
Teny Gross
Founder & Executive Director
A veteran of the Israeli Defense Force, Teny began his career working to build peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Soon after, he became a street outreach worker in Boston. He was later founder and CEO for the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence in Providence, RI in 2000. In 2015, Teny was recruited to Chicago to aid in our violence reduction efforts. He founded the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago and now serves as Executive Director. Teny is actively involved in shaping Chicago’s citywide community violence intervention strategy and building partnerships with key institutions–what he terms the New Civilian Architecture of Violence Reduction. Teny has a BFA from Tufts, an MTS from Harvard, and a fellowship in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management from Harvard Business School.