The Community Place- Media Room

Families and Friends of Murdered Children and Victims of Violence Names New Executive Director

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (October 12, 2007) – Families and Friends of Murdered Children and Victims of Violence (FFMCVV), a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families who have lost a loved one to homicide or other act of violence, has named Deborah Cummings-Brown executive director. Cummings-Brown previously spent 25 years with Catholic Family Center, most recently as the Director of the CYO, the agency’s youth services department.

“I believe that no one individual can offer a solution to address the violence that has plagued our neighborhoods,” said Cummings-Brown. “However, it is up to each one of us to take personal responsibility in exercising the power within us to help mobilize our community in taking a stand for peace and justice. I come to this position with a strong sense of faith, hope, and promise that together we can and will make an impact.”

Cummings-Brown brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience working on community and youth issues. She has served on the executive committee of the Rochester- Monroe County Youth Bureau’s Youth Services Quality Council; the Metro Council on Teen Potential (MCTP); the MCTP HEART Coalition; the Soy Unica! Soy Latina! Planning Committee; the Rochester After-School Academy Sustainability Team; the Black Women’s Leadership Forum; and a host of other youth, community, and leadership initiatives. She is an alumnus of the United Way’s African-American Leadership Development Program, and is a past recipient of the Professional Woman of the Year Award, an honor given by the Rochester-Genesee Valley National Association of Negro Business and Professional Woman’s Club for her support and service to the community.

Cummings-Brown is a graduate of SUNY Brockport and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, a Certification in Non-Profit Management and is a Certified Peer Reviewer for the National Council on Accreditation. She and her husband, Nate, have been Rochester residents for 30 years and have two children.

FFMCVV, formed in 1991, offers grief support, basic needs support (food, clothing, transportation, etc.), information and referral services, survivor and victim advocacy, and criminal justice advocacy. FFMCVV has built a strong relationship with the City of Rochester, and is notified by the Rochester Police Department when a violent act occurs so a FFMCVV employee can come to the scene to offer support to the victim’s family and friends. The Community Place of Greater Rochester, a nonprofit provider of neighborhood-based human services that offers a variety of programs and services to individuals, families, children, the aging, and the developmentally disabled living in the greater Rochester area, serves as managing partner of FFMCVV.