OUR BOARD
Abbey Clements
Abbey Clements is a survivor teacher of the Sandy Hook School tragedy in 2012, and was an elementary school teacher for 32 years. Clements has been a gun violence prevention activist for over a decade. She was a strategic consultant on gun violence issues for the American Federation of Teachers and is a Board member of States United to Prevent Gun Violence. Clements has been featured in various publications, events, and documentaries, including the 2024 DNC, If I Don’t Make It, I Love You, Bullets Into Bells, Marie Claire, Newtown (the film), AFT Voices, AARP, USA Today, among others.
Dara Sicherman Salett
Dara Sicherman Salett is a Brooklyn-based gun violence prevention activist. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, she helped launch Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the grassroots force of Everytown for Gun Safety. After working on chapter development for several years, Dara organically began to merge her passion for GVP work with her priorbackground in education to help design a training program to provide Everytown volunteers and survivors with organizing skills to work more effectively and efficiently through a trauma-informed lens. Dara worked with the Be SMART safe storage program and currently serves as the NY Development Manager for Guitars Over Guns. Dara is thrilled to have an opportunity to bring her experience in the GVP movement and interest in learning development to support educators on the frontline at Teachers Unify. Teachers are leaders and our students shouldn’t have to navigate a path through this on their own.
Dr. Sonali Rajan
Dr. Sonali Rajan is a professor of health promotion and education in the Department of Health Studies and Applied Educational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. She is Co-Director of the Columbia Center for Injury Science and Prevention and from 2022 - 2024 served as the Founding President of the Research Society for Firearm-Related Harms. Dr. Rajan is a school violence prevention researcher, studying gun violence, school safety, and adverse childhood experiences. She is co-leading research in these areas funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And from 2024-2025 served on a National Academies committee conducting a consensus study on the impacts of active shooter drills on children, their health, and well-being. Dr. Rajan's work is specifically focused on how to best create healthy and safe environments where children can optimally learn, particularly in the face of the persistent firearm violence crisis in the U.S.
Angie Pati
Angie Pati (she/her) is honored to serve as the Founding Treasurer of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence Action. A proud "Zillennial," she wholeheartedly believes that gun violence is one of the most pressing concerns facing her generation. She has watched firsthand as it has had reverberating effects in communities both in the United States and internationally through her work as a Fulbright Fellow in South Africa and Investigator in Washington, D.C. for a legal justice nonprofit. Over the past few years, Angie has led the charge for leading gun violence prevention movements to gain supporters and funding through her position as Executive Director of Nonprofits at Grassroots Analytics as well as through her personal work. Now the Director of Strategic Partnerships at National Journal, Angie continues to bolster her political and policy know-how. She is thrilled to empower educators to lead the conversation around gun violence prevention through political action.
Matt O’Connor
Matt O’Connor (he/him) brings a multi-dimensional background in strategic advocacy, high-stakes communication, and fiscal growth to the Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence Action Board of Directors. Throughout his career, Matt has navigated critical legislative and electoral campaigns for some of the nation’s most vital labor organizations. Currently spearheading narrative strategy for AFT Connecticut—a diverse coalition of education, healthcare, and public service professionals—Matt has dedicated years to supporting union members. Among them are survivors of the 2012 Sandy Hook School tragedy, whom he has empowered to translate lived experiences into a powerful vehicle for systemic change. Matt’s commitment to curbing gun violence is also deeply personal. Having lost his father to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at nine years old, he carries a lifelong drive to prevent other families from enduring similar, preventable suffering.