3RD ANNUAL NATIONAL SEASON OF PEACE CONFERENCE
June 22nd – 24th, 2021
Conference Speakers
We were fortunate to have a number of knowledgeable and committed speakers this year. Please see additional information about them below.
Conference Host: Rev. Jeffrey Brown
Rev. Brown, a co-founder of My City at Peace, is an Associate Pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church. He is Co-Chair of Mothers for Justice and Equality, Co-Chair of the Mayor's Interfaith Task Force and member of the Social Justice Task Force for the Boston Police Department. He's the recipient of the 1016 Spirit of the Hill Alumni Award at Andover Newton Theological School and the 2015 Community Hero Award, Community Resources for Justice (CRJ).
Rev. Brown is a regular keynote speaker and has been featured in dozens of media articles. His TED talk has been viewed nearly 1 Million times.
Conference Host: Thomas Sullivan
Thomas Sullivan, a co-founder of My City at Peace, has spent 20 years as a consultant, facilitator, coach and lecturer on designing, leading and implementing personal and organization change efforts in distinct settings across the globe. In addition to his membership and consulting association with SoL,Thomas currently holds the position of Discipline Lead for Leadership Development with Hult International Business School where he teaches Leadership Skills for MBA students.
Thomas has a broad base of experience in the design and delivery implementation of large-scale leadership development and coaching efforts for international organizations and global companies, including, DISH Networks, Aspentech, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, BP, Pemex, Cemex, Biogen, the US Forest Service and the American Cancer Society. In the past six years, Thomas has facilitated leadership development programs and coached teams and managers at all levels of leadership (Emerging Leader Programs to Director Level Programs) with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
DAY 1 SPEAKERS
U.S. Secretary of Labor
Martin J. Walsh
Martin J. Walsh was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 23, 2021. A lifelong champion of equity and fairness, and a proud product of the City of Boston, Secretary Walsh leads the U.S. Department of Labor with a strong connection to working people, and a commitment to creating an economy that works for all.
In 1997, he was elected to serve as a State Representative for one of the most diverse districts in Massachusetts. There, he focused on creating good jobs, protecting workers' rights, expanding mental health treatment, and investing in public transit.
Following his time as a State Representative, Secretary Walsh spent the last seven years as the Mayor of the City of Boston. While mayor, he led the creation of close to 140,000 jobs and helped secure a statewide $15/hour minimum wage, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave. He established Universal, high-quality Pre-Kindergarten for all children, and free community college for low-income students.
Secretary Walsh was a national leader in the response to COVID-19, getting PPE to first responders and nursing homes; funding emergency child care for healthcare and frontline workers; halting evictions and providing rental relief; and setting up multiple funds to help small businesses survive. His work early in the pandemic to pause construction and establish safety requirements has been lauded as a model by both unions and employers alike.
As Mayor of Boston, Secretary Walsh also made his mark as a labor leader. After following his father into Laborers Local 223 in Boston, he rose to head the Building and Construction Trades Council from 2011 to 2013. He worked with business and community leaders to promote high-quality development, and he created a program called Building Pathways that has become a model for increasing diversity in the workplace and providing good career opportunities for women and people of color.
Born and raised in the neighborhood of Dorchester by immigrant parents, Secretary Walsh is driven to ensure our nation's economy works for everyone. Secretary Walsh is a survivor of Burkitt lymphoma and is a proud member of the recovery community who has worked to expand addiction treatment throughout his career. While working full-time as a legislator, he returned to school to earn a degree in Political Science at Boston College.
Rev Delonte Gholston
Delonte Gholston was born and raised in Washington DC, and was educated in DC public schools, Swarthmore College, Georgetown University, and Fuller Theological Seminary. He returns to his hometown after seven years away to pastor Peace Fellowship. Raised in the National Baptist Church as a teacher, preacher and musician, his passion for advocacy and development has always been deeply rooted in his faith. It has led him to serve as part of church renewal and planting movements in DC and LA. Delonte is committed to using his passion for art, theology, and social change to bring life and flourishing both to cities and to rural areas. This passion fueled his work with the Downtown LA Clergy Council where he served as the Director of the Trust Talks, a community transformation initiative between the LAPD and key stakeholders in Downtown LA. He was married in October 2016 to his life partner and best friend Claire Wiggins.
Rev Ciera Bates-Chamberlin
Ciera Walker was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. She is committed to the fight for social and economic justice by strengthening communities through radical theology. As the Executive Director of Live Free Chicago-Live Free Illinois, Ciera is working with black churches to create safe, economically viable, and self-sustained black communities. Prior to Live Free Chicago, Ciera served as the senior organizer at a faith-based organization.
Ciera received her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Lamar University, and a master’s in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently studying at McCormick Theological Seminary for a master’s in theological studies. Ciera is an adjunct professor at Northeastern University, a mental health professional, and a strategy consultant. In 2013, Ciera was ordained a minister through the Church of Jesus Christ House of Prayer Inc., where she served as the church administrator for the Chicago congregation. In addition to her commitment to racial justice, Ciera is a proud wife and mother of three daughters and a blended family of 8.
Bishop Cornelius Bowser
Cornelius Bowser, a native San Diegan, grew up in the heart of San Diego and was exposed to gang activity at an early age. By the time he reached his teens he begun to sell drugs and gang bang. Cornelius Bowser’s expertise on gangs comes from being a member of the West Coast Crips in which he joined in the early 1970's. The West Coast Crips were the first and most violent notorious gang in the County of San Diego.
His life took a dramatic turn on December 5, 1984 when he decided to turn his life over to Christ. He accepted the call to ministry in 1987, and at the same time accepted the challenge to change the lives of young people who were caught up in a culture of the streets just as he was. He worked diligently in his church (Greater Apostolic Faith Temple) as a Junior/Senior High School Sunday School Teacher; he held the office of Vice President of the Youth Department, Assistant Director of the Men's Ministry, and later the Director of the Men's Ministry. He was also the Director, and Gang Counselor of “Let Us Make Man” Outreach Services; a gang and drug prevention program he founded in 1992-1995, and started the Youth Lock In Retreat in the City of San Diego.
Cornelius Bowser is the founding pastor of Charity Apostolic Church (1995). In 1999 he was elevated to the office of Bishop and served as the Diocesan Bishop of California in the Jesus Christ Apostolic Churches and Christ Apostolic Temple Incorporated Fellowship.He took his elevation serious and led the charge in building a local fellowship in San Diego and a state council. He was also the international representative for the young people that included churches in India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
Cornelius Bowser was appointed as a commissioner to the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention (2012). He is also a volunteer for the San Diego Compassion Project who tends to and is an aide to homicide victims’ families. He is one of the founding members of the Community Assistance Support Team (C.A.S.T.) which has helped reduce gang violence in the City of San Diego. Equipped with methods to prevent retaliatory violence, C.A.S.T especially engages, empowers and educates residents who experience violence. Their innovative approach to confronting community fears of violence has set them apart, enabling residents to be a vibrant part of their community.
Since 2012, Bishop has been the program director of Shaphat Outreach which is an outreach ministry of Charity Apostolic Church. Shaphat Outreach mission is to intervene in the life of our youth and adults who are actively involved in a gang/gun violence, in order to help them make self-change through cognitive behavior therapy, wrap around services, and educational classes. Shaphat is pronounced Shaw-fat. This is a Hebrew word taken from Ps 82:3. It is the word “defend” which means, delivering from injustice and oppression.
Cornelius Bowser is a gang expert witness for state and federal courts. He is certified as a drug prevention specialist, trained in the fields of suicide prevention, family and marriage counseling, anger management, gang prevention and intervention. He has also been trained to provide initial help to those experiencing mental health problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance use disorders. His expertise also extends to the training of new police cadets in community engagement. By employing the techniques of de-escalation support, conflict resolution, retaliation prevention, in-hospital spiritual care, in-home support and advocacy, Cornelius Bowser has brought quality community service to many individuals and families impacted by violence.
Rev. Devin Turner
Serving as a community leader for over 15 years, Devin Turner has used creativity with community development to positively impact people’s lives around the world. He serves as lead pastor of Revolution Church in Washington, DC and as president of Justice and Equality, a nonprofit organization that serves marginalized communities by providing academic resources, peacemaking initiatives, and advocacy to elected officials for laws and budgets to be passed in favor of the disenfranchised. As a creative influencer, he and his team often develop music, film productions, workshops and live events to engage community members with information and resources to support their needs. Devin and his wife Lenneil Turner reside in Washington, DC with their two sons, Justus and Jairus.
Thomas Abt
Thomas Abt teaches, studies, and writes about the use of evidence-informed approaches to address violent crime and other public safety problems. He is the author of Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence - and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets, published by Basic Books in June 2019. Abt is a Senior Fellow with the Council on Criminal Justice in Washington, DC, where he directs the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice. Prior to the Council, he served as a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy and Law Schools. Before that, he held leadership positions in the New York Governor's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice. Abt’s work has been featured in major media outlets, including the Atlantic, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and National Public Radio. His TED talk on saving lives by stopping violence has been viewed more than 185,000 times.
DAY 2 SPEAKERS
LISC President/CEO
Lisa L. Glover
Lisa L. Glover is the former executive vice president at U.S. Bank, retiring in March, 2020. In her 34 years at U.S. Bank, Glover led numerous enterprise efforts and has extensive banking experience. She held a variety of line operational roles, including management positions in commercial and consumer lending, contact center operations, and continuous improvement.
Glover also held key leadership positions in internal audit, corporate compliance and risk, serving as the Chief Risk Officer for consumer banking. She served as the Director of Community Affairs for seven years, leading the Bank’s CRA, environmental, multicultural and corporate citizenship efforts. She is a certified risk professional, a chartered bank auditor and a certified internal auditor. Glover has a BBA from Iowa State University in Corporate Finance and a Masters of Library and Information Sciences from University of Wisconsin.
Chief Frank Straub, Ph.D.
Frank G. Straub, Ph.D., has conducted in-depth studies of targeted mass violence events in San Bernardino, Kalamazoo, Orlando, Parkland, and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He leads the Averted School Violence project, a national database, funded by the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, that tracks, analyzes and reports on averted and completed school attacks. He has also led a DHS funded Countering Violent Extremism project in Boston, MA and consults with several NGOs in the area of counterextremism.
Dr. Straub served for more than 30-years in federal, state and local law enforcement. He led law enforcement/public safety agencies in New York, Indiana and the State of Washington. During his tenure in White Plains, New York he established the first police-mental health co-responder team in the state. In Spokane, he established the first cross-system mental health steering committee and ensured that all officers received a minimum of 40-hours crisis intervention training. The SPD peer support team provided assistance to law enforcement agencies in eastern Washington and western Idaho.
Dr. Straub is a Non-Resident Fellow at West Point’s Center for Combatting Terrorism, an Adjunct Professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Psychiatry; a Graduate Faculty Scholar, University of Central Florida’s Department of Psychology; and a member of Yale University’s Department of Psychiatry and Law’s Working Group on Social Isolation and Extremism. Dr. Straub has served on US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of Justice threat assessment and school safety working groups.
Dr. Straub is a licensed therapist in Michigan. He serves as a clinician on the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department’s Peer Support Team. In collaboration with UCF RESTORES research and treatment clinic he advises law enforcement agencies across the country on crisis intervention and peer support.
Dr. Straub holds a B.A. in Psychology, a M.A. in Forensic Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. He has authored articles and reports on school violence, crisis response, community policing and violence prevention. He speaks regularly at national and international conferences, has participated in numerous Congressional and White House briefings, and is a frequently invited commentator and analyst for national and international media outlets.
Dr. Rod Brunson
ROD K. BRUNSON is a professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. He is a widely sought-after speaker and has received numerous professional awards in recognition of his distinguished body of scholarly work, including, Fellow of the American Society of Criminology. Furthermore, Dr. Brunson co-directs the Racial Democracy Crime and Justice Network, social scientists conducting research on crime, inequality, and the criminal justice system.
Professor Brunson’s expertise centers on police-community relations, youth violence, and evidence-based criminal justice policy. He has consistently called for effective crime reduction strategies that do not result in racially disparate treatment of minority citizens and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Dr. Brunson’s scholarship appears in the Annual Review of Sociology, British Journal of Criminology, City & Community, Criminology, Criminology & Public Policy, Evaluation Review, Justice Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, and Urban Health.
Rev. Charles Harrison
Rev. Charles R. Harrison is the Senior Pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church and has been in the ministry for 30 years. He is a native of Jeffersonville, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University, where he earned a degree in Religious Studies and attended Methodist Theological School, where he received his Masters of Divinity.
Rev. Harrison began his career in 1984 at Wiley United Methodist Church in Springfield, Ohio, as a Student Associate Minister. He served as a Student Pastor of Lee Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio in 1985. He became the Pastor of Wiley United Methodist Church in New Castle, Indiana in 1986. In 1993 he became the pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church where he currently serves as the Senior Pastor.
Rev. Harrison has been actively involved in community affairs. In 1986, he was an intricate part in the hiring of the first Afro-American police officer and two firemen for the city of New Castle. He currently is the President of the Board of Directors for Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition and he is a Chaplain for the Indiana State Police. He is currently a member of the following Board of Directors: Metro Ministry, Board of Ordain Ministry of the South Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church and the District Board of Ordain Ministry Indianapolis West District. He is also a member of the “Ministers on the Move.” Rev. Harrison was also a member of the following Board of Directors: Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center and Mapleton Fall Creek Neighborhood Association.
His awards and recognitions include: Ecumenical Service Award, Denman Evangelism Award (South Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major Award, Sagamore of the Wabash, The Distinguished Hoosier Award, Howard Thurman Preaching Award, Circle City Frontier Drum Major Award in Religion, and the Distinguished Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award.
Pastor Charles R. Harrison is married to Fawn Porter-Harrison, and they are the parents of Terrell, Shayla, Jeremy’on and Jaylyn.
Rev. Ben McBride
Ben is a native of San Francisco, spiritual leader and longtime activist for peace and justice in the Bay Area. In 2008, he relocated his family to a difficult neighborhood in Oakland called the “Kill Zone” to understand and respond to the epidemic of gun violence, firsthand. During this tenure, he was an instrumental leader of relaunching Oakland’s first successful iteration of Operation Ceasefire, a data-driven, violence reduction strategy, contributing heavily to a 50% reduction in homicides over five years. In 2014 Ben launched Empower Initiative to support bridging and belonging work across the country
Ben is an expert at fostering belonging and serves as a national leader around reconstructing public safety systems and gun violence prevention work, including a background of training over 100 law enforcement departments and executives. Ben joined PICO California, the largest grassroots community organization in the state, representing 450,000 people across 73 cities, in 2015 and serves as the Co-Director. Ben founded the Bring the HEAT campaign, a peacemaking initiative to address police violence, and serves as the Co-Chair of California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board focusing on ending racial profiling in California. Ben was featured in the Sundance Film Festival Award winning film, THE FORCE, focusing on his peacemaking work. Ben is also an experienced trainer around equity, diversity and inclusion; working with companies and values based organizations across the country.
Ben and his wife Gynelle have been married for 20 years and have 3 amazing daughters. They reside in Oakland, CA.
Rev Troy Martinez
Pastor Troy is the Chair of Rebuilding Every City Around Peace (RECAP) homicide and violence reduction model with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department which was recognized as best practices by Major Cities Chiefs of Police Association in 2018.
Founding member of the City of Las Vegas Mayor's Faith Initiative a recipient of the 2017 US Conference of Mayors City Livability Award.
Film Producer of "Believe Again Las Vegas" Documentary and Public Safety Initiative of 1 October mass shooting.
President of 10,000 Kids Non-Profit Org.
National Ten Point Coalition Training Hub.
National Alliance of Faith and Justice & National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice Award
US Attorney of Nevada Violent Crime Reduction Task Force
Executive Director of Nevada's Sex Trafficking Awareness Campaign and Producer of Emmy Nominated Trafficked No More documentary.
Chair of Las Vegas Crystal Darkness (Anti-Drug) Campaign.
Member Las Vegas Sheriff's Metro Multicultural Advisory Committee. Governor’s Point of Light recipient.
Clark County School District Safety and Guns Committee Chair.
Pastor of East Vegas Christian Center.
DAY 3 SPEAKERS
Dr. Tracey Meares
Tracey L. Meares is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and a Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. Before joining the faculty at Yale, she was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 1995 to 2007, serving as Max Pam Professor and Director of the Center for Studies in Criminal Justice. She was the first African American woman to be granted tenure at both law schools.
Professor Meares is a nationally recognized expert on policing in urban communities. Her research focuses on understanding how members of the public think about their relationship(s) with legal authorities such as police, prosecutors and judges. She teaches courses on criminal procedure, criminal law, and policy and she has worked extensively with the federal government having served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Law and Justice, a National Research Council standing committee and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board.
In April 2019, Professor Meares was elected as a member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In December 2014, President Obama named her as a member of his Task Force on 21st Century Policing. She has a B.S. in general engineering from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
Rev Gil Monrose
Pastor Gil has exhibited great interest in social justice and love for community work, and is an Alumni Chair for We Are all Brooklyn, an organization that brings diverse leaders together to solve quality of life issues affecting their communities. He served as a board member of Community Board #17, on Community Advisory Board for the Brooklyn Healthcare Improvement Project, as an Advisory Board Member for Explore Charter School, Flatbush YMCA, Advisory Board for Kings County Behavior Health Community Council, as Team Leader for the Neighborhood Housing Service’s Invest in Brooklyn Initiative, and chaired the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Inter-Faith Celebration.
His current assignments as he lend his voice and expertise to these leading nonprofits; Center for the Study of Spirituality & Professionalism at the University of the Virgin Islands, Habitat for Humanity NYC, Bricks and Mortals, and Faith Communities For Just Re-Entry.
Pastor Gil served as Vice President of various organizations such as the St. Lucia House Foundation, the Church of God 7th Day Pastor’s Network, Inc., and Churches United to Save and Heal (CUSH). Pastor Gil’s dedication to save youth from gun violence and gangs prompted him to become the founding President of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council - “The GodSquad”- which fights to end gun violence and serves as a liaison between the cops, congregations, and the community. He is a graduate of the New York Police Department Citizen Academy, as well as the FBI Citizen Academy. Pastor Gil Monrose has travelled extensively across the United States and has partnered with groups from the Caribbean, Nigeria, South Africa, France, Brazil, Moscow, England, and Israel as a guest speaker to youth, and likewise adults, empowering them to become active in their community, and for leaders be responsible citizens of the world. Locally he works with elected officials, faith/clergy and community leaders as a moral voice and spiritual counsel on issues affecting the community at large. As the loving husband of wife Dianne, and father to Gianne and Joshua, Pastor Gil is a passionate advocate for families and children. He and his family live in Brooklyn, NY USA.
Rev Michael McBride
Pastor Michael McBride (known as “Pastor Mike”) is a native of San Francisco and has been active in ministry for over 20 years. Pastor McBride's commitment to holistic ministry can be seen through his leadership roles in both the church and community organizations. A graduate of Duke University’s Divinity School, with a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy, Pastor McBride founded The Way Christian Center in West Berkeley, where he presently serves as the Lead Pastor.
In March 2012, he became the Director for the LIVE FREE Campaign with Faith in Action, a campaign led by hundreds of faith congregations throughout the United States committed to addressing gun violence and mass incarceration of young people of color. He is one of the national leaders in the movement to implement public health and community centered gun violence prevention programs, which have contributed in 50% reductions of gun related homicides in Oakland and many other cities across the country. He is a co-founder of Black Church PAC and the National Black Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium which work to center black and brown gun violence prevention practitioners and scale up life-saving interventions related to urban and communal violence.
Regarded as a national faith leader, active in the Ferguson uprisings and many subsequent uprisings, he helps bridge, train and support millennials and religious institutions working on racial justice and black liberation. Pastor McBride has served on a number of local and national task forces with the White House and Department of Justice regarding gun violence prevention, boys and men of color and police-community relationships. In 2016 he was appointed as an Advisor on President Obama’s Faith Based Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, the Huffington Post and many other media outlets providing commentary on issues related to faith and racial justice.
He is married to Cherise McBride and they have two beautiful daughters, Sarai and Nylah.
Teny Gross
A veteran of the Israeli Defense Force and of trying to build peace between Palestinians and Israelis, Teny began his career in ending violence as a senior street worker for the city of Boston. He was later recruited for the position of CEO at the Nonviolence Institute in Providence, RI. Teny has a BFA from Tufts, an MTS from Harvard, and a fellowship in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management from Harvard Business School.