NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TN Tribune) – Eleven Nashvillians – experts in areas ranging from Metro Council to medicine – have joined Mayor John Cooper’s community safety efforts as the mayor today appointed them to his new Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board.

The group will provide funding recommendations for more than $1.5 million in grants, which Mayor Cooper allocated in March to bolster neighborhood groups working to prevent and reduce violence in Nashville.

“Community challenges demand community solutions,” Mayor Cooper said. “Our public safety response requires strong partnerships. And we must make real investments in strategies that work best for our neighborhoods.”

“I’m grateful to all the Nashvillians who are joining us in a community-driven approach to making our neighborhoods safer,” he added.

The board will work with Ron Johnson, who the mayor named as Nashville’s first Community Safety Coordinator in March. Johnson, a veteran coalition builder and violence prevention expert, will lead the mayor’s community safety efforts as he collaborates with neighborhood groups and Metro Nashville Police.

“Partnering with – and investing in – the groups working to make our neighborhoods safer was one of the Policing Policy Commission’s most important recommendations,” said Sharon Roberson. She is president and CEO of YWCA Nashville and co-chaired the mayor’s Policing Policy Commission. Roberson will also lead the Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board.

“I want to thank Mayor Cooper for making a major down payment on our recommendations,” Roberson added.

Mayor Cooper’s Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board

Katina Beard

Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, CEO

Mayor’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Advisory Council, Chair

Christiane Buggs

United Way of Greater Nashville, Manager of Literacy Partnerships

Metro Nashville Public School Board of Education, Chair

Judge Sheila Calloway

Juvenile Court of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County

Jennifer Gamble

Metro Council Public Safety Committee, Chair

Nelson PR & Communications, Founder and CEO

Deputy Chief Dwayne Greene

Metro Nashville Police Community Services Bureau

Nawzad Hawrami

Salahadeen Center, Vice President and founding board member

Mayor’s New American Advisory Council, Public Safety Chair

Rev. Dr. Christopher Jackson

Pleasant Green Baptist Church, Senior Pastor

Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship, President

Dr. Alex Jahangir

Metro Nashville Public Health Board, Chair

Vanderbilt Center for Trauma, Burn, and Emergency Surgery, Executive Medical Director

Vanderbilt Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Director

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Professor

Andrés Martínez

Metro Community Oversight Board, Chair

Conexión Américas, Policy and Communications Director

Tom Turner

Nashville Downtown Partnership, President and CEO