GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention will host the 2025 Community Violence Intervention Conference in Los Angeles on June 16 & 17, 2025.
More information will be coming soon, but in the meantime you can find details from last year’s conference below.
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The Community Violence Intervention Conference is the largest convening exclusively dedicated to CVI in the country, attracting more than 800 experts—both national and international—to discuss the impact of this lifesaving work. The goal of the conference is to bring together leading experts, advocates, and practitioners to share insights, struggles, and opportunities in a communal space devoted to advancing the field of community violence intervention.
At Giffords Center for Violence Intervention, we uplift the transformative work of community organizations and the strategies that break cycles of violence. The 2024 CVI Conference served as an invaluable opportunity for people committed to saving lives from community violence to come together, share best practices, and advocate for change.
Background
Community violence is a daily tragedy in neighborhoods across the country, and it’s disproportionately experienced by communities of color. Yet all too often, community violence—and some of its most successful solutions—fails to make the headlines or play a role in national debates about public safety.
Every person should be able to live, work, and play free from the threat of gun violence, and elevating CVI strategies is a key way to make that a reality. The 2024 Community Violence Intervention Conference provided a dedicated, cooperative environment to help the people building safer communities come together and exchange ideas.
Participants
Collaboration is a key part of the CVI movement. Every community is unique and available resources vary from city to city, making it crucial for those invested in violence intervention to have a dedicated time and place to share experiences and best practices.
With this in mind, we’ve designed the Community Violence Intervention Conference to appeal to a range of stakeholders and disciplines. The conference featured more than 500 subject-matter experts from across the country, and approximately 100 from abroad. Through a range of activities—including trainings, workshops, panel discussions, and more—we aimed to provide a collaborative and informative environment for all.
Stakeholders include:
- Survivors of Violence
- Intervention/Prevention Practitioners
- Researchers
- Policy Experts
- Advocates
- Frontline Workers
Disciplines include:
- Criminal Justice
- Social Work
- Public Policy
- Law Enforcement
- Nonprofits
- Philanthropy
The CVI Conference was located in downtown Los Angeles, California, and spanned two days: Monday, June 24, and Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Below is a schedule overview of last year’s conference.
Featured events included trainings, breakout sessions, workshops, panel discussions, healing exercises, opportunities to network, and more with leading experts in the CVI field.
Monday, June 24
- 7:30 am | Registration Opens
- 9:00 am | Opening Speakers
- 10:00 am | Meet the Author
- 10:40 am | Session 1 Breakouts
- 12:00 pm | Working Lunch
- 1:10 pm | Session 2 Breakouts
- 2:30 pm | Keynote Address
- 3:00 pm | Afternoon Plenary
- 4:00 pm | Closing Speaker
Tuesday, June 25
- 9:00 am | Opening Speakers
- 9:15 am | Morning Plenary
- 10:00 am | Ally Spotlight
- 10:40 am | Session 3 Breakouts
- 12:00 pm | Networking Lunch
- 1:10 pm | Session 4 Breakouts
- 2:30 pm | Afternoon Plenary
- 3:30 pm | Lifesaving Service Award
- 4:00 pm | Closing Speaker
Ambassador Candace Bond leads US foreign policy goals in Trinidad and Tobago, which includes promoting best practices focused on good governance and anti-corruption. Prior to her posting in Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Bond was a business owner, consultant, and social entrepreneur who specialized in helping public and private sector entities develop innovative, effective, and scalable solutions to address the socioeconomic and environmental needs of local communities. She is the recipient of numerous leadership and service awards, including Los Angeles County Woman of the Year and the Special Needs Network Woman of Distinction Award. She was also recognized as one of Los Angeles’s Women Leaders by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
Norman Livingston Kerr, MSW, is an international expert in the field of violence and trauma with over 30 years of experience. He recently served as the assistant deputy mayor for public safety in Chicago, where he led the city’s first-ever Office of Violence Reduction, and previously served as the vice president for violence intervention and prevention services at UCAN. Kerr’s career includes 14 years at Cure Violence, a violence prevention program he was instrumental in crafting by leveraging his previous experience as an outreach worker, mentor, and grassroots community worker.
Richard Paul Morales is a dedicated leader at the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership (LCCL), a nonprofit organization that empowers small, local community, and faith-based nonprofits in communities of color and rural areas. Through funding, technical assistance, and capacity building, LCCL strengthens these organizations by enhancing their fiscal and data infrastructure, providing tailored organizational development, fostering co-elevation, and effectively coordinating resources. Evaluations and case studies have recognized LCCL’s model for its strong performance, stewardship, and outcomes. Morales firmly believes in communities’ ability to solve local issues with the right resources, expertise, collaboration, and accountability.
Necole Muhammad founded and leads the Chicago CRED Women’s Center. She is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience in justice and educational systems, community outreach and intervention, trauma, and individual and couples counseling/coaching. Her work focuses on women, trauma, human sexuality, leadership, and public health. Muhammad’s previous experiences as a political liaison, probation officer, school social worker, and school principal inform her work with CRED. Muhammad is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Esther Chapter #518, and a variety of other professional, community, and social organizations.
Kevin “Twin” Orange, a former gang member turned community leader, co-founded Advocates for Peace & Urban Unity (APUU) in 2008. Born and raised in South-Central Los Angeles, Orange has dedicated his life to healing the community he once harmed. Through APUU, he works to educate communities about the root causes of violence and has successfully reduced violence through various programs. Orange’s efforts extend beyond activism: He collaborates with community organizations to foster peace and dialogue. He has played a key role in calming tensions during volatile situations, such as the “100 Days, 100 Nights” initiative and the George Floyd protests. His work has earned him numerous awards and recognition for his commitment to creating safer communities in South Los Angeles.
Ben Owens, also known as “Taco,” is a community violence intervention specialist with the Urban Peace Institute. A former gang member turned activist, he has over 40 years of experience in gang culture, building relationships with rival gang members and victims of violence. As a Peace Fellow, he travels across the country to train and learn from other intervention workers. Owens supervises Advocates for Peace and Urban Unity (APUU), directs Detours Mentoring Group Inc., and serves on the executive board of the Southern California Cease Fire Committee, working with various stakeholders to resolve community conflicts.
Andrew V. Papachristos, PhD, is a professor of sociology and faculty fellow at Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research and the faculty director of CORNERS: The Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science. A Chicago native, he is one of the world’s leading experts at applying network science to the study of crime, violence, policing, and urban neighborhoods, and has more than 15 years of experience working with community groups, government, schools, hospitals, and more.
Giffords Center for Violence Intervention is deeply grateful to our sponsors, who helped make the 2024 Community Violence Intervention Conference possible.
Tickets for the 2025 CVI Conference will be available in March. Attendees who have registered will receive entrance to the conference and lunch on both days.
All attendees are responsible for covering their own costs associated with travel, lodging, per diem, and other incurred expenses as a result of participating in this event.
If you are interested in covering the 2025 Community Violence Intervention Conference as a member of the press, please email media@giffords.org to RSVP.
QUESTIONS?
Our team is here to help. Email us at gcvi@giffords.org with any questions about the Community Violence Intervention Conference.
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STAY CONNECTED
Interventions are most effective when they are supported by strong community networks. Sign up for Giffords Center for Violence Intervention’s newsletter to learn more about what’s happening in the field, relevant legislation, and funding opportunities.