John Chisholm is the District Attorney of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. John has 25 years of prosecutorial experience and spent much of his early time as a line prosecutor trying to reduce gun related violent crime in Milwaukee. In 1999 he established and led a dedicated Firearms Enforcement Unit to address high rates of firearm related death and injury and collaborated with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Firearm Injury Research Center to identify preventative strategies to reduce harm. This approach evolved into the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission and is reflected in the current collaborative Violence Reduction Public Health and Safety Team effort. John believes strongly in the obligation of the elected prosecutor to engage in community-led problem solving and expanded his nationally recognized Community Prosecution Unit to place experienced prosecutors in challenged neighborhoods to partner with law enforcement and citizens to develop long term solutions to the issues of concentrated disadvantage. Recognizing the pervasive role of trauma in shaping behaviors that lead to criminal involvement, John developed an early intervention program to accountably divert people from the criminal system and worked with advocates and medical professionals to develop the Sojourner Family Peace Center, a national model that combines shelter, therapeutic intervention and collocated services for families impacted by violence. John believes strongly in partnering with academic and philanthropic institutions committed to helping justice systems better understand and address the complex challenges of racial and economic inequity in major urban centers, factors that heavily influence rates of violence.