Caring for Students in the Aftermath of a Tragedy or Threat of Gun Violence

Abbey Clements is co-founder & Executive Director of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. She is a survivor teacher of the Sandy Hook School tragedy in 2012, and elementary educator for over 30 years. Clements has been a gun violence prevention activist, wearing many hats over the last near-decade, including as a Moms Demand Action volunteer leader (Deputy CT Chapter Leader, Survivor Fellow, National Training Team Lead, to name a few) and as a strategic consultant on gun violence issues for the AFT. She has been featured in various publications and documentaries, including Newtown, If I Don’t Make It, I Love You, Bullets Into Bells, Marie Claire, AFT Voices, USA Today, among others.

Sari Beth Rosenberg has been teaching U.S. History and AP U.S. History at a New York City public high school, the High School for Environmental Studies, for the past 20 years and she currently hosts the PBS NewsHour Classroom Educator Zoom Series. Rosenberg has been featured in various publications and multimedia platforms, including USA Today, NBC News, CNN, The TODAY Show, The Washington Post, Reuters, Chalkbeat, Parents Magazine, The Progressive, A+E/Lifetime, Travel Channel, AFT Voices, Share My Lesson, TheSkimm, Pix11, and PBS NewsHour. Rosenberg is the co-founder (along with co-founders Abbey Clements and Sarah Lerner) of Teachers Unify To End Gun Violence. Rosenberg also serves as a Senior Advisor for Voters of Tomorrow.

La-Shanda West, Ed.S. is a product of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District graduating in 1990 from Homestead Senior High School. Her college experience includes the following: achieved an Associate of Arts Degree in Pre Law from Miami-Dade College; earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a Certificate in Environmental Studies from Florida International University; completed a Master of Arts Degree in Education from Florida Memorial University and an Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University. Her teaching career began in 2001 as a World Geography teacher for Centennial Middle School. As the years progressed, she has taught Civics, Law, Reading and U.S. History for middle school and Cambridge Business, Comprehensive Law, iPrep Career Choices, Speech and Debate Honors, and World History for high school. La-Shanda West, Ed.S., is a survivor of gun violence. She recently became an ambassador for Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence seeking funding and implementation of violence prevention programs and safe spaces for students and teachers who faced trauma.