Please join the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative’s May 2026 Webinar:  

“Healing the hurt on both sides of the gun: Lived experiences of gun violence in an urban center in the Rocky Mountain West of the United States” 

About the webinar: 

In this talk, the presenters will discuss interviews conducted and analyzed by Violence Prevention Professionals (VPPs) with the At-Risk Intervention and Mentoring (AIM) program. These interviews focused on the landscape of gun violence in an urban setting by asking individuals who have experienced gun violence and perpetrated it. We will highlight the challenges, solutions, and healing at the personal, environmental, and systems-level. These findings will demonstrate the complexity of gun violence beyond what is noted in traditional academic research. We will also discuss the importance of community-led research to provide depth to difficult to study topics. 

Registration Information:  

Please register here to receive Zoom details. 

Presenters: 
Virginia McCarthy, DrPH mDIV 

Dr. Virginia McCarthy is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado. Dr. McCarthy also serves as the Director of REACH clinic, a community clinic focused on serving individuals in the Denver and Aurora area. She is also an affiliate faculty with FIPI. Dr. McCarthy’s research focuses on advancing community-led research and community violence intervention. 

Johnnie Williams 
Johnnie Williams is the Executive Director of Denver Youth Program, which orchestrates many programs, including the At-Risk Intervention and Mentoring (AIM) hybrid hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP), the Gang Rescue and Support Project (GRASP). Johnnie joined GRASP in July of 2008 and has worked with youth for over 25 years, providing constructive alternatives to gangs and other destructive activities that result from and contribute to a cycle of hopelessness among youth. Johnnie facilitates support groups and healing circles, manages a city-wide black and brown unity council, and leads the only hospital-based violence intervention program in the Rocky Mountain West. Johnnie is a subject matter expert in crisis intervention, group facilitation, child abuse prevention, life skills training, and violence prevention, serving as a criminal justice specialist and an addictions counselor. Johnnie leverages positive youth development at the service of what he believes to be the most rewarding outcome of his work: supporting youth as they change their lives for the better, becoming the fullest version of themselves.   

Benjamin Li, MD MSc 
Dr. Benjamin Li is an emergency physician at Denver Health and the medical director for the AIM’s Denver Health site. He is an assistant professor with the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is an affiliate faculty with FIPI. Dr. Li’s research focuses on hospital- and community-based violence intervention and prevention. 

Quintin W.O. Myers, PhD 
Dr. Quintin Myers is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado and the evaluator for the At-Risk intervention and mentoring program. He is also an affiliate faculty with FIPI. Dr. Myers’ research focuses on the prevention of firearm violence among adolescents with an emphasis on the intersection of social media and firearm obtainment.  

Catherine G. Velopulos, MD MHS 
Dr. Catherine Velopulos is a trauma surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Colorado and a FIPI affiliate faculty member. Dr. Velopulos is the medical director for AIM’s UCHealth site. Dr. Velopulos’ research focuses on community violence intervention and the effects of social determinants of health on access to surgical care. 

The Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative is committed to making our events accessible to everyone. If you require accommodation or service to fully participate, please contact us at  firearm.injury@cuanschutz.edu at least 14 days prior to the event. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; on-site requests cannot be guaranteed.