Our Team

Co-Director

Cass Crifasi, PhD '14, MPH, studies how evidence-based policies and programs can reduce violence and advance equity.

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.

Deputy Director of Equity and Community Partnerships

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.

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.

Research Data Analyst

Works to reduce and prevent gun violence through research translation in conjunction with research, advocacy, and policy endeavors throughout the Center.

State Affairs Manager

Supports the Center's advocacy efforts to pass evidence-based gun violence prevention policies in state legislatures across the country.

Core Faculty

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.

Senior Advisor for Implementation

Uses her experience representing survivors to implement equitable and impactful gun violence prevention policies across the country. 

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.

Foundation Relations Associate

Supports the fundraising efforts for the Center, obtaining grants and foundation funding to prevent gun violence.

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.

Core Faculty

Translates evidence about injury and violence prevention into policies and practices that will create safe places for people to thrive.

Senior Advisor for Implementation

Studies policies to reduce gun violence and uses research to implement evidence-based gun policies at the state level.

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.

Administrative Coordinator

Supports administrative and operations efforts to keep the Center running smoothly.

Core Faculty

Studies social policy and data science with racial equity and justice for young people in focus.

Core Faculty

Employs social and behavioral science methods to create, implement, and evaluate behavior change programs.

Digital Communications Specialist

Supports gun violence prevention through social media and all digital-based initiatives at the Center.

Assistant Policy Advisor

Researches and advocates for evidence-based policies to reduce gun violence in local communities.

Core Faculty

Examines firearm policy, opioid policy, and other areas affected by the relationships between law and the public's health.

Senior Development Coordinator

Supports individual donations, large gifts, and fundraising efforts for the Center. 

Core Faculty

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.

Core Faculty

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. 

Research Program Coordinator

Supports gun violence prevention-based research initiatives throughout the Center. 

Core Faculty

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.  

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.

Core Faculty

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.

Senior Research Program Coordinator

Applying a social equity lens on gun violence prevention research efforts across various projects within the Center.

Core Faculty

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.

Distinguished Research Scholar

Studies policies and programs intended to reduce gun violence and teaches public health approaches to violence prevention.

Core Faculty

Researches health and racial disparities, income inequality, neighborhoods and violence, and hospital community benefits to improve health access.

PhD Candidate

Fourth-year PhD candidate who studies gun violence prevention with an emphasis on place-based and racial/ethnic disparities.

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.

PhD Candidate

Conducts mixed-methods research evaluating community violence interventions.

 PhD Candidate

Studying violence and injury prevention as a graduate research assistant.