Cantigny Park and the League of Women Voters invite the public to their next Civic Awareness Series program at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 at Park Visitors Center. The program, offered in-person and online, will address violence in our communities and how to restore safety.
Panelists include Phil Andrew, principal of PAX Group, a crisis and conflict management consultancy; and Chris Paterson, assistant secretary for the Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Firearm Violence Prevention (OFVP).
Andrew was previously the director of violence prevention for the Archdiocese of Chicago and served in the City of Chicago’s Office of Violence Prevention. A former FBI special agent, he has led hostage negotiation teams and has expertise in violence prevention, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and crimes against children. He is an adjunct instructor at Northwestern and DePaul Universities and advises the National Security and Human Rights Law Center at Kent College of Law.
Paterson, before creating the OFVP, was the chief program officer at Friends of the Children-Chicago, an organization that provides children facing the greatest obstacles with paid, professional, mentors. Prior to joining Friends of the Children, he was senior director of programs and policy for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. He has been a thought partner and implementer for Chicago’s largest violence intervention efforts, READI Chicago and Community Partnering 4 Peace.
Registration is not required for those attending the September 8 program at the Cantigny Park Visitors Center, and parking is free. Online participants should register at Cantigny.org to receive a Zoom link.
Questions may be submitted in advance to blaimins@gmail.com.
—Cantigny Park