Advisory: Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force Meets in Winston-Salem on Sept. 1

The North Carolina Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force will bring together its members at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem on September 1.

Co-chairs Leslie Cooley Dismukes, secretary of the Department of Adult Correction, and Siarra Scott, director of the NC Office of Violence Prevention, will lead the meeting, which will be open to the public and to media. In-person attendees must sign in before entering.

Visit the task force website to learn more about the initiative and view a list of members.

What:
Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force

When:
September 1, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Where:
Benton Convention Center, 301 W. 5th St., Winston-Salem

Agenda:
1:00 p.m. Welcome, call to order and ethics reminder

• Co-chair Leslie Dismukes, secretary, NC Department of Adult Correction
• Co-chair Siarra Scott, director, Office of Violence Prevention, NC Department of Public Safety

1:10 p.m. Public safety panel

• Chief Rico Boyce, Raleigh Police Department
• Chief Roberto E. Bryan Jr., Fayetteville Police Department
• Sheriff Bobby F. Kimbrough, Jr., Forsyth County
• William L. Lassiter, deputy secretary, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, NC Department of Public Safety
• District Attorney Michael Waters, Prosecutorial District 11

2:00 p.m. Break

2:10 p.m. Partnerships panel

• Kevin Blackburn, executive director, Kids Making It
• Sharon Frazier, founder and director, In Deed Youth & Family Empowerment Initiative
• Keynon Lake, founder and executive director, My Daddy Taught Me That
• Rebecca Palmer, pediatric hospitalist, Brenner Children's Hospital
• Chief William Penn, Winston-Salem Police Department
• Shawn Smart, founder, Smart Shawn Consulting
• Stephen R. Smith, owner/manager, MS Lean Landscaping, LLC

3:10 p.m. Break

3:20 p.m. Work group updates

• Enforcement: Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Work Group
  Chair Steven Holmes, assistant director, NC State Bureau of Investigation
• Intervention Work Group
  Chair Michelle Guarino, director of program development, Gang Free NC
• Prevention Work Group
  Chair Kevin Blackburn, executive director, Kids Making It

4:00 p.m. Adjourn

The next meeting of the Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force will be held on Nov. 12, 2026.