Lindsay Pringle, of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, appointed to gun violence prevention committee

Harrisburg, PA – One year after Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2024-02, re-establishing the Pennsylvania Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP), the Shapiro-Davis Administration recognizes the critical progress the office has made over the last year to keep Pennsylvanians safe, and is marking the milestone by continuing to build on its work and bringing together stakeholders from across the Commonwealth for its first Advisory Group convening. 
 
“Today’s convening marks a key step in our fight against gun violence and highlights the critical work that we’ve done over the past year to better understand and address the trends,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). “By bringing together committed individuals from every corner of the Commonwealth, we are turning research and stakeholder input into real strategies that will save lives and make our communities safer.” 
 
Under the Shapiro-Davis Administration, comprehensive investments in public safety have helped drive positive results. In 2024, homicides in Pennsylvania dropped 23 percent, outpacing the national decline of 15 percent. Data shows that 30 counties saw reductions in homicides in 2024, including Philadelphia, which recorded a 36 percent drop last year and a 22 percent decline so far in 2025.
 
Data shows that other violent crimes committed with firearms also decreased statewide in 2024 compared to the prior year, including a 15 percent reduction in aggravated assault by firearm and 32 percent decrease in robbery by firearm incidents.
 
While this progress is encouraging, gun violence remains a persistent public health crisis across the Commonwealth:
Firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents.
Black Pennsylvanians are more than 22 times as likely to die by gun homicide as white Pennsylvanians. 
Suicides accounted for 60% of all gun deaths in 2023.
In 2023, 77 percent of domestic violence homicide victims in Pennsylvania were shot. 
 
“We’re taking a comprehensive approach to make Pennsylvania communities safer— addressing trauma, supporting mental health, and disrupting cycles of violence at the root,” said Kirsten Kenyon, PCCD Executive Director. “By bringing together survivors, advocates, public safety and health experts, and leaders from state and local agencies, we are joining forces instead of working in silos. Every community in our commonwealth has unique needs and challenges, but one truth remains the same—too many lives are being cut short by gun violence. That’s what we’re here to change.”
 
Today’s gathering recognizes the work by the office throughout its inaugural year under the Shapiro-Davis Administration, including robust information gathering through seven stakeholder listening sessions on topics including youth gun involvement, suicide prevention, firearm safety, and the intersection of domestic violence and gun violence; and an online survey which was completed by more than 800 individuals across the Commonwealth.
   
Earlier this year, the office also released an Initial Report and Strategic Plan, highlighting key findings from stakeholder engagement efforts on the impact of gun violence statewide, highlighting urgent needs, and providing a roadmap for action, including: 
Increasing investments in community-based violence intervention and prevention programs and bolstering resources for victims’ services. 
Improving data collection, availability, analysis, and research on firearm-related incidents. 
Developing a statewide ‘blueprint’ for expanding strategies to promote youth safety and well-being in collaboration with young people and youth-serving organizations. 
Encouraging safer gun ownership practices by raising awareness of and addressing barriers to secure firearm storage practices.
Advancing local suicide prevention initiatives and postvention strategies.
Strengthening protections and resources to reduce domestic violence-related shootings.
 
The Shapiro-Davis Administration has continued to stress the importance of investing in youth-serving programs and violence prevention initiatives during visits to organizations like Beyond the Bars, Opportunities Industrialization Center of Philadelphia, SLB Radio Productions, and the Regional Engagement Center. Since January 2023, PCCD has awarded $85 million in Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant funding for more than 130 projects across Pennsylvania, and last January, PCCD announced the first-ever recipients of Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) funding. 
 
PCCD also recently announced more than $4 million in federal Byrne SCIP funding to help communities across Pennsylvania reduce gun violence, address firearm suicides, prevent intimate partner homicides, and strengthen local behavioral health crisis responses; and continues its work to better support survivors, families, and caregivers in Pennsylvania affected by gun violence through its Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Initiative.
 
In addition to the OGVP’s Executive Committee, PCCD will be launching regional advisory groups later this fall to help shape the Commonwealth’s gun violence prevention strategy. Stakeholders who are interested in participating in these regional groups can sign up using OGVP’s Stakeholder Interest Form.
 
OGVP Executive Committee Membership
 
Breanna Adams
Coordinator, Erie Free Store, and Grants Specialist at Snap-tite Hose 
Ana Arcs
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
Erika Brosig
Chief Operating Officer, Victim Services, Inc. 
Maura Condon-Umble
Retired / Community Member
Carl Day
Founder, Culture Changing Christians
Jannette Diaz
President & CEO, Congreso de Latinos Unidos
Tobi Downing
Director of Philadelphia Gun Violence Reduction Initiatives, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Donnell Drinks
Leadership Development & Engagement Coordinator, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
Tina Ford
Founder, M.O.M.S.
Dr. Raquel Forsythe
Trauma Medical Director, General Surgeon, Presbyterian Hospital, UPMC System
Adam Garber
Executive Director, CeaseFirePA
Jeani Garcia
Executive Director, Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley
Chawna Griffith-Myers
Executive Director, York County Reentry Coalition & York County Criminal Justice Advisory Board Planner
Tiffiney Hall
CEO, PosiTiff; Founder & President, A PosiTiff Place
Pennie Hockenberry
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Office of the Victim Advocate
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight
Founder and National Executive Director, Mothers in Charge, Inc. 
Kirsten Kenyon
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency
Scott Kuren 
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Dr. Erik Langenau
Chief Academic Technology Officer, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Tiffany (“Tiff”) Lowe
Group Violence Intervention Project Manager, York City Police Department
John Noll
Pennsylvania Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
Charla Plaines
Retired / Community Member
Lindsay Pringle
Manager of Community Health & Wellness, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health
Captain James Reinhard
Pennsylvania State Police
Rashad Salters
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Rev. Eileen Smith
Executive Director, South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace
Deion Sumpter
Deputy Director of Violence Prevention Initiatives, Office of Safe Neighborhoods, City of Philadelphia
Steve Williams
Lieutenant Governor’s Office
Melissa Wright
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
 
Learn more about PCCD’s role in reducing gun violence and the work of the OGVP by visiting our website.  
 
More photos from today’s convening can be found on PAcast.com.