Gun Violence in the U.S.: Information and Strategies for Action
Original Program Date: June 24, 2022
About the Program:
The program “Gun Violence in U.S.: Information and Strategies for Action”.
What are the facts of gun violence in the United States and how do we take action? Join the Holocaust Center’s Take Action Institute as we feature community experts and advocates with educational materials and discuss strategies for action.
Kevlon Kirkpatrick
Has over twenty-three years of experience working as a Law Enforcement Officer. He is an Adjunct Instructor at the Valencia College School of Public Safety, a facilitator with the Peace and Justice Institute and a member of The Creating a Resilient Community Network (CRC). Kevlon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the College of Staten Island.
He is certified by the Office of the Attorney General as a Florida Crime Prevention Practitioner, a Florida Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Practitioner (CPTED) and a School Resource Officer (SRO). The Valencia College Criminal Justice Institute has also certified him as a Physical Fitness Trainer, a General Instructor and a Defensive Tactics Instructor. He is also a certified Racial Intelligence Training and Engagement (R.I.T.E.) Instructor. Kevlon has completed the Peace and Justice Institute (PJI) Facilitation Training Level 1 Qualification course.
Kevlon has instructed for Business & Legal Resources (BLR). He has facilitated for the Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute (FCPTI), the Florida Crime Prevention Association Conference and several of the National Conferences on Preventing Crime events. He is committed to collaborating with community stakeholders, and is passionate about nurturing environments focused on inclusiveness, equity and respect for all.
Itunu Ilesanmi
Itunu Ilesanmi is a Ph.D. candidate in the Public Affairs Doctoral Program at the University of Central Florida. She received a master’s degree in Social Work and another in Public Administration from Savannah State University. She has worked with various programs and organizations to help foster community engagement and social change.One of these programs includes the Day of H.O.P.E. (Healing Oasis for Peace and Empowerment) championed by the youth of a Boys and Girls Club in east Orlando. This project in collaboration with two other professionals from UCF is centered around fostering youth voices to advocate against gun violence in the community, especially in marginalized neighborhoods.
Itunu Ilesanmi’s interests also extend to working with nonprofit organizations, returnees, and other displaced groups. Her dissertation focus is assessing the barriers to reintegration among returnees in Nigeria affected by conflict and violence. She hopes that her research findings will serve as a foundation for developing an intervention that will address the issue of reintegration.
Aston Mack
Aston Mack is the founder of Orlando Freedom Fighters – OFF! – an organization born in the protest movements of Summer 2020. OFF raises awareness about injustice and advocates for research-based strategies for advancing effective policies in our communities. Aston works behind the scenes in on-the-ground struggle for racial justice, economic and environmental equity, and an end to police brutality and gun violence. Aston has helped assemble and give tours of the mobile installation The Hall of Injustice, educating the public about the history of massacres and ongoing police violence against Black people in Orlando, Central Florida, and beyond. Aston streams interviews with subject area experts, advocates and activists through his Twitch, AstonMackTV, and has been featured on several platforms and podcasts like Pardon the Heemterruption and PsychoSocialising.
