Preventing and Addressing Gun Violence

Karen is the Community Safety Manager in the Violence and Injury Prevention unit at Public Health – Seattle and King County, where she works on firearm tragedy prevention and child safety. Previously, she led the creation of Washington’s State Suicide Prevention Plan at the Washington State Department of Health. Karyn’s background is in social work. In her work and her life, Karyn has seen firsthand the toll that trauma, violence and firearm tragedy take on young people and their families and communities, as well communities’ resilience in the face of adversity and loss. She is dedicated to partnering with those most affected by firearm tragedy to build a safer and more just King County. Public Health’s firearm violence prevention page, where you can learn about their work promoting safe firearm storage, is at www.lokitup.org.

Kevin Haggerty, Social Development Research Group, UW School of Social Work

Kevin is the Director of the Social Development Research Group and Endowed Professor of Prevention at the UW School of Social Work. He is a principal investigator on a variety of projects, including Utah Communities That Care Training program, Staying Connected with Your Teen, Families Facing the Future (formerly Focus on Families) and a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study on Family Connections. He is an investigator of the Community Youth Development Study, which tests the effectiveness of the Communities That Care (CTC) program. Dr. Haggerty specializes in prevention programs at the community, school and family level. For more than 30 years, he has focused on developing innovative ways to organize the scientific knowledge base for prevention so that parents, communities and schools can better identify, assess and prioritize customized approaches that meet their needs. An expert on substance abuse and delinquency prevention, Dr. Haggerty speaks, conducts trainings, and writes extensively on this field.  

Katy Klein, Alliance for Gun Responsibility

Katy Klein is the communications manager at the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility is a nonprofit that works to end the gun violence crisis in our state. We support common sense gun violence prevention measures that balance rights with responsibility. We want to keep guns out of the most dangerous hands, like kids and people in crisis, because it’s one of the most effective things we can do to keep our communities safe. Through collaboration with experts, civic leaders, and citizens, we work to find evidenced-based solutions to the crisis of gun violence in our community. We create innovative policy, advocate for changes in laws, and promote community education to reduce gun violence.

Tizzy (Elizabeth) Bennett, Seattle Children's Hospital

Tizzy Bennett is the director of Community Health and Engagement at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has extensive experience in evidence-based injury prevention strategies for drowning prevention, booster seats, bike helmets and the use of safe firearm storage devices. Tizzy has helped lead the hospital's firearm safety initiative since its inception in 2014.