Beyond Policy: Understanding Gun Violence Prevention

Brian Malte is a nationally recognized leader in the gun violence prevention movement. Over the course of his 25-year career, Brian has led community-based movements as well as strategic political campaigns for sensible gun reforms. In 2001, Brian joined the Washington, D.C. office of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. First as National Field Director, then Political Director, and lastly as National Policy Director, Brian became one of the country’s most familiar spokesmen for the burgeoning gun violence prevention movement. In 2016 he returned to his California roots to helm the Hope and Heal Fund to spearhead the philanthropic movement to increase support to local violence prevention organizations and to community advocates working to end gun violence. Brian has been a featured speaker at many state and national conferences and routinely provides expert analysis to news outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NPR, and Mother Jones. For more information on Brian and to read his blogs please visit hopeandhealfund.org.

Tracy Ward describes herself as a change agent. She is a social worker at heart and has been in the social work field for more than 20 years. After serving eight years as a Child Protective Services Social Worker with Contra Costa County, Tracy moved to the nonprofit world. Prior to her current position with Kaiser Permanente, she served as Director of the YMCA of the East Bay mental health programs, overseeing a school-based mental health and clinical trainee program in the West Contra Costa School District.

In January of 2017, Tracy accepted a position with Kaiser Permanente. She is currently the National Community Health Lead leading the national strategy to address intergenerational trauma. Her work is focused on ACEs, mental health and wellness, and community and family safety. This is the perfect position for Tracy as it leverages her mental health experience and deepens her commitment to serving and empowering the community. Tracy currently serves on Kaiser Permanente’s National Equity Workgroup and the Mental Health Scholars advisory board. Tracy was raised in San Francisco’s Hunters Point neighborhood by a single mother, to whom she attributes her spirit of caretaking and self-responsibility. Her personal passion and commitment to youth led her to accept board of directors positions for Take Wings Foundation, an organization that serves at-risk youth in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and Flourish Agenda, an organization that focuses on healing from trauma in marginalized communities. Tracy also serves on the Advisory Committee for the HAVI (Health Alliance for Violence Intervention) a national organization focused on violence prevention, social justice, and advocacy. She is also a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and The National Association of Social Workers. Tracy holds a BA in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. In December of 2009, she obtained her License in Clinical Social Work.