Nazsa Baker, PhD, MA, is the new research director and program manager of The Wraparound Project at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFGH) in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Baker recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers University School of Public Health. She earned her PhD in urban systems with a concentration in urban health Rutgers University, School of Nursing, in October 2021. Her research focuses on community violence with an emphasis on firearm violence survivorship among Black men and hospital-based and hospital-linked violence intervention programs.

Hashim Garrett is a renowned motivational speaker and consultant with over two decades of experience in resilience training, social and emotional learning, and conflict resolution through forgiveness. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Garrett faced bullying and eventually joined a gang to gain power and recognition. However, at 15, a tragic event changed his life when he was shot and paralyzed from the waist down and this moment of crisis led him to reevaluate his choices and commit to a path of positive change.

In 2001, Garrett founded Wisdom and Understanding, LLC, offering trauma-sensitive workshops designed to help individuals and organizations develop personal and professional growth strategies. His work has made him a sought-after collaborator with education boards, non-profits, and law enforcement agencies. One of those collaborations led him to partner with an international speaker’s bureau, Breaking the Cycle of Violence, an organization dedicated to promoting conflict resolution and forgiveness.

From 2004 to 2010, Garrett played a key role in the Violence Prevention Institute’s Cops and Docs program, delivering workshops highlighting violence’s long-term health consequences. His collaboration with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and emergency room physicians underscored his commitment to addressing the root causes of conflict.

Christopher St. Vil is an associate professor at the State University of New York’s (SUNY) University at Buffalo in the School of Social Work. Trained as both a researcher and evaluator, his work lies at the intersection of masculinity and victims of violent injury, with a focus on trauma recidivism. His work is rooted both within the hospital and community settings. St. Vil has contributed to understanding research conducted with victims of violent injury and men and boys in general, specifically in the areas of recruitment, protocol development, and study design. St. Vil is researching improving the efficacy of front-line community violence prevention workers by integrating research methods with social service delivery.

Jaclyn Schildkraut, PhD, is the executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, where she leads a multidisciplinary research portfolio focused on understanding and reducing firearm violence in New York State and beyond. In this role, she oversees the Consortium’s research, grantmaking, and public engagement efforts; develops partnerships with researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and community organizations; and works to translate rigorous research into evidence-informed policy and practice. A nationally recognized expert on mass shootings and school safety, her research focuses on targeted violence prevention, emergency preparedness, and the experiences of individuals and communities affected by mass violence.

Schildkraut leads Sharing Information to Stop Mass Shootings (SISMS), a large-scale research initiative examining the behaviors, circumstances, and information-sharing processes that precede mass public shootings. The project has produced one of the most comprehensive databases of pre-attack behaviors associated with these events and a growing body of research focused on identifying opportunities for prevention and intervention. Findings from the project also are being translated into educational trainings designed to improve the recognition and reporting of concerning behaviors.

Her broader research has examined school emergency preparedness, the prevention and consequences of mass violence, behavioral indicators preceding attacks, and the experiences and long-term needs of survivors and affected communities. Schildkraut led the largest national study to date examining the effects of lockdown drills on students, educators, and school personnel, helping to identify evidence-based practices for building preparedness while minimizing unnecessary fear and anxiety. She also has conducted extensive research with mass shooting survivors and provided expert analysis to Canada’s Mass Casualty Commission, which investigated the April 2020 mass casualty event in Nova Scotia.

As executive director, Schildkraut also leads the Consortium’s efforts to strengthen the evidence base for firearm violence prevention across New York State. She oversees competitive research funding programs and works with state agencies, academic researchers, practitioners, and community partners to support research addressing pressing questions related to firearm violence and its prevention. Through these efforts, she seeks to bridge research, policy, and practice and ensure that evidence is accessible to those positioned to use it.

Schildkraut is the author or editor of numerous books on mass shootings, school safety, and firearms, including Mass Shootings: Media, Myths and Realities (2016), Columbine, 20 Years Later and Beyond: Lessons from Tragedy (2019), Lockdown Drills: Connecting Research and Best Practices for School Administrators, Teachers, and Parents (2022), and Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law (3rd ed., 2022). Her research has been published extensively in peer-reviewed journals across criminology, violence prevention, victimology, school safety, psychology, and public policy. Her research and expertise also are regularly sought by policymakers, practitioners, schools, survivors, and national and international media outlets, including CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Associated Press, Reuters, and BBC News.