Columbus' Office of Violence Prevention may be the first in Ohio. It now has its director.
A new office intended to oversee all of the city of Columbus' anti-violence programs has its first leader.
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced on Monday afternoon that Rena Shak, who has spent a little less than a year as his office's in-house counsel and assistant policy director, has been appointed as the director of the Office of Violence Prevention.
“Rena’s depth of experience in public service will enable her to oversee all of the prevention and intervention programs sponsored by the city through multiple departments,” Ginther said in a prepared statement. He added that he was confident in her ability to take over the city’s first-ever Office of Violence Prevention.
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Shak's appointment to the leadership role comes more than a year since Ginther — flanked by members of law enforcement, grassroots activists and city and state leaders — declared on Feb. 15, 2022 that gun violence was a citywide public health crisis.
Creating the Office of Violence Prevention, which Ginther has repeatedly touted as the first of its kind in any city in Ohio, was chief among his priorities in the past year after he made the declaration.
Funding for its formation was included in Ginther's 2023 budget proposal last year, and Columbus City Council approved legislation in December to create it.
Establishing such an office was a step first recommended more than two years ago by then-Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz.
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Shak is the first person to be formally announced as part of the Columbus office, which will also have an executive assistant, a research and policy director, a community relations coordinator, a data manager and analyst, as well as a grant writer and other staff members.
Shak will lead an office whose primary purpose is to coordinate anti-gun violence efforts by conducting research and also collaborating with public and private partners to advocate for legislation seeking to curb gun violence. City Council has already taken controversial steps to address what city officials contend has been a proliferation of guns in Columbus, passing a law that gives gun owners until July to rid themselves of magazines capable of holding 30 or more rounds.
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Shak has been in-house counsel and assistant policy director for Ginther's office since June 2022, leading efforts to bolster gun laws and working on other public safety-related issues such as juvenile justice, Ginther said in a news release. Prior to that, Shak spent a decade working in the criminal justice system, most notably as a staff attorney for the Franklin County Public Defender's Office and as a former candidate for judge with Franklin County Municipal Court.
Shak was also a finalist last year for the city's first inspector general, a position overseeing investigations into allegations of misconduct by Columbus police. Jacqueline Hendricks-Moore was hired for that role in February 2022.
Shak holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University and a law degree from Capital University Law School.
“I am honored to have been entrusted by Mayor Ginther to lead the Office of Violence Prevention,” Shak said in a prepared statement. “I am committed to working collaboratively with city departments, community partners and residents to reduce violence and enhance safety initiatives in Columbus.”
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, with a focus on in-depth coverage of social justice issues and crime trends.
elagatta@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus mayor names director of new Office of Violence Prevention
