Our Team
Executive Leadership Team
Cass Crifasi, PhD '14, MPH
Co-Director
Cass Crifasi, PhD '14, MPH, studies how evidence-based policies and programs can reduce violence and advance equity.
Joshua Horwitz, JD
Co-Director
Josh Horwitz, JD, works to reduce gun violence by utilizing public health research and health equity analysis to build advocacy campaigns that meet critical opportunities in the policy development process.
Rebecca Shore, MPH
Director of Operations
Rebecca leads human resources, financial management, staff allocation, process and systems improvement, people management, and other functions to ensure an efficient and effective Center.
Team Leads
Christina Bailey
Senior Administrative Coordinator
Leads administrative efforts to keep the Center running smoothly.
Katherine Hoops, MD, MPH '10
Director of Practice, Core Faculty
Studies how clinicians and hospitals can act to reduce youth violence and injury while promoting resilience and equity
Joseph McHugh
Director of Communications
Empowering diverse voices, improving awareness, and fostering change to communicate our vision of a future free from the shadows of gun violence.
Jen Pauliukonis, MPH '22
Director of Policy and Programming
Strengthens state movement building efforts across the country through a program supporting state-level gun violence prevention advocates.
Sarah Rhyins
Director of Development
Oversees the fundraising for the Center, raising income to support its mission to reduce gun violence in all its forms.
Kelly Roskam, JD
Director of Law and Policy
Studies the constitutional implications of, advocates for, and works to improve the implementation of firearms laws.
Silvia Villarreal, MPP
Director of Research Translation
Translates research into evidence-based policy proposals and reports to craft gun violence policy solutions from a public health perspective.
Sylvia C Washington, PhD
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Partnerships
Applies an intersectional lens to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism are centered in gun violence research, advocacy, and assessment.
Our Team
Ethan Bartlett, MSPH '24
Research Data Analyst
Works to reduce and prevent gun violence through research translation in conjunction with research, advocacy, and policy endeavors throughout the Center.
Molly Burger, MA
State Affairs Manager
Supports the Center's advocacy efforts to pass evidence-based gun violence prevention policies in state legislatures across the country.
Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN
Has been conducting policy, advocacy and nursing research on the mental and physical health outcomes of experiencing violence, especially intimate partner violence, including risk factors for intimate partner homicide for 30 years.
Spencer Cantrell, JD
Uses her experience representing survivors to implement equitable and impactful gun violence prevention policies across the country.
Tim Carey, JD
Law & Policy Advisor
Operates at the intersection of legal, legislative, and research realms to protect civil rights and reduce gun violence in an equitable manner.
Michael R. Desjardins, PhD
Spatial epidemiologist and medical geographer who works on pushing the frontier of understanding the nexus between health and place.
Kathryn Fleisher, MPH
Assistant Policy Advisor
Brings public health and community organizing background to her work to support the implementation of policies to save lives and build healthier communities.
Shannon Frattaroli, PhD '99, MPH '94
Translates evidence about injury and violence prevention into policies and practices that will create safe places for people to thrive.
Lisa Geller, MPH
Senior Advisor for Implementation, ERC co-lead
Studies policies to reduce gun violence and uses research to implement evidence-based gun policies at the state level.
Vincent Gugliotta
Multimedia Communications Specialist
Produces video content to support gun violence prevention and spread awareness to the public.
Lori Haas
Advocacy Manager
Advocates for policies, programs, intervention and prevention strategies, and funding for those efforts across disciplines by forging partnerships with a wide variety of stakeholders. Lori brings a lived perspective to her work as a survivor of gun violence.
Odis Johnson, PhD
Studies social policy and data science with racial equity and justice for young people in focus.
Vanya Jones, PhD '06, MPH
Employs social and behavioral science methods to create, implement, and evaluate behavior change programs.
Shakun Kaushal
Digital Communications Specialist
Helps advance gun violence awareness and prevention efforts through social media, content creation, writing, press and media collaboration, and other digital initiatives.
Rose Kim, MPA
Assistant Policy Advisor
Researches and advocates for evidence-based policies to reduce gun violence in local communities.
Alex McCourt, JD, PhD '19, MPH
Examines firearm policy, opioid policy, and other areas affected by the relationships between law and the public's health.
Sarah McTyeire
Program Coordinator
Leveraging her background in community health program implementation, school violence prevention, behavioral and digital threat assessment, and state policy delegation, she collaborates with stakeholders to advocate for, adopt, and implement research-driven strategies to reduce gun violence.
Nicholas Meyerson, PhD '24
Focuses on advancing health equity through violence prevention and addressing consequences of involvement with the criminal legal system.
Julia Mittereder
Associate Director of Development, Annual Giving
Oversees annual giving for the Center to raise funds to reduce gun violence.
Amanda Myers
Senior Development Coordinator
Supports individual donations, large gifts, and fundraising efforts for the Center.
Paul Nestadt, MD
Uses clinical concepts and research to advance public health approaches to suicide prevention, including risk assessment, novel treatments, and consideration of access to lethal means.
Mallory O'Brien, PhD, MS
Focuses at the intersection of public health and public safety to establish policy and practice improvements both with-in and across systems with positive implications for communities.
Bushra Sabri, PhD, MSW, BSC (HONS)
Research focuses on lifetime cumulative exposures to violence, including intimate partner violence and stress caused by experiencing health inequities, particularly among minority and immigrant women.
Nandita Somayaji, MEd, MHS '24
Senior Research Data Analyst
Employs epidemiologic methods to conduct rigorous research and advocate for evidence-based gun violence solutions, fostering equity in communities.
Michelle Spencer, MS
Michelle Spencer, MS, is a public health practitioner who focuses on the impacts of health equity, racial disparities, and health outcomes through community-based initiatives.
Kari Still, JD
Law & Policy Advisor
Devises strategies for implementing evidence-based gun policies and analyzes Second Amendment and other constitutional challenges to firearms laws and the historical and scholarly record supporting their constitutionality.
Elizabeth Stuart, PhD
Uses statistical methods to help learn about the effects of public health programs and policies, often with a focus on mental health and substance use.
Kristen Ukeomah
Senior Research Program Coordinator
Applying a social equity lens on gun violence prevention research efforts across various projects within the Center.
Mudia Uzzi, PhD '22, MSc
Leads transdisciplinary community-based research and advocates for place-based policies to address the root causes of social and injury-related problems within neighborhoods.
Jon Vernick, JD, MPH '94
Promotes and evaluates the ways the law can be used as a tool to promote public health, particularly in the areas of injury and violence prevention.
Daniel Webster, ScD '91, MPH
Distinguished Research Scholar
Studies policies and programs intended to reduce gun violence and teaches public health approaches to violence prevention.
Hossein Zare, PhD, MS
Researches health and racial disparities, income inequality, neighborhoods and violence, and hospital community benefits to improve health access.
Celina Lidstone
Foundation Relations Officer
Builds relationships with foundations and manages foundation fundraising to support the Center.
Anna DuVal, MPH
ACTFAST Research Program Manager
Provides leadership as well as operational and general oversight of the ACTFAST for Kids and ACTFAST for Adults multicenter trials.
Elizabeth Wagner, ScM
Senior Research Data Analyst
Uses statistical methods to study topics at the intersection of public policy and firearms, with an emphasis on understanding policy impacts and public safety outcomes.
Mollie Young, MPH ‘21
ACTFAST Research Assistant
Working to engage community and health system stakeholders to provide trauma-informed, patient-centered injury prevention education.
Carla Tilchin, PhD MSPH
Core Faculty
Conducts mixed-methods research evaluating community violence interventions.
Affiliate Faculty
Mark Dredze, PhD, MS
Studies natural language processing and artificial intelligence and their application to problems in public health and medicine.
Dylan Jackson, PhD, MS
Focuses on fostering the health and well-being of children and youth in the face of violence, adversity, and exposure to the criminal justice system.
Pre and Post Doctoral Fellows
Hakim A. Stovall, DSS, MS
Postdoctoral Fellow
A prevention scientist whose aim is to use research principles to analyze social systems, draw conclusions, and implement strategies to address Gun Violence.
William Wical, PhD, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow
Researches hospital-based violence intervention programs, care, trauma, and racial justice by centering the perspectives, insights, and goals of Black men who survive gunshot wounds.
Angel Boulware, PhD, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow
An interdisciplinary scientist who works at the intersection of adolescent development and mental health, focusing on racial health disparities, community violence, and ecological theories.