Hi all! I’m Devon Ziminski, and I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate here at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (NJ GVRC). I earned my PhD from Rutgers University School of Social Work in 2025, and I have most recently worked at The Senator Walter Rand Institute (WRI) for Public Affairs at Rutgers University – Camden. (I love Rutgers!)

With a social work and social policy background, I am always thinking about how programs and policies affect people in their daily lives. My efforts focus predominantly in New Jersey and involve direct engagement with community partners and local and state government entities on primary data collection and analysis.

My research focus areas are in community violence interventions, relationships between violence and safety, and the effects of firearm violence exposure. Beyond specific violence research, I have conducted numerous program evaluations to understand how partnerships between law enforcement, nonprofits, and health care institutions successfully collaborate and improve outcomes for community residents.

Our work here at NJ GVRC not only generates critical research and discusses opportunities for other researchers and programs, but also helps to translate these findings into other means – through blogs, media interviews, and presentations. This process is key to connecting research to policy and practice.

I am looking forward to continuing to work with the incredible team here at NJ GVRC and supporting and leading studies that unpack the challenges and solutions of violence in our society.