Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant recipient Global Peace Foundation (GPF) hosted a Youth Leadership Development and Knowledge Exchange event earlier this month that focused on enhancing resilience and strengthening communities. The Associate Director for Strategic Engagement and Policy Implementation at the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) delivered opening remarks for the event held both in Marriottsville, Md., and virtually.
GPF is an international nonsectarian, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a values-based approach to peacebuilding. The nonprofit engages and organizes a global network of public and private sector partners that develop community, regional, and national peacebuilding models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. GPF received TVTP funding in both fiscal year 2021 and 2022 to develop targeted violence awareness training. In FY21, GPF used funding to develop a series of train-the-trainer sessions for community and faith leaders in Prince George’s County, Md., as well as a state-wide campaign focused on the awareness of risk factors that can lead someone toward violence. In FY22, the organization received a second TVTP Grant that focused primarily on awareness trainings in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties in Maryland. It also supported development of knowledge-sharing exchanges between New Jersey and Maryland law enforcement, youth and youth-serving organizations, and community members.
The three-day GPF event was designed for young adults between the ages 18-30, community members, and youth-serving professionals from a variety of community organizations, agencies, and faith communities to enhance and facilitate resilience building and community strengthening. One particularly engaging forum featured a presentation from Jon Romano, a teenage school shooter, at his own New York high school in 2004. In addition, GPF's New Jersey contingent hosted a series of knowledge-sharing sessions, facilitating engagement with all in attendance.
Members of RTI International (Research Triangle Institute), a third-party evaluator of GPF’s FY22 award selected through a DHS Science and Technology Directorate contract, participated in several conference sessions. Special guests, including Wanda Moore, Shazel Muhammad, Jon Romano, Gary Holden, Stella Mainali, and Captain Nicholas Picerno from Montgomery County Department of Police, were able to further enhance the value of the event. A community service project design workshop featured Emily Stingle and Laura Kralicky from American University’s Invent2Prevent project. The three-day event also included knowledge-exchange sessions and technical training for GPF’s mini-grants program, which funds local community projects.
Moore and Muhammed received commendations from guests for their contributions to Global Peace Foundation. In addition, David Leonardis, from the New Jersey Attorney General's office, joined via Zoom to add further depth to these discussions.