Congratulations to Family Action Network (FAN) on their 40^th anniversary season!

We are pleased to collaborate with FAN as they welcome Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, and Pastor Brenda Mitchell, State Chapter Co-Leader for Moms Demand Action in Illinois and a Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network. Watts and Mitchell will be interviewed by Heidi Stevens. This virtual event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Click HERE to reserve your spot!

This event will be recorded and available later on the FAN website and YouTube channel.

About the Featured Guests: Shannon Watts is the founder and a full-time volunteer with the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting against gun violence, Moms Demand Action. Prior to founding Moms Demand Action, Watts was a stay-at-home mother of five and former communications executive at Fortune 100 companies. The day after the Sandy Hook School mass shooting tragedy, Watts started a Facebook group to unite women against the gun lobby as Mothers Against Drunk Driving united mothers against the alcohol lobby in the 1980s. That online conversation turned into a grassroots movement with a chapter in every state and, together with its partner Everytown for Gun Safety, now has nearly 10 million supporters. For ten years, Moms Demand Action volunteers have helped pass hundreds of gun safety laws across the country, changed corporate policies, and educated Americans about secure gun storage. This grassroots movement also helped pass the first gun safety bill in 26 years, the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Brenda Mitchell is the State Chapter Co-Leader for Moms Demand Action in Illinois and a Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network. In 2005, Mitchell’s 31-year-old son, Kenneth, was shot and killed outside a bar one week after his younger brother Kevin left for his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. A single parent, Kenneth left behind 3 sons. Since her son’s death, Mitchell has become a dedicated advocate for gun violence prevention with an emphasis on trauma. She serves on the Everytown Faith Advisory Council (she is an ordained pastor), is a complicated grief counselor, and holds certification as a mindfulness counselor. In addition to her work with Everytown, she is an active member with the gun violence advocacy organization Purpose Over Pain, headquartered in the South Side of Chicago. She has also volunteered as a survivor on a committee with the Mayor's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

About the Interviewer: Heidi Stevens is a Chicago-based writer and the Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, which works to provide parents, caregivers and communities the knowledge and tools to optimize foundational brain development in all children. Prior to joining University of Chicago, Stevens worked at the Chicago Tribune for 23 years, where she wrote a daily column called “Balancing Act.” She was awarded the Anne Keegan Award for Distinguished Journalism in 2018. Stevens maintains a nationally syndicated column once a week. She has served on the FAN board of directors since September 2021.

Please note, there is not a book associated with this discussion.