Skip to main content
Donate

Events

A yellow-gold shape made from arches or concentric circles cut off midway.

Covering Crime and Safety in Oakland

Co-hosted by Baywell Health (formerly West Oakland Health Center), Change Consulting, and the Maynard Institute, Bay Area journalists covering Oakland convened at Oakstop, across from the historic Fox Theater, to discuss building better beats, helping audiences understand public safety, and break down the causes of crime and possible solutions.

An especially important topic as we enter election season, journalists, editors, public safety experts and community advocates came together to consider how best to educate the public and seek data-driven, community-oriented solutions to crime and violence. The convening also inspired discussions and closer examinations of the concepts of violence, crime, safety, and justice.

The Maynard Institute would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all partner organizations, panelists, coordinators and attendees.

Agenda and Speakers

Welcome Address by Martin Reynolds of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Comparative Community Survey Research Presentation with:

  • Robert Phillips, Baywell Health (formerly West Oakland Health Center)
  • Thu Quach, Asian Health Services

Community Panel moderated by Bilen Mesfin Packwood of Change Consulting with:

  • Thu Quach, Asian Health Services
  • Tinisch Hollins, Californians for Safety and Justice
  • Nicole Lee, Urban Peace Movement

Journalists Panel moderated by Professor Lisa Armstrong of UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism with:

  • Marisa Lagos, KQED
  • David DeBolt, East Bay Times
  • Julian Glover, ABC7 News Bay Area

Moderator Bios

Lisa Armstrong is an award-winning journalist with credits in The New Yorker, The Intercept, Rolling Stone, The Texas Tribune and other outlets. She reports mainly on incarceration and has also produced documentaries, including one for CBS News about how subpar mental health care provided by for-profit companies led to in an increase in suicides in state prisons. Armstrong is a professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and also taught at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY for 12 years. She also teaches journalism at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Bilen Mesfin Packwood has over 20 years of experience in media and communications and is the founder and principal of Change Consulting, a social change communications agency based in Oakland, California. She has established a reputation as a trusted strategic advisor to leading changemakers.

Martin G. Reynolds is the co-executive director of the Maynard Institute. He is co-founder of Oakland Voices, a community storytelling project that trains residents to be community correspondents. He was named as Digital First Media’s Innovator of the Year for his work on Oakland Voices. Prior to his Maynard fellowship, Reynolds was senior editor for community engagement and training for Bay Area News Group and served as editor-in-chief of The Oakland Tribune between 2008-2011. His career with Bay Area News Group spanned 18 years. Reynolds was also a lead editor on the Chauncey Bailey Project, formed in 2007 to investigate the slaying of the former Oakland Post editor and Tribune reporter. Reynolds also conducts Fault Lines diversity training programs for media companies and colleges and universities.