The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting operates with a small core staff but during our first four years has also supported more than 200 community journalists, professional media partners, researchers, event speakers, workshop and brainstorming session participants, interns and related consultants and contractors who have all played critical roles in our organizational development, outreach and impact.
PCGVR core team
Dr. Jessica Beard is the Director of Research at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting and a Stoneleigh Foundation Fellow. She is a trauma surgeon at Temple University Hospital and a public health research focused on gun violence, prevention and the role of the media. READ MORE
Maxayn Gooden is the Credible Messenger Community Manager at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. Previously, she produced a short documentary in the inaugural cohort of our Credible Messenger Reporting Project and also leads her own gun violence prevention organizations and activities. READ MORE
In 2022, Mark Hecker became part of the PCGVR team thanks to the support of Spring Point Partners. He joined the team as a development and communications consultant, focused on building the organization’s fundraising capacity. READ MORE
Prof. Yvonne Latty is the journalism education advisor at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. She is also the director of the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication, which has partnered on many of our programs and events. READ MORE
Oronde McClain is the Credible Messenger Newsroom Liaison at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. Previously, he produced a short documentary with support from our Credible Messenger Reporting Project. He also founded and maintains his own foundation. READ MORE
Jim MacMillan is the founder and Director of the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting and our parent organization, The Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting, which he launched during his fellowship at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. READ MORE
Dr. Jennifer Midberry is the journalism research advisor at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting and an associate professor in the Department of Journalism at Temple University. Jennifer was an author on our first study and has presented our research at numerous conferences. READ MORE
Caroline Suárez is the Project Management Associate at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. In addition to project managing PCGVR's Survivor Connection, Caroline also helps with key initiatives, staff coordination, event production, and other responsibilities crucial to PCVGR’s mission. READ MORE
John Paul Titlow is a journalist and content strategist with 20 years of experience across industries – from newsrooms and magazines to brands and nonprofits. He joined the Philadelphia Center For Gun Violence Reporting as a content strategist in 2024 to support the organization’s digital content strategy and publishing operations.
Previous staff members
Charlotte Barron was a Project Manager at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. She focused on network expansion and collaborating with partners to create a centralized directory of gun violence experts, as well as additional duties. READ MORE
Alison Burdo was the Philadelphia Operations Manager for the Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting, our parent organization. She coordinated planning for our inaugural Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit in 2019. READ MORE
Shannon Hodges was a podcast producer at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. She primarily focused on product development, branding and strategy related to advancing our podcasting capabilities. READ MORE
Sheila Hodges was the Communications Manager at the Center for Gun Violence Reporting and a Next Generation intern supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. She reported on the work of our Credible Messenger Reporting Project teams and produced social media content. READ MORE
Maria Mitri was a Project Editor at the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting, where she managed content related to our Credible Messenger Reporting Project and supporting additional operations. She came to our Center thanks to a Next Generation Award from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. READ MORE
Dashawn Walker was PCGVR's 2023 Lenfest Next Generation Intern. As Associate Newsroom Liason, Dashawn worked closely with our Newsroom Liaison to support PCGVR's efforts to end harmful news reporting and raise the voices of survivors. READ MORE