“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves been seen.” – Brené Brown Webster defines courage as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” I define courage as Whitney/Strong and our mission of finding common ground to end gun violence through data-driven, responsible gun ownership solutions.  Courage is also my decision to take a leap of faith, leaving a job in May 2019, to join Whitney as the Director of Development for the then solely volunteer-led Whitney/Strong organization. This role called me fr ..read more

Thank you, Mayor Greenberg, and team, for the opportunity to discuss the all-important topic of gun violence survivors. More importantly, I want to thank the very brave and resilient survivors who have chosen to stand alongside me today on this stage. In preparing my remarks I took some time to think about the word survivor. You know, much is made of whether we are to call ourselves victims or survivors. With many landing on the latter due to the positive connotation it holds. Others struggle using the term – feel like imposters – claiming they weren’t physically shot, even though they were cl ..read more

Dearest Whitney/Strong Supporters, One area of common ground for Americans is the hope we possess on January 1st each year. While our goal setting methods may vary, we are mostly unified in our desire to change behavior(s) and achieve new, elevated goals with each new year. The feeling of hope is palpable, but even the most disciplined human can’t make it last forever. This life cycle of hope is something I am very familiar with. As I lay crumpled at the bottom of the revolving door on September 6, 2018, taking gunfire with no route for escape, I found little hope. I said a prayer and resigned ..read more

Whitney/Strong Family, The past three years have been a whirlwind. First, with my miraculous survival and recovery. Second, with the building of Whitney/Strong. While I look back on all that we have been able to accomplish together with great pride, I know that our story is just beginning.  I am proud, but I will never be too proud when the number of shootings and firearm deaths in America continue to climb. Numbers drive me, and gun violence statistics over the last two years have been abysmal for our country. The overall firearm death rate in the U.S. reached the highest level eve ..read more

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Our family just returned from a vacation that placed us in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July. In all of America there is no better place from which to celebrate our independence.  If you can, take your children to this most fabulous historical wonderland. My hope is that my children never forget being in the room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed, where the first peaceful transfer of power occurred from Washington to Adams, where Kentucky became a state, and where Congress held debates and passed bills for the first ten years of our early life as a countr ..read more

Last year brought a lot of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to major changes in just about every conceivable aspect of our lives, rates of depression and violence were higher than in many years past. This is surprising considering most people were on lockdown for the greater part of the year. Alarmingly, more guns were also purchased in the first three months of 2021 than in any three month period in state history. Share this Image On Your Site Please include attribution to https://www.whitneystrong.org/blog/2021/5/13/kentucky-gun-violence-statistics with this graphic. *Cli ..read more

I am forty and damn if I am not lucky to see it. Or blessed. Use whatever word comes to mind when you think of what I have been through and what I have gained. Milestones typically prompt reflection. I am no different and have been thinking quite a bit about the immense gratitude I have. When I do an inventory of the last few years, the amount of good is truly unfathomable. On September 6, 2018 I prayed relentlessly for my life to be spared and it was! With every surgery and hour of therapy due to my injuries I anxiously awaited results. Would I ever throw a football again? Would I ever gestu ..read more

Gun violence is not “someone else’s issue.” It is an issue that, statistically, affect each and every one of us at some point in our lives. Consider sharing this on social media, or in your blog or your website. The more we can all openly discuss the issues, statistics and solutions - without politics or opinions - we can start to see a brighter and safer future for us all. You can use the provided embed code at the bottom of the infographic for easy sharing! Share this Image On Your Site Please include attribution to https://www.whitneystrong.org/support with this graphic. *Click anywhere i ..read more

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