Jordan Costa serves as the associate director of GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention, where she leads initiatives to support and uplift communities most impacted by violence. In this role, she focuses on identifying best practices in community violence intervention, professionalizing and supporting the CVI workforce, and advocating for sustainable funding at local, state, and federal levels. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to fostering resilience and ensuring that the voices of community members are centered at all decision-making tables.

With a background that spans direct service, research, policy, and philanthropy, Jordan brings a holistic approach to community violence intervention. Before joining GIFFORDS, she volunteered in hospital-based violence intervention programs in the DC metropolitan area, connecting young men recovering from violent injuries with essential social services, and tutored both English and Spanish-speaking GED students in local jails and prisons. She has also contributed to survivor-centered storytelling through projects like “Life After the Gunshot” and has examined community violence from nonprofit and philanthropic lenses through her work with Convergence Center for Policy Resolution and Arnold Ventures.

As a qualitative researcher, Jordan focuses on the intersection of community trauma, structural violence, and the well-being of violence intervention workers. She is a former doctoral fellow at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and an active member of the Black and Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence and the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium. She holds a dual BA in Psychology and Criminology/Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a minor in Spanish Language and Cultures, and a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers University, Newark.