Our Story

NYAGV launched after the 1993 fatal shooting of a teacher in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, by four teenagers.

A group of moms, inspired by the outpouring of support they saw at an anti-gun violence rally, joined forces. Their work was initially focused on raising gun-violence awareness with state legislators and quickly expanded into education. They realized it was crucial to equip the young people most impacted by gun violence with a deeper understanding of its root causes so they could become changemakers in their own communities.

More than 30 years later, NYAGV is the state’s leading gun-violence prevention nonprofit.

Back view of a young person speaking through a bullhorn while protesters with raised hands gather below.

We are the only organization in the country that pairs youth-led education with powerful policy advocacy.

We work FROM communities, not just FOR them.

New Yorkers experience gun violence in different ways.

But whether they live in the city or the suburbs, Upstate or on Long Island, NYAGV knows that everyone is united by the fundamental need and the absolute right to feel safe.

Participants in an anti-gun-violence march walk beneath the Brooklyn Bridge's stone towers, carrying bright orange protest signs.

Keeping all New Yorkers safe is why NYAGV never stops pushing for better solutions.

Our students feel it.

Our lawmakers see it.

And the statistics show it.

Because of our work, New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation and one of the lowest gun-death-and-injury rates in the county.

But we are far from safe.

Preventing gun violence requires breaking the cycle that sustains it.

We've Got You, New York.

BUT WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

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Team

Executive Director

Education Director

Deputy Education Director

Rebecca is the Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, where she has spent more than a decade leading the organization’s efforts to advance gun safety policy, youth education, and survivor support programs across New York state. Under her leadership, NYAGV has helped drive major legislative victories while expanding school- and community-based violence prevention initiatives. A lawyer and nationally recognized policy expert, Rebecca has testified before Congress and the New York State Legislature and has been featured in national and local media, including The New York Times, NPR, and MSNBC. Rebecca received her B.A. from Tufts University and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law before beginning her legal career in New York City.

Shaina has designed, developed, and led the ReACTION Program since it was first launched at Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan in 2001. Since then, she has led all of our youth program and curricula development, including the management and facilitation of the summer Miller Mentorship and Community Activation program. She has taught thousands of students, engaged communities across NYC, and trained crisis management facilitators and other community-based personnel. Harrison holds a B.A. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 2021, the New Yorker published a profile of Shaina and her work at NYAGV titled, “Fighting America’s Gun Plague.”

Andrea has worked with NYAGV since they were 17, bringing new perspectives on youth organizing and empowerment. Their practice and study of critical pedagogy, child advocacy, and various social justice movements have expanded the ReACTION curriculum and Miller Mentorship to explore holistic and transformational solutions to gun violence. Andrea has been featured in books such as Rise: How Empowering Women Elevates Us All and Youth to Power, as well as in publications such as Refinery29, Teen Vogue, and The New Yorker. Andrea received her B.A. from The City University of New York (CUNY) in Social Justice & Child Advocacy, and her M.A. from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Program and Partnerships Director

Community Outreach Coordinator

Operations Manager

As operations manager, Lawson applies trauma-informed and equity-centered frameworks to organizational systems, staff supervision, and community-based public health programming. Lawson received her M.S. in mental health counseling at Manhattan University and now serves as a psychotherapist at myTherapyNYC. She earned her B.F.A. in musical theatre at the University of Cincinnati and brings a deeply human, relational approach to both clinical care and mission-driven community work.

Natalie Tevethia brings more than 20 years of experience in advocacy, research, and program management to New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. Before joining NYAGV as Community Outreach Coordinator, she held several leadership roles with grassroots, statewide advocacy campaigns and organizing efforts to strengthen gun safety laws. Her background includes work with the Peace Corps, Columbia University, Trace Foundation, and Millennium Campus Network. Natalie holds master’s degrees from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and Rutgers University.

Frank leads recruitment, supports curriculum design, facilitates workshops, and manages the Miller Mentorship’s culminating community event. Raised by immigrant parents who fled the civil war in Liberia, he has long been engaged in analyzing and uncovering the root causes of many societal issues. Prior to working at NYAGV, Frank spent five years as an educator at Global Kids, an organization that teaches youth the importance of community, activism, and advocacy through global education. His work as an educator has taken him to Japan, Costa Rica, Colombia, Jamaica, and Panama. Frank earned his B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Board

Carolyn Cohen (Board President) — Founder, Incites

Kathryn Coughlin Maggiotto — Head of Schools, York Prep

Lee Crain — Gibson Dunn LLP, Partner

Denver Edwards — Managing Partner, Bradford Edwards & Varlack LLP

William Evans — President & Founder, Neighborhood Benches, Inc.

Beckett Fabie — Senior Vice President, Human Capital, Warburg Pincus

Jackie Morrogh — Brand Director, Chobani, Inc.

Kevin O'Brien (Treasurer) — Vice President, Bernstein Private Wealth

Rachel Peck — Executive Coach and Talent Development Consultant

Caitlin Semo (Secretary) — Head of Partnerships, Edelman Trust Institute at Edelman

Hayley Smith — Vice President and Senior Counsel, Build Up Companies

Research Advocacy Committee

A demonstrator raises a colorful sign that says "A Better World Is Possible," with other marchers blurred in the background.

Dr. Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill
Director of Research and Analytics, Kings County District Attorney's Office

Dr. Charles Branas

Chair, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health,
Columbia University

Dr. Shani Buggs

Assistant Professor Violence Prevention Research Program, University of California Davis

Dr. Jeffrey Butts

Research Professor,John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

Tracey Meares, JD
Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Yale Law School

Dr. Andrew V. Papachristos

Professor, Department of Sociology and Institute for Policy Research
Northwestern University

Dr. Alex R. Piquero

Department of Sociology Chair, Arts & Sciences Distinguished Scholar, University of Miami

Dr. Jesenia Pizarro

Associate Professor, School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Arizona State University

Dr. Joseph Richardson, Jr.
Joel and Kim Feller Endowed Professor, Department of African American Studies, University of Maryland

Dr. Ellen McCann-Sfecla
Alliance for Safety and Justice

Dr. Daniel Webster
Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention & Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Our Story

New Yorkers experience gun violence in different ways.

Keeping all New Yorkers safe is why NYAGV never stops pushing for better solutions.

Preventing gun violence requires breaking the cycle that sustains it.

Team

Rebecca G. Fischer

Shaina Harrison

Andrea Gonzales

Lawson Young

Natalie Tevethia

Frank Teah

Board

Research Advocacy Committee

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