A National Violence Intervention & Reduction Practice

Public safety systems that outlast election cycles.

Shantay Jackson helps jurisdictions build public safety systems that survive leadership transitions, funding shifts, and election cycles.

For nearly a decade, mayors, county executives, city administrators, Office of Violence Prevention directors, community leaders, and national partners have trusted Shantay to strengthen violence reduction infrastructure, align cross-sector ecosystems, and help build systems designed to last.

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Shantay Jackson speaking at a Mayors Against Illegal Guns convening — Mayors Against Illegal Guns Summit

Jurisdictions Supported 90+ Years in Practice 30

01 — The Challenge

The four-year sprint isn't working.

Most cities approach violence reduction in election cycles. New administration, new initiative, new name on the office door. Plans are announced. Press conferences are held. New initiatives are launched.

But the infrastructure itself never gets built. Institutional memory walks out with each transition, and hard-won gains are erased by the same stubborn systemic problems.

Evolve to Lead approaches the challenge differently. With executive leadership experience across the corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors, the firm sees connections and systems where many consultants see pieces.

Shantay applies her cross-disciplinary perspective to help jurisdictions build durable public safety systems — staffed, funded, and structurally sound enough to survive a change in leadership. Whether establishing a new Office of Violence Prevention or strengthening existing infrastructure, the goal is the same: systems that continue reducing violence long after the headlines fade.

02 — Signature outcomes

What systems built to last can achieve.

Across public safety transformation and broader cross-sector organizational work, the discipline is the same: build systems designed to outlast their founders, funders, and political cycles. A few of our recent engagement below.

No. 1

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement

Built MONSE from the ground up to a team of nearly fifty — designing the staffing structure, funding strategy, cross-sector partnerships, and operational framework that helped position Baltimore for long-term violence reduction. A pilot launched under Shantay Jackson's leadership later expanded throughout the city as Baltimore experienced significant reductions in violent crime.

60% Drop in Homicides (2021 to 2025)

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No. 2

NATIONAL

National Offices of Violence Prevention Network

Under Shantay's leadership, NOVPN membership grew from 25 jurisdictions to over 90, spanning cities, counties, and state offices in every region of the country. The Network became the primary peer-learning infrastructure for the field — giving OVP directors access to practice-grounded training, executive coaching, and a thought partner who had actually built and run a government office of violence prevention herself.

268% Increase in Member Jurisdictions Over Two Years

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No. 3

MICHIGAN

Statewide Violence Reduction Infrastructure

Delivered a 184-page statewide gun violence assessment with jurisdiction-specific findings now informing Michigan's CVI investment and implementation strategy. The assessments established baseline data, identified consistent risk patterns across all four jurisdictions, and provided the evidentiary foundation for targeted intervention — the kind of structured problem analysis that effective violence reduction infrastructure requires.

4 Jurisdiction-level gun violence assessments delivered

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Shantay Jackson on a panel at the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention's 2024 National Convening — "Offices of Violence Prevention are critical to a jurisdiction's efforts to reduce gun violence — they create sustainable pathways to safety and healing." White House Convening

From the Field

Having Shantay there — a thought partner who really understands the nuanced things that we’re describing are going on in our cities — has been extremely helpful.

Holly Joshi, Ed.D Chief, Department of Violence Prevention—Oakland, CA

Working Across the Country

A national practice.

29 Jurisdictions served across the United States

Evolve to Lead does the work that comes long before the press conference.

The strategy decisions made in the first ninety days often determine whether an office reduces violence or just announces it will. Whether your jurisdiction is standing up a new office, strengthening an existing one, or figuring out what comes next — let's talk.

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