Our Goal
Safer Country is a 501(c)(3) charity.
Our goal is to prevent gun violence through research, education and advocacy by empowering the public and government to effectively implement gun safety laws that can save lives.
To accomplish this, Safer Country is working to:
- Promote the creation and effective implementation of temporary gun violence removal order laws ( a.k.a. extreme risk or red flag laws, gun violence restraining orders or GVRO’s, extreme risk protection orders or ERPO’s, emergency substantial risk orders or ESRO’s, firearm restraining orders or FRO’s, among other names.)
- Ensure prohibited names, particularly people who have committed acts of domestic violence, are entered into the background check system for gun purchases.
- Requiring fingerprints at the point of sale, to ensure that buyers have no disqualifying criminal records
- Seek annual reports from the states on their progress on the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues.
Safer Country Board
Our Leadership
Executive Director
Paul Friedman is the founder and Executive Director of Safer Country, a gun violence prevention non-profit focused on keeping guns out of unsafe hands. He is inspired by the memory of his great aunt, Elizabeth Shulkin, who was shot and killed at her hotel on a vacation in Florida on December 1, 1981.
Of note, one of Elizabeth’s brothers, and Paul’s great uncle, the Hon. Sam Friedman, was the subject of the 2017 movie, Marshall, about Sam’s successful criminal defense of Joseph Spell in 1940-41, which had a young Thurgood Marshall’s assistance. A Black man, Mr. Spell was falsely accused of attempted murder and rape of the married white woman who employed him in Greenwich, Connecticut. The movie was produced by Sam’s daughter, Lauren.
Prior to Safer Country, Paul served as Executive Director of the Virginia Tech Victims (VTV) Family Outreach Foundation, during which time he worked with the City of Alexandria and Virginia Tech’s local graduate schools to create a tree grove in Chinquapin Park to honor the victims and survivors of the April 16, 2007 massacre.
Paul graduated with a B.A. in Politics from Brandeis University and a J.D. from New York Law School. In 1987, Paul moved to Washington, DC, worked on Capitol Hill. In 1988, he was a Field Organizer in Iowa for Paul Simon for President (where he had the privilege of informing Sen. Simon that he had received the Des Moines Register endorsement for the Democratic nomination) and an Advance Man for the Dukakis/Bentsen campaign.
In 1990, he was elected Chair of the Ward 6 Democrats and became the PAC Director for Environmental Action, where he wrote that year’s Dirty Dozen. On August 25, 1991, Paul married his lovely wife, Lori, moved to Alexandria. In 1992, Paul successfully managed a state representative campaign in Orlando, Florida and, later, a City Council race in Alexandria.
Paul went on to work as a liaison to the Legal and Financial Community in the DMV for the Development Corporation for Israel and the Director of Development for Save A Child’s Heart, Neediest Kids and Every Child Matters. In 2015, prior to joining VTV, Paul served as Mark Levine’s political consultant in his victorious effort to run for Delegate in Virginia’s 45th District.
In mid-2020, Paul was elected to serve as the Alternate Delegate from Virginia’s 8th Congressional District for Joe Biden for President to the Democratic National Convention, which would have been held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but for the covid crisis.
In January of 2022, Paul began serving as the elected Vice President of Alexandria’s West End Business Association.
Board of Directors
Boyd Walker
President
Boyd is a real estate investor who manages his own properties. A political and community activist, Boyd was a Delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention and is a former member of the Alexandria Democratic Committee Executive Board.
Laura Mandala
Vice President
As head of Mandala Research, one the world’s leading travel and tourism research firms, Laura evaluates emerging developments in the industry and her firm has pioneered policy changes in the industry, including minority inclusion.
Named one of the 14 Most Influential Women in Group Travel, Laura’s firm has pioneered the “firsts” of many niche studies in the industry.
As well, she has served as an appointee to the State Council on Women by Governor’s Warner and Kaine and as a Board member to the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board under Secretary Penny Pritzker.
Additionally, Laura is founder of Women in Travel and Tourism International, an organization committed to the promotion, support, and advocacy for women’s leadership in the travel industry. Laura is also a former candidate for State Delegate in Virginia’s 45th District and has served two Virginia Governor’s on the State Council on Women.
Vincent Smith
Treasurer
A graduate of Bryan College and Washington & Lee University School of Law, Vincent is a reentry attorney in Northern Virginia. He works with individuals who have criminal convictions and/or charges, helping them overcome the collateral consequences that they face due to their record such as employment challenges, court fines, driver’s license suspensions, etc…
Vincent has a deep appreciation for how the justice system works and the need to ensure that the rights of all individuals are protected. In that light, he wants to ensure that the reporting of convictions of violent crime and domestic violence prohibits individuals from owning, purchasing and possessing firearms while not increasing unnecessary barriers to non-violent individuals seeking to return to and play a positive role in the community.
Lori Friedman
Secretary
Lori is a Certified Public Accountant with extensive experience in public and private accounting. Since 2009, she has operated her own firm in Alexandria, Virginia.
When Lori isn’t grappling with accounting principles or the Internal Revenue Code, she enjoys life with her husband, Paul, the Executive Director of Safer Country, and the couple’s dog, Sadie.
Paul Friedman
Advisory Committee
Ara Bagdasarian
Founder, Zero Now,
Member, Leesburg Town Council,
Former CEO and Co-Founder, Omnilert
Pete Brodnitz
President,
Expedition Strategies
Leslie Byrne
Former Congresswoman (VA)
John Capozzi
Former U.S. Statehood Representative (WDC)
Sean Casey
Captain, Sheriff’s Office, City of Alexandria
Charlotte Cohn
Theatre,
Actor, Director, Producer
Ken Cummins
President,
Capitol Inquiry
Jay Figurski
Lieutenant Colonel, USA
Tim Gleeson
Undersheriff, Sheriff’s Office. City of Alexandria
Mark D. Friedman
Global Real Estate Advisor and Actor
Mike Gelb
Former White House Correspondent,
Reuters News Agency
Michael “Misha” Gill
Attorney
Andrew Goddard
Legislative Director, Virginia Center for Public Safety
Anthony Guglielmi
Director, Public Affairs Bureau, Police Department, Fairfax County
Chris Harris
President,
Alexandria Branch,
NAACP
Mike Jason
U.S. Army Colonel (retired), Defense Consultant, Pentagon
Mark Jones
Former ATF Supervisory Special Agent, Firearms Policy and Regulatory Expert
Rod Kuckro
Former President, Del Ray Citizens’ Association
Dana Lawhorne
Former Sheriff, City of Alexandria
Mark Levine
Former Member, Virginia House of Delegates
Norm Lodato
Gun Violence Widower
David Lord
Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Alexandria
Maurice Middleberg
Former Executive Director, Free the Slaves
Ericka Miller
President and CEO, Isaacson, Miller
Pia Miller
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, Fairfax County
McArthur Myers
Civil Rights History Activist, Alexandria Living Legend
Rob Nagle
Actor, Teacher, Director
RJ Narang
President & CEO, Renegade Technology Systems, Inc.
Greg Parks
Clerk of the Circuit Court, City of Alexandria
Bryan Porter
Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Alexandria
Kate Ranta
Gun Violence Survivor/Author/Activist
Amanda Roberts
Emdr Therapy, Psychologist, PhD, MA
Allison Silberberg
Former Mayor, City of Alexandria
Donnie Simpson
President,
Simpson Development Company
Terron Sims II
CEO,
Doug Pollard, LLC
Stacey D. Stewart
President & CEO,
March of Dimes
Shannon Taylor
Commonwealth’s Attorney, Henrico County
Rebecca Wade
Partner,
Wade, Grimes, Friedman, Meinken & Leischner, PLLC
Mary Wadland
Publisher,
The Zebra Press
Amanda Wilcox
Legislative & Policy Chair, California Chapters, Brady United Against Gun Violence
Jason Odell Williams
Playwright/Television Producer