The From the Lobby podcast features a behind-the-scenes look at politics and government from New York State to Washington, DC with Jack O’Donnell, an Albany insider and Managing Partner of O’Donnell and Associates, a top lobbying firm that helps clients all over the country cut through government red tape.
Don’t be stuck on the sidelines. Get a front-row seat to what’s happening in politics with Jack! From the issues that affect taxpayers and business owners to the history of the budget process in New York, Jack has the knowledge and depth of experience to cut through the rhetoric and tell you what’s really going on.
Summary of this Episode
Guests
- Rebecca Fischer: Executive Director for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence
- Alec Lewis: Vice President and Director of Campaigns at O’Donnell and Associates
- Joanne Pasceri: Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates
Major Topics Covered
• New Yorkers Against Gun Violence advocates for stronger gun laws and funds violence prevention programs statewide.
• The organization runs education initiatives in NYC schools to empower students in high-risk areas.
• NYAGV is pushing for more state funding for community and school-based violence intervention programs.
• A recent event in Buffalo brought together local leaders to discuss gun violence solutions and highlight community efforts.
Full Transcript of the Episode
Note: This is a generated transcript. Please excuse any typos.
Joanna Pasceri 00:05
Hi everyone, we’re back, from the lobby, with Jack O’Donnell. A new year, and the fourth season of our podcast. We’re excited to bring you more voices and highlight more issues in government and politics and across the business and community sectors. Jack O’Donnell is a top New York lobbyist and managing partner of O’Donnell and Associates, a government relations firm that’s helping nonprofits, businesses, and political candidates reach their goals. I’m Joanna Pasceri, Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates. This episode, we are profiling one of New York’s community leaders. And at the mic once again for Jack is our Alec Louis, Vice President and Director of campaigns. Alec is an expert on policy, having spent the past decade with the New York Senate Democrats and as a successful campaigner, leading to consecutive democratic supermajorities in the Senate. Alec has a special guest Rebecca Fisher, Executive Director for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. Alec is going to talk to Rebecca about the organization’s important gun violence prevention program that kicked off in Buffalo earlier this year. Hi, Alec and Rebecca, and welcome to the podcast.
Alec Lewis 01:22
Hi, Joanna. It’s great to be with you. And it’s even better to have Rebecca on with us today to talk about the amazing work of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. Welcome, Rebecca.
Rebecca Fischer 01:31
Hi, Alec. And Hi, Joanna. Thanks so much for having me.
Alec Lewis 01:35
Absolutely, It’s our pleasure to have you here on the show today. And for over 25 years, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence has been working with lawmakers, advocates, survivors, and New Yorkers to advance public safety for all of New York’s communities. Rebecca, your organization has a mission of both advocacy and education on the web of interconnected issues involved in gun violence. Now, for both of us, this issue is deeply personal. Can you outline some of the organization’s ongoing advocacy and education efforts?
Rebecca Fischer 02:06
Sure, thank you so much for that introduction. So, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence just by way of overview is a statewide organization, and we not only focus on advocating for gun violence prevention laws that are common sense and will reduce gun violence, but also for funding for programs and initiatives that are trauma-informed and evidence-based. And we also have our education program, with our signature program that is in New York City public schools, really intended to support and provide resources and leadership skills to students who live in disproportionately impacted communities here in New York State, specifically in cities, where, you know, our neighborhoods are the most under-resourced. And so for 2024, you know, we have a strong set of gun laws in New York State, but there’s always more work to be done. And because we have such weak federal gun laws, and so many illegal guns continued to be trafficked into our neighborhoods, from the gun law states, we really need to continue to focus on ways that we can be pouring more resources into violence intervention programs, hospital violence intervention programs, and other trauma-informed strategies that are helping reduce gun violence in the neighborhoods that need them the most. And so for 2024 right now, we’re, you know, we’re in the heart of budget season in Albany. And, so what we’re focusing on there is really urging the legislature and the governor to expand resources that are put towards community violence intervention programs, like SNUG and Brave, and, also in particular, to putting more resources into school- focused Violence Intervention Programs, and we’re advocating for a new bill called the School Anti-Violence Education Act, that would specifically allocate funds through the New York State Department of Education, to programs that are delivered in school or after school, most prevalently in schools that are in communities where there are higher rates of gun violence. We know that after-school programming, and you know, and more mental health counseling, and support services within the schools has been shown to reduce gun violence. And, so we are lobbying for a bill that would allocate each year funding for these kinds of programs. Now, one of the reasons that we are so focused on advocating for that funding is because we know that these programs work. We on our education-fund side, as I said before, have our signature program reaction right now in about 20 different New York Schools. It’s a year-long curriculum that is intended not only to focus on personal development and group development, but also really give students the opportunity to talk about why they carry guns, or why they know folks who carry guns, and why they feel unsafe in their neighborhoods. And to really discuss the misconceptions around gun carrying and gun violence. We then, in the second half of the curriculum, really focus on giving young people the opportunity to be empowered not only within their own communities but also within places like Albany and at the Capitol in Washington, DC. So again, as you said before, we’re really focused on both community education, school education, and also bringing what we’re learning in our classrooms and within the community, to our elected officials to expand resources in all of those spaces.
Alec Lewis 06:17
The work that New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is doing continues to be incredibly admirable both in New York City and throughout New York State. And O’Donnell Associates is so proud to support New Yorkers Against Gun Violence in the production of its successful public safety partnership event in Buffalo that was just hosted alongside Buffalo Council member, Zeneta Everhart. Now, Rebecca, can you outline for our listeners what you felt this event specifically accomplished for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence moving forward?
Rebecca Fischer 06:46
As a statewide organization, we really want to prioritize centering and amplifying the voices of leadership that are doing the day-to-day work to make their communities safer. And so, our goal with public safety partnerships, is to go to the communities that we know are facing these challenges, but also have determined what the effective solutions are, and create a space and a platform to have those conversations and to uplift the leaders that are already there doing the work. And so, you know, this event in Buffalo was really incredible, because it really gave us the opportunity to hear from many of the community leaders, faith-based organizations, street outreach partners that have not only been doing the work, you know, in the last two years since the horrible tragedy on May 14, but have been doing the work for the past several decades, and don’t always get the recognition and resources that they deserve and need. We were able to do this in partnership with a newly elected common council member, Zeneta Everhart, who also has been doing the work as you know, not only as a legislative professional, but also as an activist and leader within her community for years as well. And really, we were there to be a supportive facilitator and to ask questions, but to really give the space for the leaders to have these conversations and to talk about these solutions, and what was so compelling about it was that a lot of the individuals who are both on the panel and who were in the audience, you know, said that there had been a very long time since they’d all been in a room together to really talk about not only what the challenges are, but what their next steps are in terms of working together and collaborating. And the takeaway really was, as we, you know, ended the event was that we know that there needs to continue to be investments and resources poured into not only state-funded programs like SNUG that already received state funding and need more, but smaller community violence intervention programs that are working with young people, or we heard from an incredible organization called Raw Tools, where they actually take guns that have been allocated and removed from the streets and turned in and transform them into gardening tools, which is really powerful way to use something that was truly lethal, that has been discarded and turn it into something productive and create more green spaces for the community. And so, we were able to kind of highlight programs like that and talk about next steps and ways that we can support the Buffalo community, and that they can continue to work with their local and state leaders to continue to grow their coalition and the work that they’re doing on the ground.
Alec Lewis 09:54
Well, it was an incredible event, and we are certainly really excited to continue partnering with you in advancing these conversations across the state, and empowering the important work of the on-the-ground community leaders from all the various community-based institutions that you highlighted that are doing the important work to truly end gun violence in New York State. And Rebecca, I can’t thank you enough for joining us today in highlighting the incredible work that you and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence continue to do to advance the goals of public safety for all New Yorkers across New York State.
Rebecca Fischer 10:28
Thank you so much for having me.
Joanna Pasceri 10:30
All right. Thank you so much, Rebecca and Alec, for that great conversation on public safety and how New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is working to build effective community partnerships. Now, if you’d like more information on the Buffalo Public Safety Partnership Event, just head to the news section of our website, which is at odonnellsolutions.com. That’s odonnellsolutions.com. And stay up on what’s happening in government and politics. Sign up for our Monday morning memo Jack’s weekly newsletter that puts you on the inside track. Get it sent right to your inbox. Subscribe on our website again. odonnellsolutions.com. And for daily updates. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Thread, and Instagram at O’Donnell and Associates. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll be back, from the lobby, with Jack O’Donnell.
