Meet the Team
Prevent Gun Violence: Research, Empowerment, Strategies & Solutions (PROGRESS)
Given their scholarship, experience, and expertise, UMD President Darryll J. Pines appointed Professors Jo Richardson and Woodie Kessel to co-direct PROGRESS in November of 2023.
PROGRESS Co-Directors
In addition to serving as the Co-Director of PROGRESS, Dr. Jo Richardson is the MPower Professor of African-American Studies, Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology. The MPower Professorship supports Dr. Richardson's innovative research on gun violence, trauma, mental health and community violence interventions for Black boys and young Black men. Prior to receiving the MPower Professorship, Dr. Richardson was awarded the prestigious Joel and Kim Feller Endowed Professorship. In 2023, Dr. Richardson was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Richardson holds a Joint Appointment in the Department of Anthropology (Medical) and a Secondary Appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Dr. Richardson's research focuses on four specific areas: 1) Gun violence; 2) The intersection of structural violence, interpersonal violence and trauma among Black boys and young Black men; 3) The intersection of the criminal legal and healthcare systems in lives of violently injured young Black men; 4) Parenting strategies for low-income Black male youth. Trained as a criminologist and medical anthropologist, Dr. Richardson uses an interdisciplinary, intersectional and longitudinal qualitative research approach. He is specifically interested in understanding the ways that the healthcare and criminal legal systems intersect and impact the lives of Black male survivors of violence.
In addition to serving as the Co-Director of PROGRESS, Dr. Woodie Kessel is a community pediatrician and child advocate with experience as an educator, investigator, and practitioner in medicine, public health, bioengineering, community-based initiatives, and public policy for more than four decades. Dr. Kessel is currently Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health and the C. Everett Koop Institute Senior Child Health Scholar in Residence and Professor of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College.
Dr. Kessel is focused on practicing public health and applying public health science to implement community-based strategies to prevent gun violence. He is engaged in teaching public health policy and advocacy, improving maternal and child health, advancing prevention teaching and research, mentoring students, and improving community data systems to solve public health problems in the community. Dr. Kessel is the recipient of the C. Everett Koop Courage Award, APTR Ambrose Scholars Award, USPHS Surgeon General’s Medallion, and USPHS Distinguished Service Medal.
Regrettably, a top priority for Dr. Kessel—since he first experienced it decades ago in the South Bronx—is preventing gun violence to children. He is a long standing member of the MCH Section and a member of the APHA Governing Council to advance APHA’s efforts to prevent gun violence in America. In response to the horrific actions of December 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, he has worked to promote brain health research and education to prevent violence and strengthen communities. Most recently, he led the planning and implementation of the Gun Violence Prevention National Research Collaboration Summit bringing key national scientists together on the University of Maryland campus to formulate a public health approach to prevent the epidemic of gun violence in America. He is also an established expert witness appearing before the Maryland General Assembly testifying on safe storage, active shooter drills, and child access prevention to firearms.
PROGRESS Scholars
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Thomas Abt
Thomas Abt, J.D. is the Founding Director of the Violence Reduction Center (VRC) and an associate research professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. He teaches, studies, and advises on the use of evidence-informed approaches for reducing violence in the United States and globally.
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Bianca Bersani
Bianca Bersani, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland specializing in life course criminology and focusing on the patterns, predictors, and factors influencing desistance and persistence in offending across various demographic groups. She is the Director of the Maryland Crime Research and Innovation Center (MCRIC), where she leads research on crime prevention strategies.
Read more about Bianca Bersani
Rabiatu Barrie
Rabiatu Barrie, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Family Science Department of UMD's School of Public Health. As a community-based intervention and prevention scientist, Dr. Barrie's work seeks to reduce negative mental health outcomes among Black boys and to develop family and community-based interventions that support their healthy development.
Dr. Barrie's presentation "Gendered Racialized Trauma: Masculinity as a Risk Factor for African American Men"—which inaugurated the PROGRESS Distinguished Speaker Series—can be viewed here.
Linda Degutis
Linda Degutis, DrPH, MSN is a former Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Currently, Dr. Degutis is a Lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health, where she focuses on injury and violence prevention interventions, public policy related to injury and alcohol, and suicide prevention in veterans.
Brooklynn Hitchens
Brooklynn Hitchens, PhD is an Assistant Professor in UMD’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her areas of expertise include: urban gun violence and trauma; women and crime; race, class and gender disparities in victimization; hard-to-reach populations; Participatory Action Research (PAR); and qualitative and mixed methods research.
Dr. Hitchens' presentation "'We Clean it Up': Black Female Homicide Survivorship In Context"—which inaugurated the PROGRESS Distinguished Speaker Series—can be viewed here.
Jarriel Jordan
Jarriel Jordan, Sr. is the Founder and Executive Director of Jacob's Ladder Youth Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization with programs in Diversion, Juvenile Reentry, Junior Workforce Academy, Teenpreneur Challenges, and Academic Enrichment. With over 30 years of experience as an educator, coach, police officer, and philanthropist, Mr. Jordan created Jacob’s Ladder in order to reduce the number of juveniles entering and returning to the juvenile justice system.
Read more about Jarriel Jordan & Jacob's Ladder
Sarah Oates
Sarah Oates, PhD is the Associate Dean for Research of UMD's College of Journalism. As a professor and leading scholar on political communication, Dr. Oates's research focuses on political disinformation, propaganda, and their impact on democracy across media systems in countries like Russia, the U.S., and the UK.
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Terrance Staley
As the Executive Director for the Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM), Terrance Staley serves his community through conflict resolution initiatives and transformational programs. Mr. Staley is a certified conflict resolution expert and has worked with national and international partners, directed key violence intervention initiatives, and contributed to the development of programs like the Conflict Resolution Manual Train the Trainer program, which has been implemented in schools across the U.S. and abroad.
Read more about Terrance Staley & ACM
PROGRESS Team Members
Hannah Balcanoff
Undergraduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Hannah is a sophomore undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, seeking a double-major in Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as Sociology. After taking Dr. Richardson’s class, “The New Jim Crow: African-American, Mass Incarceration and the Prison Industrial Complex," she was inspired to contribute to PROGRESS. Her aim is to help the initiative, working towards preventing gun violence through community intervention. Hannah’s goal is to help bring education, awareness, and solutions to the lack of mental health resources in the criminal justice system.
Timel Rodriguez, M.A.
Research Associate for PROGRESS
Timel graduated with a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland College Park. During her college career, Timel applied data-driven approaches to analyze various types of offenses, contributed and assisted in the management of several research databases, and crafted many academic essays. Now, Timel is working as a research specialist with PROGRESS. Her commitment to delving into complex societal issues led her to join the PROGRESS initiative, where she channels her passion for community-based research. In her current role, Timel engages in continuous learning, delving into gun violence prevention and intervention policies research.
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Isabella Socha Soares
Undergraduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Isabella is a senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in Criminology & Criminal Justice and Government and Politics, with a minor in Portuguese Language, Literature, and Culture. As a passionate advocate against gun violence, she helps lead Terps Demand Action, a student-led chapter under Everytown for Gun Safety, where she works to raise awareness, educate, and unite students affected by gun violence. Through her involvement with the PROGRESS initiative, Isabella is committed to finding data-driven solutions to eradicate the gun violence epidemic in our communities.
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Shayla Stringfield, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Shayla received both her Master of Public Health in Behavioral & Community Health and Bachelor of Science in Family Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. Since graduating, she has had the opportunity to work on research projects that include caregiver depression, housing insecurity, and implementation research. In addition to being a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®), Shayla is a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) for the State of Maryland. Currently, her research focuses on examining various social determinants of health, specifically community violence exposure, in order to improve health outcomes for children in the D.C. Metropolitan area.
Lindsey Wood, B.S.
Graduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Lindsey graduated from Florida State University in May 2023, double-majoring in Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) and Spanish. In her time at FSU, Lindsey’s research focused on disproportionality of speech-language impairment rates in Florida schools according to language and ethnic background. Now, she is pursuing her Master’s of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Maryland with an emphasis on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity and Bilingual Certification. Lindsey is passionate about the intersection of speech-language pathology and the criminal justice system, and is interested in how forensic speech-language pathologists can provide interventions for youth placed at-risk for delinquency or involvement with the justice system.
Outstanding PROGRESS Volunteers
Christine Barriento
Undergraduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Christine Barriento is a junior undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, pursuing a major in Criminal Justice/Criminology with a minor in Spanish. She has recently begun exploring research opportunities on campus, and PROGRESS particularly resonated with her due to the initiative's connection to a class she took over the summer on responding to violence. Christine aims to educate herself and empower underrepresented communities regarding gun safety and public protection. She is especially focused on advocacy within low-income communities, where the impact of gun violence is most pronounced. Her goal is to learn about solutions that provide resources for affected individuals while gaining valuable first-hand experience in the research field.
Isabella Campiglia
Undergraduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Isabella is a junior undergraduate student, majoring in criminal justice at Stockton University, with a concentration in Homeland Security. She currently works as an intern for CAICR Insight Policing, contributing to work involving police training and question-based problem-solving. She is passionate about mental health and its effects on incarcerated individuals, aiming to bring awareness to the lack of mental health resources in the correction system. Isabella’s interest in preventing gun violence through community-based research led her to the first PROGRESS Workshop. She was inspired to connect with the team and contribute to the research efforts to reduce gun violence across communities.
Kaushal Jatti
Undergraduate Research Assistant for PROGRESS
Kaushal is a junior undergraduate student majoring in Public Health Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. His interest in gun violence prevention began after witnessing the devastating effects of firearm injuries firsthand while working at the UMMC trauma center. Driven by a desire to make a tangible difference, Kaushal is participating in the xFoundry academic track, where he focuses on developing strategies and creating a gun detection technology to prevent school shootings. His passion for addressing gun violence on a national scale has also led him to join the PROGRESS Initiative, where he actively contributes to research and efforts aimed at reducing gun violence across communities.