We are excited to share that Dr. H. Jean Wright II will keynote our upcoming Gun Violence Prevention Reporting National Certification Conference. His talk will help journalists better understand the experiences and perspectives of people who have been harmed by gun violence when reporting on the topic or covering incidents.
Biography
Dr. H. Jean Wright II, PsyD. MDiv, was appointed as New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Mental Hygiene, which Oversees the Agency’s Work on Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations, Care and Treatment and Children Youth and Families, Among Other Bureaus on August 23, 2024.
Wright is a clinical and forensic psychologist who brings two decades of transformational leadership experience in behavioral health in government, private practice, rehabilitation, and academia to his new role at the Health Department.
During his time in Philadelphia, Dr. Wright was the Deputy Commissioner for DBHIDS, and the Director for the Behavioral Health and Justice Division at DBHIDS where he helped develop and oversee programs and initiatives to support people returning from state psychiatric hospitalization, state penitentiary, and county jail. This work involved alliance-building across sectors, implementing trauma-focused practices to deliver behavioral health care to target populations, as well as trainings of service providers.
He is an Adjunct Professor at Temple University in the Department of Psychology and has served on a variety of boards, including The Mayor’s Task Force on Reintegration and The Philadelphia Board of Mental Health.
Dr. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, English literature, and cultural studies from The Ohio State University, a master’s in divinity from the United Lutheran Seminary, and a doctorate in psychology with focus in clinical and forensic psychology from Wright State University. He continued with post-doctoral work at Wilberforce University and Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW
TICKETS
Get your tickets now and join us in Philadelphia this fall for our first in-person national conference since before the pandemic. We are scaling up our Gun Violence Prevention Reporter Certification Workshop with a Wednesday evening reception and a day-and-a-half of programming, meals and networking — as recommended by those who have attended our local workshops — plus a premiere keynote presentation and a session with the new Association of Gun Violence Reporters.
AGENDA
Wednesday, October 1 at The Hive at Spring Point
30 South 15th Street, Philadelphia
6-8 p.m.
Opening reception: Meet the conference faculty, PCGVR leaders and the team from our recently-expanded national Association of Gun Violence Reporters.
Brief comments:
Dr. Jessica Beard, PCGVR Director of Research
Oronde McClain, PCGVR Survivor Connection Director
Eric Marsh, Sr., PCGVR Director of Operations
Jim MacMillan, PCGVR Founder and Director
Host:
Tamara Cherry, journalist, author of The Trauma Beat and founder of Pickup Communications
Thursday, October 2 at Convene City View
30 South 17th Street, Philadelphia
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Welcome, Goals and Program Overview
Abené Clayton, Reporter for the Guns and Lies in America project at The Guardian and co-director of the Association of Gun Violence Reporters
Tamara Cherry, journalist, author of The Trauma Beat and founder of Pickup Communications
9:30 a.m. Kickoff Workshop
10:15 a.m. Coffee break
10:30 a.m. Keynote
Dr. H. Jean Wright II, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City. His talk will help journalists better understand the experiences and perspectives of people who have been harmed by gun violence.
11:30 a.m. The Second Trauma: documentary screening and survivor community panel
Panelists:
Prof. Yvonne Latty, Director of the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple University and producer and director of the film.
Oronde McClain, PCGVR Survivor Connection director, Stoneleigh Foundation Emerging Leader Fellow, co-producer and host of film, and a gun violence survivor.
Angela Wade and Armond James, who appear in the film.
Moderator:
Tamara Cherry, journalist, author of The Trauma Beat and founder of Pickup Communications
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Journalism and Trauma
Sammy Caiola, Special Projects Reporter at the Kensington Voice in Philadelphia, co-director of the Association of Gun Violence Reporters, former gun violence prevention reporter at WHYY public radio in Philadelphia and Fellow, Global Center for Journalism and Trauma, formerly the Dart Center.
2:15 p.m. Framing, Solutions Journalism, & Peace Journalism
Prof. Jennifer Midberry, Temple University Department of Journalism, partner in PCGVR multidisciplinary research collaborative and former photojournalist.
3:00 p.m. Coffee break
3:15 p.m. Public Health Framing, Prevention, & Gun Violence Prevention Reporting
Dr. Jessica Beard, PCGVR Director or Research, Stoneleigh Foundation Fellow and Temple University Hospital trauma surgeon.
4:00 p.m. Workshop Breakouts
4:45 p.m. Day 1 Wrap Up
5:00 p.m. On your own: Enjoy an evening in Philadelphia
Friday, October 3 at Convene City View
30 South 17th Street, Philadelphia
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Putting ideas into practice, implementing them in them newsroom
Cheryl Thompson-Morton, Head of Advisory Programs, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, adjunct faculty member at the Poynter Institute and formerly the Black Media Initiative Director at the Center for Community Media at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
9:45 a.m. Prevention Reporting Plan (Small Groups)
10:15 a.m. Prevention Reporting Plan: Group Wrap Up
10:30 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. Panel: Association of Gun Violence Reporters
Panelists:
Sammy Caiola, Special Projects Reporter at the Kensington Voice in Philadelphia, former gun violence prevention reporter at WHYY and fellow at the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma
Abené Clayton, Reporter for the Guns and Lies in America project at The Guardian
Jennifer Mascia, founding staff member and senior news writer at The Trace
Paige Pfleger, Senior Criminal Justice Reporter at WPLN News, Nashville Public Radio
Moderator:
Eric Marsh, PCGVR Director of Operations
11:30 a.m. Closing comments
Dr. Jessica Beard, PCGVR Director of Research
Oronde McClain, PCGVR Survivor Connection Director
Eric Marsh, PCGVR Director of Operations
Jim MacMillan, PCGVR Founder and Director
12:00 p.m. Box lunch; take away or stay and network
1:00 p.m. Event concludes
Here’s what they said last time:
Thinking about attending our national conference on gun violence prevention reporting? Here’s what participants had to say after our local pilot:
“Every journalist needs to take this training.”
“This has been needed for a long time.”
“It’s education and insight for everyone.”
“This was one of the best trainings I ever went to. Very impactful.”
“Engrossing and informative.”
“It was a great training with a phenomenal team!”
“It was rich with specific, actionable insights.”
“I would recommend this training to all of my colleagues who cover crime.”
“This training was extremely insightful.”
“Today was great. Practical, solutions-focused, honest.”
“This training is great and needs to continue.”
“Great work! I hope this is offered on a regular basis.”
“It was really inspiring to be in community with folks who came at this work from so many different angles.”
“This type of work is sorely needed.”
“I love what you all are doing. It is groundbreaking work.”
“This was a great workshop.”
Here’s what you’ll get:
- You will attend presentations, join conversations and participate in workshop activities. You will also get breaks to ingest the experience, to network, recharge, refuel and continue.
- You will get certified by the team at PCGVR: the nation’s most recognized thought leaders on gun violence, prevention and the role of the media.
- You will also get healthy meals meeting every need in state-of-the-art venues located in the middle of an incredible city.
- But most importantly: You will become part of this network of experts and inform our work moving forward. This is PCGVR:
FAQs:
Q: Is this a workshop for crime beat reporters?
A: Not especially. Yes, attending this conference will benefit those covering crime, law enforcement, criminal justice or breaking news. But journalists covering health, business, technology, sports, music, arts, travel, education, government and just about any topic can find themselves reporting on gun violence with little or no warning or preparation. We’re here to help. Editors and news execs should sign up too!
Q: Do you have to be a journalist to attend?
A: Not at all. We convene journalists, researchers and the survivor community at all of our events but additional experts from public health, prevention and nonprofits, police and fire officials, educators, high school and college students attended our first national conference. We even had one former mayor of Philadelphia in the audience.
Q: Will there be homework? Is there a test?
A: Nope. There’s no homework and there are no exams. Certification simply requires attending five sessions and participating in related workshop activities taking place all day Thursday and then again Friday morning. The opening reception is optional, as well as some other sessions.
Q: What’s the goal of this conference?
A: We strive to advance more trauma-informed and community-informed journalistic practices and illuminate evidence-based solutions leading to better gun violence reporting and fewer people harmed by gun violence.
Here’s what you can expect:
This will be our first national gathering since our inaugural Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit just before the pandemic in late 2019. Here’s a look back: