DEMEATREAS WHATLEY
Executive Director
Demeatreas Whatley serves as a Program Specialist on the CVG US team where he helps cities to implement the Cure Violence approach. Mr. Whatley formerly served as the Director of the Cure Violence site in Chicago’s Grand Crossing community, where he led a team of 11 violence interrupters and four outreach workers that significantly reduced violence in their community. Previous to that, Mr. Whatley served as a CVG violence interrupter for nine years, mediating more than 100 conflicts and saving dozens of lives. Mr. Whatley earned a masters degree in social work from the University of Chicago where he was an Obama Scholar. Currently serving as an Obama Scholar mentor.
LINEO MATLAKALA
Co-Founder MOTR Africa
Lineo Matlakala is the founder of the Barali Foundation, an organization that centers the dual pillars of advocacy and education to promote sexual and reproductive health and eliminate gender-based violence and human trafficking. Partnering with government ministries, local leaders, schools, churches and international organizations across Lesotho, Lineo holds art-focused workshops on reproductive health and works with girls and women to develop advocacy and educational campaigns to spread awareness about these issues.
In addition to her work with the Barali Foundation, she is the co-founder of Men On The Rise, and the leader of the MOTR-Africa.
Lineo is a graduate of President Obama’s Young African Leadership Initiative and was a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. She also participated in the Women, Peace and Security Fellowship with Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity at the Earth Institute.
TERRENCE WILLIAMS
Chief Operating Officer
Terrence Williams is a lifelong Chicago Resident and has committed his life to ending gun violence that has for too long plagued our city. Terrence is an ordained Minister and has worked to help many violence prevention programs implement their strategies throughout the city and suburbs.
JACQUES WHATLEY
Program Manager
Jacques is the founder of “A Mother’s Way”, a Non-Profit organization established to build stronger more powerful families through mentoring and to motivate and encourage women through training, education, and social services. A Mother’s Way seeks to help women that were recently incarcerated get reacclimated to society and to ultimately be reunited with their families and children.
Program Consultants
Dr. Elizabeth Tung, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Section of General Internal Medicine
University of Chicago
Franklin Cosey Gay, Ph.D.
Director, Violence Recovery Program
Urban Health Initiative
University of Chicago
Chad Broughton
Instructional Professor
Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago