As U.S. Gun Violence Deaths Nears 4,000 This Year, Guns Down America Announces Five New Board Members to Help Solve the Issue
WASHINGTON — Today, Guns Down America welcomed five new members to its board of directors. Those members include Hon. Nan Whaley, Dr. Joanna Cohen, Varun Nikore, Margaret C. Bae, and Joseph Perta. This is the largest expansion of the board of directors to date, marking a new era of cross-industry activism.
Hudson Munoz, Executive Director of Guns Down America:
“Guns Down America saves lives by changing American businesses on the frontline of the gun violence epidemic. I am thrilled to welcome five new board members who will help accelerate the organization's mission to change the business of guns, and hold corporate America accountable for its role in ending the gun violence epidemic. Hon. Nan Whaley brings experience as a former elected official who understands the local impacts of gun violence having led the response to the 2019 Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting as mayor. Dr. Cohen offers an invaluable public health perspective with insights from her research on firearm injury prevention. Varun Nikore, with his deep roots in issue and campaign advocacy, will help build Guns Down America into the corporate change agent of the gun violence prevention movement. Margaret C. Bae brings legal expertise with banking and financial institutions and Joseph Perta brings his experience on Wall Street—collectively, they will elevate our corporate campaigns to a new level of sophistication and impact. This multifaceted group brings fresh perspectives and new talent aligned with the goal of changing the culture of gun violence by changing the business of guns.”
Varun Nikore, Executive Director, AAPI Victory Alliance:
“Guns Down America has differentiated its lane in the gun violence prevention movement as the corporate change agent—one that we have taken inspiration from at AAPI Victory Alliance. Early polling showed that gun violence is a top issue priority for AAPI voters heading into 2024—and Guns Down America exists to meet our demands for safer communities free from gun violence. It’s time that banks and financial industries cut ties with gun manufacturers who are fueling and financing the gun violence epidemic.”
Stephen Geer, Board Chair of Guns Down America
“I helped create Guns Down America in 2016 to fill a gap in the gun violence prevention movement with industry accountability, cultural engagement, and more assertive messaging. Over the past eight years, Guns Down America has repeatedly won battles with the NRA and pushed corporate America for interventions we know save lives. Right now, Guns Down America is changing how the financial industry does business with gun dealers and leading the charge on implementation of a credit card merchant code for gun sales. Under Hudson’s direction, Guns Down America will enter its next phase, focused on aggressive corporate advocacy. Nan, Joanna, Varun, Margaret, and Joe put decades of collective experience behind that strategy, and I’m proud to welcome them to this organization.”
Hon. Nan Whaley, Former Mayor of Dayton:
“On August 4, 2019, I faced my toughest day as mayor of Dayton when a gunman stole the lives of nine individuals and irrevocably altered the lives of many more. Since then I have phoned mayor after mayor to offer my support and guidance in the wake of mass shootings. In every city, and every community, you deserve to be safe from the threat of gun violence. Guns Down America is helping build a future with fewer guns by focusing on the source—the industry that makes them and the institutions that finance their sale. Focusing on the responsibility of businesses is how we move the needle on this issue in the face of inaction in Washington. It’s time to do something—we owe it to every victim of gun violence.”
Dr. Joanna Cohen:
“As an emergency room physician, I have seen firearm injury firsthand and with increasing frequency—images that never leave you. Gun violence prevention is a public health issue. Nearly 5,000 people have died in the U.S. from gun violence so far this year alone. Guns Down America’s unique corporate accountability approach is getting at the core of the issue: Companies are making and marketing inherently dangerous products that need to be reigned in as a matter of public health.”
Margaret C. Bae, Attorney:
“Guns Down America has been leading the effort to hold the business community accountable through their successful corporate accountability campaigns, filling a unique role in the gun violence prevention movement. Solving the gun crisis means changing the market of guns with
a focus on speed and scale of outcomes that catalyze the movement. Guns Down America is changing corporate behavior by empowering consumers to leverage their financial power to change business relationships with the gun industry.”
Joseph Perta, Retired Senior Vice President, UBS Wealth Management: “Safety for everyone means changing the business of guns in this country. I know from my experience on Wall Street that the financial services industry has a role to play in keeping us safe from gun violence. Guns Down America’s work helps bring the financial community into the fold for a multi-sector approach that can end gun violence.”
You can read more about our new board members below:
About Hon. Nan Whaley:
Nan Whaley is a distinguished public servant and former Mayor of Dayton. First elected to the Dayton City Commission in 2005, Nan was the youngest woman ever chosen for a commission seat. She was proud to be elected as Dayton’s mayor in 2013 by a double-digit majority. During her second term as mayor, she led the city’s response to the August 2019 mass shooting that killed 9 and wounded 17. Nan is a national leader among her peers serving as the Director of Membership for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Nan is also a founding board member for the Ohio’s Mayor Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of Ohio’s 30 largest cities.
About Dr. Joanna Cohen:
Dr. Joanna Cohen is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and Associate Professor of Pediatrics. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of acutely ill and injured children. Dr. Cohen serves as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins. Her research focus includes the field of firearm injury prevention in children, safe firearm storage, and health care disparities in injury prevention. She also serves on the Clinical Gun Violence Solutions Programs and Practice Team at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
About Varun Nikore:
Varun Nikore is the founding executive director of AAPI Victory Alliance, where he leads the organization’s gun violence prevention efforts. He has led the organization’s campaigns calling for Wells Fargo to cut ties with the NRA and has provided national media commentary around the rise in gun violence targeting AAPIs. He serves on the board of RiseAAPI and on the national steering committee of The Pipeline Fund. He was appointed by former President Bill Clinton as Special Assistant to the U.S. Department of Education and was later appointed by former Gov. McAuliffe to the boards of the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority and the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority.
About Margaret C. Bae:
Margaret C. Bae is a Partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP helping companies grow their businesses through mergers and acquisitions, financings and capital raises. Her corporate experience includes public and private mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance, venture capital, private equity, corporate governance, and general corporate representation. Margaret regularly advises private fund sponsors and investment advisors on a wide range of matters, including regulatory and compliance issues, portfolio company representation, and exit transactions.
About Joseph ‘Joe’ Perta:
Joe Perta brings a career in investment management, philanthropy, and education. He served for nearly two decades as a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services, a Director at Barclays, and a Principal at Sanford Bernstein, following a twenty-year career in mergers and acquisitions for closely-held corporations in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. Joe has served on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards in technology, education, and civic organizations. As a resident of Virginia and Washington, D.C., he has also been active in the campaigns of a number of political candidates, bringing a network of financial supporters to state and national officials concerned with equity, social justice, and civic engagement issues.
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Guns Down America is a bolder, broader movement calling for dramatically fewer guns in America, and for making them dramatically harder to get.