Leadership in Action: Courage Fellows in Their Communities
One of my favorite things about working at GIFFORDS is that I get to manage our Courage Fellow program.
GIFFORDS launched the Courage Fellow program in 2018, following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Every year, we recruit, train, and support the next generation of leaders in the fight to save lives from gun violence.
Our goal has always been to connect young advocates with national leaders and other advocates in the gun violence prevention movement, work with them to develop the tools and skills to enter the gun safety conversation, and help them fight for stronger gun laws.
This year, we recruited young people in two states that are essential to the movement: Arizona and Texas. These 12 advocates participated in in-state trainings, met with lawmakers at their state capitol throughout the spring, and developed and implemented a community engagement project of their choice.
And, truly, these young people blew past my expectations. Their dedication to this issue was energizing, and many of their community engagement projects went above and beyond our guidelines. That’s why I want to feature a few of my favorite projects from this year’s GIFFORDS Courage Fellows.
Macey Chandler’s community engagement project originated as an assignment for a social statistics class at Trinity University. She wanted to analyze the community contexts of firearm violence in Texas, but couldn’t find an existing source that included the data she needed. So, she filled a gap in the research by creating a centralized dataset that featured a neighborhood or community’s median income, its urbanicity, and its rate of gun violence.
For her community engagement project, Macey expanded the scope of her dataset to feature additional data and to allow the user to search for gun violence incidents by zip code. She then shared this dataset with organizations working to prevent gun violence in Texas, aiding their work to keep Texans safe and to save lives.
Here’s what Macey had to say about her project and this program:
I’m passionate about understanding the complex factors behind the existence of gun violence. I originally joined the gun violence prevention movement in 2018 as a member of March for Our Lives Arizona, and have continued my involvement with gun violence prevention and suicide prevention organizing in Arizona and Texas.
The GIFFORDS Courage Fellowship provided me with invaluable training in gun violence prevention policy and methodologies, as well as a supportive group of fellows that help me maintain community in the midst of difficult work. I’m proud that I was able to share my community engagement project with Texas advocacy networks to help them better understand the context and existence of gun violence in our communities.
Jasir Rahman, who recently graduated from Rice University, collaborated with Global Exchange to host a teach-in and webinar to show Texans how firearms trafficked from our state fuel violence south of the border.
Titled “From Houston to Mexico: Stopping the Iron River of Guns,” attendees heard from Dr. Laura Vargas with the University of Colorado, Christina Delgado with Community Justice Action Fund, Bella D’Alacio with Global Exchange, and Lourdes Orestano with the Mexican Consulate. The webinar also featured remarks from former Congressman Beto O’Rourke.
Following the presentation, attendees wrote letters to their elected officials to pass specific GIFFORDS-sponsored legislation in Texas, including to make straw purchasing a state offense (SB 1385) and back the federal Stop Arming Cartels Act (HR 923/SB 367), and received follow-ups from several offices.
In Jasir’s own words:
I chose this project because in Texas we hear a lot of talk about border crossings, but few understand the push factors that force people away from their homeland. I wanted people to see the gun industry’s role and concrete levers to reduce it… The Courage Fellows program helped me turn a rough idea into a real campaign—providing feedback on project ideas and logistics, sharpening the policy asks, and connecting me to powerful experts and speakers who could make the issue vivid and point to solutions to end gun violence.
Jacob Hunt, a middle school teacher, used his community engagement project to ensure that students, families, and educators in Arizona were included in conversations about campus safety and gun violence prevention. He launched a community survey tailored to educators about gun violence prevention efforts in schools, receiving more than 250 responses.
Jacob then hosted a roundtable breakfast where educators and education stakeholders came together to review and synthesize the results.
The roundtable provided a rare space for open, honest dialogue about the lack of training, resources, and tools that educators have to both prevent and react to school shootings. It sparked conversations that otherwise may not have happened and engaged individuals who might not have been involved in advocacy before. In addition to reflecting on the survey findings, attendees also shared resources and equipped teachers with knowledge on gun violence prevention and campus safety that they could carry back into their schools and classrooms.
Here’s what Jacob had to say about his project and this program:
As a middle school classroom teacher myself, I see every day how safety concerns affect students’ ability to learn and grow. I chose this project because I believe the people living these realities deserve to shape the solutions. Bringing educators and community members together was one small but meaningful step toward building safer learning environments for Arizona’s students.
My students inspire my commitment to gun violence prevention because I see how these issues impact their ability to learn and grow. My experience with the tragic campus shooting at the University of Arizona further reinforced this urgency. The GIFFORDS Courage Fellowship gave me the tools to turn that concern into action, shaping my project that brought Arizona educators together to have honest discussions about campus safety and gun violence prevention.
These are just a few of the incredible projects and resources this year’s Courage Fellows created. And, I know it’s not the end for these inspiring young people: past Courage Fellows have gone on to research gun violence, testify for stronger gun laws, run for office, launch new gun safety organizations, and much more.
The impressive leadership of young activists in this country is essential to the future of the gun violence prevention movement. I’m proud to play my role in shaping the powerful leaders of tomorrow. If you’re interested in making a difference in your state and saving lives, the GIFFORDS Courage Fellow 2026 application will be opening soon.
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