Black & Brown Collective’s Training & Mentorship Program

Empowering pre-doctoral and early-career scholars in community violence prevention.

Black & Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence (“The Collective”) is a nonprofit organization composed of staff members and over two dozen multidisciplinary scholars from various academic and research institutions. Our mission is to enhance community safety and wellness in communities throughout the United States, with a particular focus on the firearm-related violence that has plagued Black and Brown neighborhoods for decades.

Program Overview

The Program is intended to create and facilitate a culturally-responsive and transformative grantmaking, mentoring, and training initiative that advances equity.

Goals

Support projects led by racially and ethnically marginalized community violence prevention fellows, a group that has been historically underrepresented and under-resourced in research funding, scholarly discourse, and policy development.
Inform solutions to structural and community violence that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities.

Components

Training: Fellows will receive training in equitable, culturally responsive, and community-based research practices.
Mentorship: Fellows will receive Individualized mentorship and coaching from leading scholars in community and gun violence prevention research.
Professional Development: Fellows will gain access to the Collective’s broader network of scholars, connect with peers, participate in workshops on career pathways, and engage in other professional development opportunities.

Program Benefits

Networking Opportunities: Virtual and in-person meetings to foster collaboration, peer learning, and professional connections.
Grant Funding: Fellows will be eligible to apply for competitive funding to support research projects.

Eligibility Requirements

As federal policy or laws change, we may need to consider adjustments in eligibility and grant terms.

Applicants must:

Be an emerging (pre-doctoral) scholar or early-career (post-doctoral) scholar.
- Emerging scholars must have completed the first year of their doctoral program by the Fall of 2026.
- Early-career scholars must have completed their doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, EdD, ScD, DrPH) within the last six years.
- Attend a university located in the United States or its territories.

Testimonials

“When I joined, I hoped to gain mentorship to advance my professional development goals and to connect with other scholars of color doing impactful work in community violence prevention and intervention. The fellowship has exceeded these expectations. Through biweekly training sessions and monthly mentor meetings, I’ve received substantive support in sharpening my research methodologies and refining my professional goals.”

Jasmine Olivier-McGregor

“The most valuable part of this experience has been the sense of community. I have felt genuinely loved, seen, and most importantly valued. My cohort has truly become family, creating a space of support, affirmation, and shared understanding that I deeply cherish.”

Daisha Little

“Honestly, this is what surprised me most, the unexpected! I did not expect to be connected to a "community" so quickly and so naturally. The relationships and connections forming within our cohort... from regular text or social media check-in's, to shared accountability and informal co-working virtually, and even planning future trips, excursions, and time together... has been really really special. It's refreshing and grounding to build true friendships and collaborative relationships with people navigating similar doctoral and professional paths, THAT GET IT.”

Brielle K. Savage

“This program matters because it invests in scholars who are closest to the problem and most committed to solutions, while actively challenging the inequities that have historically shaped who gets funded, mentored, and heard in gun violence research.”

Hiwot Weldemariam

“The Fellowship has helped me feel more grounded in how I articulate my research agenda and long-term goals. It’s pushed me to think more deliberately about how different strands of my work fit together and how I want to position myself moving forward—not just responding to opportunities, but being more intentional about the path I’m shaping.”

Brian A. Wade

The mentorship has been transformative. It has helped me think more intentionally about aligning my research questions with community priorities, while also strengthening my ability to translate that work into fundable, policy-relevant scholarship. Having mentors who understand both the science and the structural realities of community violence is helping me to be more confident, more strategic, and more grounded in my approach. It has reinforced that rigor and equity are not competing goals; they are mutually reinforcing.

Hiwot Weldemariam

Need Help?

For questions about the mentorship program, contact us at info@thebbcollective.org.

Supporters

This program is made possible through a partnership with the University of California, Davis and generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.