Internationally Recognized Human Rights Leader & Violence Interrupter, to speak at Black Business Community Celebration

KINGSTON—World-renowned human rights activist and anti-violence leader, Erica Ford, will be the guest speaker at the 5th annual Black Business Community Celebration on June 18 at Ulster Savings Bank at 180 Schwenk Drive.

The program begins at 4:30 p.m. with an awards presentation, honoring five distinguished local Black business owners and community leaders. They include Eddie Parker, Black Business Excellent Award; Sharon Williams, Black Business Leadership Award; Mia Howard, Maude Bruce Community Award; Naimah Armstrong, Young Black Leader Award; and Frank Waters, Ripple Effect Award.
 
Ford’s address and the community celebration will follow. The event is co-hosted by the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Ulster County Tourism and Black History Month Kingston.

Ford, known globally as “The Peace Doctor,” is the Founder & CEO of LIFE Camp Inc. (Love Ignites Freedom Through Education) a Queens-based organization dedicated to youth violence prevention and community wellness. 

She founded the organization in 2002 to provide mentorship, case management, opportunity pathways, and culturally grounded therapeutic support. In her early years of Community Violence Intervention and Prevention work, she founded The Code Foundation with rapper Tupac Shakur and his stepfather Mutulu Shakur.

Ford revolutionized public safety as a principal architect of the New York City Crisis Management System, establishing a groundbreaking framework that has expanded into a network of more than 40 intervention sites, contributing to a 15 percent citywide reduction in shootings. Under her leadership, LIFE Camp’s innovative Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) model achieved unprecedented success, including a 562-day shooting-free streak in southeast Queens and an 85% reduction in gun violence.

Ford is the co-leader of the National Black and Brown Peace Consortium, which secured more than $5 billion in federal funding for violence prevention, catalyzed programs in 33 cities and established the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in 2024. 
 
In December 2025, she was appointed to then Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's Committee on Community Safety as part of his transition team. 
 
As an educator and innovator, Ford has trained violence intervention and prevention specialists nationwide to advance a public health approach to community-based violence prevention. Her initiatives such as New York Peace Week and the Peace Mobile have mobilized trauma-informed services throughout New York City and beyond, fostering inner peace and community resilience.
 
She has earned multiple awards and citations for her lifelong work, including the MIT Elevate Fellowship, New York University McSilver Award and recognition among Ebony's Power 100 and the New York City and State Power 100. Erica received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Enoch Grove Christian University and was also awarded an honorary doctorate in April 2026 from the Trinity International University of Ambassadors in recognition of her decades of frontline peacemaking.
 
Ford has been featured in The New York Times and O, The Oprah Magazine and on national media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC.
 
Ford is the author of ‘The Peace Doctor's Playbook’ and ‘Soul Tina & The Peace Doctor: The Power Within’ works that extend her peacebuilding framework into accessible daily practices that help individuals, families, and communities transform pain into power, and crisis into connection. Signed copies will be available for purchase at the June 18 event.
 
Ulster Chamber Vice President Jess Davis said Ford’s appearance represents an extraordinary opportunity for the Hudson Valley to engage with one of the country’s most influential community leaders.
 
“Erica Ford’s impact reaches far beyond New York City,” Davis said. “Her work has influenced public policy and helped communities reimagine what is possible when people come together with purpose. Her message speaks to every community striving to build stronger connections, support future generations and create a more hopeful future. We are honored to provide our community with the opportunity to learn from her experience and leadership.”
 
The event is open to the public. To register for the free event, go to ulsterchamber.org. 
 
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