Our Staff and Board

Who We Are

There are two arms of CeaseFirePA, the educational arm CeaseFire Pennsylvania Education Fund (organized under the nonprofit laws of the Commonwealth of PA and recognized as exempt from income tax under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code), and the advocacy arm CeaseFire Pennsylvania, (organized under the nonprofit laws of the Commonwealth of PA and recognized as exempt from income tax under 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service Code).

Our Board of Directors

Officers

Shawn Kraemer, President

Jill Zipin Esq., Vice President

Howard Levin, Treasurer

Fritz Walker, Secretary

Our Staff

Shira Goodman

Shira Goodman is our Executive Director. She has extensive experience in the nonprofit world and joined the organization following ten years as a public policy advocate working for better courts in Pennsylvania and a career in labor law. She is involved in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations, and serves on the board of the Legal Intelligencer and several community nonprofits.

Rob Conroy

Rob Conroy is our Director of Organizing. He is an attorney and former prosecutor, an activist who has served on the boards of several Pittsburgh nonprofits/is currently serving as board President at Pittsburgh’s Thomas Merton Center, and a journalist who has published in numerous Pennsylvania publications.

Jeff Dempsey

Jeff Dempsey is our Program Director. He offers a wealth of legislative experience having served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for State Representative Kevin Boyle (PA-172) and a campaign consultant. Jeff uses his knowledge of the legislative process and the political landscape to advise the team at CeaseFirePA. He often conducts leadership institute workshops which teach community groups and organizations throughout the Commonwealth on how to understand the structure of the legislature and how to be stronger advocates for issues they care about including gun violence prevention.

Rhona Gerber

Rhona Gerber is CeaseFirePA’s Development Director. Rhona has over twenty-five years of development experience with non-profit and political organizations both as a staff member and as a consultant during her tenure as a partner at Fleischman Gerber and Associates. She is active in many civic organizations, including her local board of elections, Wintershelter and the steering committee for the Center City Kehillah.

Tsion Tesfaye

Tsion Tesfaye is the coordinator for the Motivating Young Citizens project. Before joining CeaseFirePA, Tsion worked on Congressional campaigns as well as nonprofits that focused on expanding health care access to young adults.

Christian Soltysiak

Christian Soltysiak serves as our Managing Director. Christian brings her experience as a former small business owner as well as her commitment to civic engagement through her work on Jenkintown Borough Council. She is also a proud AmeriCorps NCCC alum.

Jonathan Hanover

Jonathan Hanover is CeaseFirePA’s community organizer in Scranton. Prior to joining CeaseFirePA, Jonathan spent 15 years working military intelligence, deploying in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. His experience at war inspired his move from the battlefield to the political arena and informs his passion for the mission of CeaseFirePA.