Board of Directors
Prior to founding Advance Peace, DeVone served as Neighborhood Safety Director and Director of the City of Richmond (California) Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS). As Director of ONS, DeVone was responsible for the development, implementation, and management of comprehensive approaches to reducing firearm assaults, preventing retaliation associated with firearm conflict, and transforming the lives of the city’s most lethal young men. DeVone is a national authority on urban gun violence prevention and intervention.
Angela is a national authority on poverty issues, recently contributing a chapter to Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream (The New Press, 2007). Prior to founding PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity, Angela served as Senior Vice President for The Rockefeller Foundation. She directed the foundation’s domestic and cultural divisions and developed the Next Generation Leadership and Building Democracy programs, centered on issues of inclusion, race, and policy.
Prior to joining the Sierra Health Foundation, Chet spent five years as the Agency Director for the Alameda County Social Services Agency, where he was credited with transforming its child welfare system into a national model. He also worked as Associate Director for The Rockefeller Foundation in New York, and he established and managed the West Coast office in San Francisco. Chet is a recipient of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Child & Family Leaders Fellowship and the 2009 Black Child Welfare Administrator of the Year.
Roy is a new partner at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis and is responsible for expanding the firm’s litigation and data practice. Roy is the former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity in the Domestic Policy Council. Roy also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice. At the White House, Roy helped lead efforts focused on criminal justice and civil rights. Within the Civil Rights Division, Roy supervised the criminal justice and law enforcement portfolios.
Shannon Watts is founder of the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting against gun violence, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Prior to founding Moms Demand Action, Watts was a stay-at-home mom 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. That online conversation turned into a grassroots movement with a chapter in every state and now has over 6 million supporters.
Amber leads global ethics and compliance for a multinational specialty retailer whose flagship brands include Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Bath & Body Works. Before joining L Brands, Amber served in various attorney roles at Walmart, most recently as senior associate general counsel and section head for US compliance. She’s actively engaged with organizations focused on advancing educational opportunity and gender and racial equality.
Inspired by her parents’ work with the farm worker movement and Cesar E. Chavez, Assembly Member Campos began her work for economic, social, environmental, and political justice as a young girl marching alongside farm workers.
Growing up in a working class neighborhood of San Jose, Assembly Member Campos worked to advance incentives to keep thousands of jobs in California.
Assembly Member Campos served San Jose for nearly a decade as a Councilmember from 2001-10. Nora co-chaired San Jose’s Family/Domestic Violence Advisory Board.
Nora Campos served as the Assembly’s Democratic Whip and Assembly Speaker Pro Tem. Nora championed the right of children to learn English and healthcare for every child in California, Chaired the Select Committee on the Status of Girls and Women of Color and authored AB-80 Inter-agency Task Force on the Status of Boys and Men of Color.
Leadership Team
As Chief Operating Officer, Khaalid works to ensure that AP achieves its strategic direction by strengthening structure, management systems and collaborative partnership outcomes. He leads the training and development of local leaders and helps to fuel AP’s Peacemaker Fellowship development with new cities. Khaalid has overseen the design and implementation of violence prevention, intervention and youth development programming in several California cities as a direct service provider, manager, and director in both non-profit and local government settings for over twenty years.
As Administrative Director, Johann is responsible for building out the AP Administrative and Human Resources infrastructure. She previously served at the City of Richmond (Ca)and worked in the Community Services Department where she served as the Executive Secretary and Senior Human Resources Specialist for the Agency Director. During Johann’s tenure in Richmond, she was a leader in developing and implementing a community led, city-wide Race Equity Plan. Her passion lies in pursuing justice and race equity for communities of color and those most affected by violence.
Sam provides guidance and support to the AP program portfolio. Sam serves as Program Manager for the City of Richmond Office of Neighborhood Safety, where he is responsible for day-to-day program management of the Street Outreach and Operation Peacemaker Fellowship strategies. With AP, he serves as the CEO’s partner on strategy expansion.
Matt Barnes is a former Los Angeles Laker who spent 14 seasons in the NBA, culminating with a world championship in 2017 with the Golden State Warriors. He is now a premier NBA analyst on ESPN, executive producer and co-host of Showtime podcast All The Smoke, one of the world’s largest and most-discussed sports podcasts. Barnes is also heavily involved in social justice issues including criminal justice policy, cannabis business equity and community empowerment.
Arnold brings important law enforcement expertise and perspective to the AP team. Arnold currently serves as Chief of Investigators for the Contra Costa County (CA) District Attorney’s Office. Arnold is a 30+ year veteran police officer with extensive experience in community policing and special investigations.