace Consortium, and serves as the Lead Pastor of The Way Church in Berkeley, CA.
Oresa Napper-Williams
Oresa Napper-Williams is the Founder and Executive Director of Not Another Child, Inc., an organization that provides unconventional therapeutic support and advocates for families and communities directly impacted by gun violence.
Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith is the Executive Director of Cities United and is an organizer, a bridge builder, a believer in community, and a thought leader.
Dr. Chico Tillmon
Dr. Chico Tillmon is the Executive Director of the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy and a leading national consultant and training and technical assistance provider on violence prevention, reentry, and nonprofits.
Curriculum Developers
Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra
Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra is an Assistant Professor at Jane Addams College of Social Work at University of Illinois Chicago. She is a licensed clinical social worker and also serves as Senior Advisor to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on crime victim and violence prevention issues.
Dr. Julian Thompson
Dr. Julian Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work spans several domains of research, including reentry, alternatives to incarceration and community mental health, criminalization of survivors, violence intervention, the politics of harm, and abolitionist praxis.
Reimagining Justice at Justice: Investing in Communities as Co-Producers of Public Safety
Research by the University of Chicago Crime Lab on community investment as a strategy for promoting public safety is highlighted in this paper published by The Square One Project.
Democratic National Convention (DNC) Platform Committee Hearing: Testimony from Dr. Chico Tillmon
Watch Dr. Chico Tillmon, Executive Director of the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy, deliver his remarks to the Democratic Platform Committee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 2024.
National League of Cities’ Case Study on Community Violence Intervention in Chicago
This case study from the National League of Cities (NLC) highlights the Rapid Employment and Development Initiative (READI Chicago) and cites the Crime Lab’s analysis showing a 79 percent reduction in READI participants’ shooting or homicide arrests.
Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy Brief
Learn more about the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy in this brief.
Latest Updates
Addressing Data Challenges to Prevent Domestic Homicide
Stephanie Drescher is the Operations Captain, Executive Section at the Madison (WI) Police Department and a graduate of the 2023 inaugural cohort of the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy (PLA). Our Crime Lab team spoke with Captain Drescher to learn how her experience in the PLA has shaped her work at her home department.
Improving the quality of life in downtown Knoxville
Captain Sammy Shaffer is the Commanding Officer of the recently created Central District in the Knoxville Police Department and a graduate of the 2023 inaugural cohort of The University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy (PLA). Our Crime Lab team chatted with Captain Shaffer earlier this year to hear more about how his experience with the PLA has shaped his work at his home department.
Chicago CEOs Raise $100 Million to Fight Crime After Bloody Days
Bloomberg’s Isis Almeida and Miranda Davis cite Crime Lab analysis of data on shootings in Chicago during the summer months, which account for more than one-third of the city’s shootings every year.