NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TN Tribune) – Eleven Nashvillians – experts in areas ranging from Metro Council to medicine – have joined Mayor John Cooper’s community safety efforts as the mayor today appointed them to his new Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board.
The group will provide funding recommendations for more than $1.5 million in grants, which Mayor Cooper allocated in March to bolster neighborhood groups working to prevent and reduce violence in Nashville.
“Community challenges demand community solutions,” Mayor Cooper said. “Our public safety response requires strong partnerships. And we must make real investments in strategies that work best for our neighborhoods.”
“I’m grateful to all the Nashvillians who are joining us in a community-driven approach to making our neighborhoods safer,” he added.
The board will work with Ron Johnson, who the mayor named as Nashville’s first Community Safety Coordinator in March. Johnson, a veteran coalition builder and violence prevention expert, will lead the mayor’s community safety efforts as he collaborates with neighborhood groups and Metro Nashville Police.
“Partnering with – and investing in – the groups working to make our neighborhoods safer was one of the Policing Policy Commission’s most important recommendations,” said Sharon Roberson. She is president and CEO of YWCA Nashville and co-chaired the mayor’s Policing Policy Commission. Roberson will also lead the Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board.
“I want to thank Mayor Cooper for making a major down payment on our recommendations,” Roberson added.
Mayor Cooper’s Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board
Katina Beard
Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, CEO
Mayor’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Advisory Council, Chair
Christiane Buggs
United Way of Greater Nashville, Manager of Literacy Partnerships
Metro Nashville Public School Board of Education, Chair
Judge Sheila Calloway
Juvenile Court of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County
Jennifer Gamble
Metro Council Public Safety Committee, Chair
Nelson PR & Communications, Founder and CEO
Deputy Chief Dwayne Greene
Metro Nashville Police Community Services Bureau
Nawzad Hawrami
Salahadeen Center, Vice President and founding board member
Mayor’s New American Advisory Council, Public Safety Chair
Rev. Dr. Christopher Jackson
Pleasant Green Baptist Church, Senior Pastor
Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship, President
Dr. Alex Jahangir
Metro Nashville Public Health Board, Chair
Vanderbilt Center for Trauma, Burn, and Emergency Surgery, Executive Medical Director
Vanderbilt Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Director
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Professor
Andrés Martínez
Metro Community Oversight Board, Chair
Conexión Américas, Policy and Communications Director
Tom Turner
Nashville Downtown Partnership, President and CEO