Leading the Movement to Prevent Gun Violence

Opening remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Brady President Kris Brown will then welcome everyone to the 2020 annual California conference, with an overview of conference programming and the current landscape of the fight to prevent gun violence.

Panelists will discuss the way in which gun violence and racial justice intersect and how advocates for gun violence prevention can participate in and uplift racial justice efforts.

Panelists include:

• Mattie Scott, Brady California State President
• Kelly Sampson, Brady Senior Counsel and Director of Racial Justice
• Aalayah Eastmond, Team ENOUGH Executive Council member
• Tatiana Washington, March For Our Lives Advocacy Associate and 50 Miles More Executive Director
• Amber Goodwin, Community Justice Action Fund Founder and Executive Director

Moderated by Erica Rice, Brady Oakland Program Manager

Amanda Wilcox, Brady California Legislation & Policy Chair, discusses the current state of legislation in California and ongoing legislative efforts to keep California safe from gun violence. Given that California leads the nation in innovative gun laws, Ms. Wilcox will provide a history of past legislative successes and their impact.

Team ENOUGH Executive Council and Youth Lobbying Collective Leads Ritika Iyer and Adam Friedman, along with Team ENOUGH California Lobbying Collective Program Lead Ivan Garcia, will provide training on the basics of lobbying on the state or federal level. All ages are welcome to attend.

A discussion about the latest from Brady’s End Family Fire program related to safe gun storage and preventing gun suicide, followed by a conversation about the implementation of Gun Violence Prevention Orders (GVROs), and how GVROs fit into the spectrum of "extreme risk laws," or measures allowing for the temporary removal of firearms when people are in crisis.

Panelists will include

• Christian Heyne, Brady Vice President of Policy
  
• Kyleanne Hunter, Sarah Brady Fellow, Assistant Professor of Military and Strategic Studies at the United States Air Force Academy
• Pellie Anderson, Brady Regional Leadership Council Member
• Julia Weber, Giffords Implementation Director

Brady California will present United Playaz with the Excellence in Leadership Award for Community Impact. Hear from Rudy Corpuz, the Founder and Executive Director of United Playaz, and other leaders about the important work that they do every day.

United Playaz is a San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization. They provide a comprehensive range of services to prepare vulnerable youth for higher education, employment, and healthy living within a safe, nurturing, and collaborative environment.

Brady California President, Mattie Scott, and Brady California Legislation & Policy Chair, Amanda Wilcox, will present Brady California’s Legislator Excellence in Leadership Award to Assemblymember David Chiu. ASM David Chiu who championed and shepherded Brady’s priority bill on microstamping through the California legislature, will talk about his work as a legislator and how he managed to get passed this ground-breaking bill, in the middle of a pandemic.

Gun violence has a rippling effect on a community. Hear how survivors, people who have had a loved one taken from them by gun violence, and an advocate for children who suffer the trauma of gun violence, do the hard work of preventing gun violence every day. Learn how survivors take their grief and channel it into action.

Panelists include:

• Greg Jackson, National Advocacy Director at Community Justice Action Fund and survivor
• Lara Drino, Director of Child Abuse Policy and Prevention for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
• Bryan Muehlberger, father and survivor
• Sheila Burton, Brady San Francisco, mother and survivor
• Adrielle Jan Santiago, youth leader at United Playaz SF
  

Moderated by Christian Heyne, Brady Vice President of Policy and survivor

Hear from Brady’s Legal experts in the gun violence prevention movement. Brady Vice President of Legal Jonathan Lowy, Litigation and Constitutional Counsel Christa Nicols, and Senior Counsel of Trial & Appellate Litigation Erin Davis, give an update on U.S. Supreme Court cases that were denied, cases in the works, and what’s on the horizon.

Hear from experts in the field on the latest “hot topics.”

The Boogaloo movement has been in the news recently as members have been alleged to have been involved in a number of shootings. Anneliese Dickman, Brady Milwaukee Program Manager, has been studying the new “Boogaloo movement” and will discuss its history and what to look out for.

Ghost guns are becoming a rising problem in gun violence. Hear from Brady expert Steve Lindley on what ghost guns are and how can we prevent their use in gun crimes.

Schools/Parent Notification: Donna Finkelstein from Brady and Margot Bennett, Executive Director of Women Against Gun Violence discuss their successful work in disseminating important information on safe storage to families with children and will provide a toolkit for use where you live.

Kris Brown is President of Brady. Kris has a lifelong background in policy, law, and grassroots activism with considerable strategic management expertise to help forge the direction of the organization’s programs and ensure the successful impact of its national and field assets. She started her career on Capitol Hill working for Rep. Jim Moran, advocating for the bill that would eventually become the groundbreaking Brady Bill requiring background checks on federally licensed gun sales. She lives in Arlington, VA, with her two teenage daughters.

Mattie Scott is President of Brady California, Executive Director of Healing 4 Our Families & Our Nation (H3Of&ON), and San Francisco Chapter Leader of Mothers-in-Charge. Mattie is a 23-year veteran in the fields of violence prevention, gun violence survivorship, and activism. She is a delegate and works in prevention advocacy with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is also a gun violence survivor and activist. Her faith has carried her through the tragic shooting death of her youngest son, George C. Scott. Read more.

Kelly Sampson is Senior Counsel and Director of Racial Justice at Brady. With experience in litigation, human capital consulting, and diversity and inclusion, Kelly amplifies Brady’s legal expertise by cultivating an effective pro bono attorney network, promoting Brady’s perspective in gun violence-related cases, and addressing the gun industry’s disproportionate impact on communities of color.

Aalayah Eastmond is the Team Enough Administrator and an Executive Council Member. She is a survivor of the Parkland shooting and has since devoted her time advocating for ending gun violence and racial inequality. She is co-founder and Director of Finance and Operations of Concerned Citizens DC and a Development and Research Intern with PayOurInterns, working to make internships more accessible to Black marginalized youth.

Tatiana Washington Bio to come

Amber Goodwin is the Founding Director of the Community Justice Action Fund (CJAF) and the Community Justice Reform Coalition (CJRC). CJAF is the nation’s leading gun violence prevention organization working on policy, education, leadership development, and building resources centered on communities of color. CJAF is the only national gun violence organization led by a woman of color, and is proud to be led by a governing board made up of 100% survivors of color. Prior to founding CJAF, Amber served as the first National Advocacy Director for Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS, now Giffords).

Erica Rice is the Brady Program Manager in Oakland. Prior to coming aboard, she worked as a systems-builder in diverse non-profit organizations focused on a variety of issues ranging from the impact of social determinants of health on vulnerable communities to the challenges experienced by incarcerated parents and their families. Most recently, Erica worked for the City of Oakland as part of the violence intervention unit, Oakland Unite, now housed in the Department of Violence Prevention. A social worker by training, Erica has witnessed the devastating effects of gun violence on marginalized communities and believes it takes both direct intervention and systems-change to end gun violence.

Amanda Wilcox is co-President of the Sacramento Brady Chapter and founder and President of the Nevada-Placer Brady Chapter, and leads the statewide gun violence prevention coalition. She has served since 2005 as the Legislation and Policy Chair for Brady California. As a volunteer legislative advocate in Sacramento, Amanda has been instrumental in the enactment of many significant state firearm laws. Over her tenure,Amanda has helped 83 firearm bills get signed into law, while stopping every bad bill.

Ritika Iyer is a Team ENOUGH Executive Council member and Team ENOUGH National Youth Lobbying Coordinator. Ritika Iyer traces her activism to fighting her local school board for the inclusion of novels written by people of color in the curriculum. She also founded a local organization Never Again SoCal in collaboration with her State Senator and local high school students. After serving on the leadership team for the Team ENOUGH DC Youth Lobbying Collective for a year, she now serves as the National Youth Lobbying Coordinator for Team ENOUGH, while on the Executive Council. She also currently serves as the Co-Director for March For Our Lives GW while keeping with her South Asian heritage as a dancer on GW Raas. Ritika is a junior at the George Washington University’s International Affairs program, with a minor in Criminal Justice. Ritika believes that by the youth keeping pressure on local, state and federal governments, we can pass progressive legislation that tackles intersectional gun violence prevention measures.

Adam Friedman is a member of the Team ENOUGH Executive Council. He is a student in the class of 2022 at George Washington University, where he studies political science and applied ethics. He currently oversees Team ENOUGH’s federal and state lobbying collective programs. Before his time on Team ENOUGH’s executive council, Adam served as the North American Social Action Vice President for NFTY, the Reform Jewish youth movement. He also serves as the Vice President of Education for his university’s sexual violence prevention organization, SASA. Adam has been involved with gun violence prevention since 2012, when it affected his family directly. He is passionate about activating his peers, and has a track record of organizing young leaders to build networks of change. Adam hopes to continue expanding Team ENOUGH’s lobbying work in order to pass lifesaving legislation.

Ivan Garcia Bio to come

Christian Heyne is the Vice President of Policy at Brady. Christian leads all legislative efforts at the federal and state level. Prior to assuming this position at Brady, Christian served as the legislative director at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. He prioritizes strong relationships across the spectrum of the gun violence prevention movement and its relevant partners — from those in academia to policymakers to implementers. He strives to ensure that survivor voices are genuinely heard and reflected in each stage of this work.

Ky Hunter is the Inaugural Sarah Brady Fellow Marine Corps Veteran, served as the Marine Corps’ Legislative Liaison Officer to the House of Representatives, and is the military liaison for the House Democracy Partnership. Kyleanne is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Masters’ in National Security Studies program. She also serves as the chair of the Employment and Integration subcommittee of the Secretary of Defenses’ Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

Pellie Anderson is a Brady Regional Leadership Council Member. Pellie is currently a member of Brady’s Northern California Regional Leadership Council. She previously worked as a domestic violence prosecutor for ten years. Since joining the gun violence prevention movement, she worked to bring Gun Violence Restraining Order training to law enforcement agencies.

Julia Weber is the Implementation Director at Giffords Law Center. Julia is an attorney, social worker, adjunct professor, frequent speaker, and expert witness who focuses on implementation of violence prevention policies, domestic violence, and anti-bias efforts. She's spent over 25 years drafting violence prevention legislation, developing and delivering training, and working with judges, community organizations, policymakers and others on addressing complex issues creatively with a focus on equity, fairness, and access to justice. She is the Implementation Director for Giffords Law Center

Rudy Corpuz is Founder and Executive Director of United Playaz. As the founder and executive director of United Playaz, Rudy is dedicated to violence prevention and youth development in San Francisco. Twenty-five years ago, in Rudy’s own words, he would not have been a viable candidate for this community-building work having spent nearly a decade in and out of trouble with the law. But after applying for a job opportunity spotted on a board at City College of San Francisco for a “Gang Prevention Counselor, Filipino,” Rudy changed the direction of his life. Since Rudy founded United Playaz, it has grown rapidly. In addition to hosting gun buybacks every year, the organization provides free after school programs for elementary to high school youth, restorative justice classes for citizens returning from the correctional system, crisis response services, workforce development, and in-school violence prevention programs at seven high schools in San Francisco.

David Chiu As a member of the California State Legislature, David Chiu represents the 17th Assembly District, which encompasses eastern San Francisco. He was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2016 and 2018. During David's first year, he served as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore; since 2016, he has served as Chair of the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee. He also sits on the following legislative committees: Budget; Business and Professions; Judiciary; Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media. He also serves as Chair of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. Throughout his career in public service, he has worked tirelessly to prevent gun violence by authoring legislation to reduce fatalities by requiring the gun industry to produce handguns with more safety features, and closing loopholes in Californian gun laws, thereby improving public safety.

Greg Jackson For the last four years, Greg Jackson’s professional efforts have focused on achieving a safer, stronger Washington D.C. community in multiple capacities after surviving an act of gun violence in 2013. He currently leads Community Justice Action Fund’s national advocacy efforts. In this capacity, Greg oversees community events, outreach activities, policy development, violence reducing programs and direct engagement of residents most at risk to gun violence in Washington, D.C.

Lara Drino is the Director of Child Abuse Policy and Prevention at the LA Attorney’s Office. Serving as a prosecutor for over 26 years, Lara has first-hand experience and understands the wide range of issues involved with violence against children. She’s working with the local community and other agencies to develop proactive measures to protect our children.

Bryan Muehlberger is the Founder of The GracieStrong Foundation & The SpeakTFUP! Project. Bryan's 15-year old daughter Gracie Anne Muehlberger, was tragically murdered on 11/14/19 in a mass shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA only 3 minutes after buying the ticket to her first High School dance. Gracie was not only the first child ever killed in a mass shooting at a school by a ghost gun, but was also killed by the youngest mass shooter in history - a boy who had just turned 16 on that day. Bryan has since launched GracieStrong & Speak(TF)UP! to EMPOWER, INSPIRE and SUPPORT individuals to SPEAK UP, realizing their VOICE is POWERFUL and MATTERS, and enable them to FIGHT for their VALUES, have their VOICES HEARD, and impact CHANGE for their future.

Sheila Burton Bio to come

Adrielle Jan Santiago is a youth leader with United Playaz SF. Inspired by her uncle Rudy, Adrielle uses her voice to call Americans to prevent gun violence. Furthermore, she does not shy away from speaking truth to leaders like Speaker Pelosi and Congresswoman Speier.

Jonathan Lowy is Vice President of Legal at Brady. Jon has provided pro bono legal representation to victims of gun violence across the country since 1997. He graduated from Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Jon has been named one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon magazine for the past five years, and has published numerous articles on gun litigation and policy including, The Right Not To Be Shot: Public Safety, Private Guns, and the Constellation of Constitutional Liberties in the Georgetown Journal of Law and Policy.

Erin Davis is Senior Counsel, Trial & Appellate Litigation at Brady. As a former public defender, civil practice attorney, and Obama appointee to the DOL, Erin has more than a decade of experience as a trial attorney representing those injured. She uses her vast litigation experience to help victims of gun violence find justice against the gun industry for the devastation they cause their families and others.

Anneliese Dickman is the Brady Milwaukee Program Manager. Anneliese has been a public policy professional for over 25 years, focusing on local government issues important to neighborhoods and families. After the Sandy Hook massacre, Anneliese left her position as the research director of the Midwest's oldest think tank to dedicate her skills to reforming gun policy. She joined Brady in 2018 as the program manager for the Combating Crime Guns Initiative in Milwaukee.

Steve Lindley Bio to come

Donna Finkelstein is a board member of Women Against Gun Violence. Mindy, Donna's daughter was shot and wounded in 1999 in an anti-Semitic attack in Granada Hills California. Donna has been a member of the Brady Campaign since 2000. Donna combines her work as a high school counselor, personal experience with survivors, encouraging school districts to distribute information to parents about Safe Gun Store in the home.

Margot Bennett is the Executive Director of Women Against Gun Violence. With an MBA in non-profit management from the American Jewish University, Margot has spent the last 30+ years working in the non-profit arena, the last 11 years with WoMen Against Gun Violence as their Executive Director.