Zilber College of Public Health Seminar – The Department of Community Wellness & Safety Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention

PRESENTED BY:

Karin Tyler, Interim Director
City of Milwaukee Department of Community Wellness & Safety

Yasmine M. Morton LPC, Interim Operations Manager
City of Milwaukee Department of Community Wellness & Safety

Julien Phifer, Crisis Response Coordinator/Community Project Liaison
City of Milwaukee Department of Community Wellness & Safety

Join us in a forum to hear the latest in the research and practice of public health to support a just, equitable, healthy future for people, communities, and the environment in Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin, and beyond.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Karin Tyler
Interim Director, Department of Community Wellness and Safety City of Milwaukee

Karin Tyler currently serves as the Interim Director of the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Community Wellness and Safety (DCWS), where she provides executive leadership for the city’s violence prevention strategy and advances a public health approach to community safety.

With more than two decades of experience working on behalf of vulnerable communities, Karin has dedicated her career to addressing violence, trauma, and the social conditions that impact community well-being. Through her leadership at DCWS, she has helped strengthen Milwaukee’s violence prevention infrastructure by supporting community violence intervention programs, building partnerships across city agencies and community organizations, managing major public investments, and expanding trauma-informed approaches that center prevention and healing.

Karin has played a key role in ensuring stability and continuity within the department during periods of transition, helping maintain critical partnerships and prevention initiatives that serve neighborhoods most impacted by violence.

Her commitment to this work is also deeply personal. In 2011, Karin lost her son, Andrew, to gun violence. That experience strengthened her resolve to dedicate her life to preventing violence and supporting families and communities impacted by tragedy.

Today, Karin continues to lead efforts that focus on prevention, healing, and opportunity, working alongside community partners to build safer and healthier neighborhoods across Milwaukee.

Yasmine M. Morton LPC
Interim Operations Manager at City of Milwaukee Department of Community Wellness & Safety

Yasmine is a licensed mental health professional who focuses on unresolved childhood trauma, grief/loss, anxiety, depression and offender reintegration. Yasmine has worked in the social services sector over the past serving children, youth and families. Yasmine received her undergraduate degree from Marian University of Fon du Lac, WI in 2013 and her Masters of Education in Professional Counseling from Concordia University of Mequon, WI in 2018. Yasmine’s passion is to help others grow through seeking mental clarity.

Julien Phifer

Crisis Response Coordinator/Community Project Liaison at City of Milwaukee Department of Community Wellness & Safety

Julien earned his MPH from the Zilber College of Public Health at UW-Milwaukee. With a career focused on advancing social justice and equity, he is driven by a passion to reduce human suffering and improve the quality of life for vulnerable populations. Specializing in public health policy, Julien seeks to apply evidence-based strategies to achieve meaningful and sustainable improvements in population health outcomes. Through these efforts, he hopes to contribute to a more just and healthy society.

The seminar can also be attended virtually on Teams.