State of Safety is committed to making our communities and our homes safe from gun violence.
We are an evidence-based, nonpartisan, voice for Oregon’s gun safety community. We seek to collaborate with national and other Oregon-based organizations committed to reducing gun violence. We value constructive dialogue and diverse perspectives, recognizing there are many ways to make our state safer.
Henry Wessinger, Executive Director
A fifth-generation Oregonian and descendant of pioneer brewer Henry Weinhard, Wessinger is a graduate of University of Oregon and holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
After retiring from a 32-year career in financial services, Henry committed to working on the reduction of gun violence in Oregon following the February 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Previous public service includes leadership positions on nonprofit boards in the fields of education, conservation, and the arts. An active hiker, Henry solo hiked the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2015.
Zev Braun, Director of Policy and Programs
Zev Braun joined State of Safety in December 2019 as the Director of Policy and Programs. His work focuses on gathering information and analyzing data to inform policy ideas, building partnerships with stakeholders, and researching and designing programs to prevent firearm deaths in Oregon. Currently, Zev is in the process of connecting with experts around the country, and stakeholders in Oregon, to develop a firearm suicide prevention program for Oregon—one that would voluntarily engage gun owners and gun-related organizations to collaboratively save lives.
Previously, Zev directed his graduate studies in public health toward gun violence and gun culture in the U.S. Among his projects were a thesis comparing urban gun violence prevention programs across the country and a long-form journalism assignment incorporating interviews with various gun owners and range instructors to explore America’s gun culture. Before that, Zev served as a teacher and coach with AmeriCorps in Roseburg, OR, and an EMT and drug addiction recovery technician in Portland, OR.
A native of Hood River, Oregon, Zev graduated from Grinnell College in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Biology and Neuroscience, and received a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University in 2019. In his free time, Zev prefers to be outside in nature exploring lesser known places.