San Gabriel Valley : Director of Coalition to Prevent Violence in Pasadena Resigns

For the third time in three years, Pasadena’s Non-Violent City Coalition is searching for a new leader.

Giselle Acevedo Franco, executive director of the organization that persuaded Pasadena to become the first city in the country to require ammunition registration, is resigning for personal reasons after less than a year on the job.

Franco, 39, whose resignation is effective April 29, informed the coalition’s board last week of her decision, saying her husband has a new job and will be relocating the family to San Diego.

“We are at once deeply disappointed that she must leave, but also greatly encouraged by what she has done for the coalition,” said the Rev. George Regas, coalition board president. “Giselle has brought imaginative and dynamic leadership as the first full-time executive director of the coalition. It will not be easy to find a substitute.”

The board of the coalition, established in the wake of the 1993 Halloween murders of three teenagers, is slated to meet next Tuesday to formulate plans for seeking a successor to Franco.

Before Franco’s arrival, the broad-based coalition with thousands of supporters had come under fire for being ineffective.

Under her leadership, the coalition reorganized to successfully focus on family violence, youth opportunities and community violence, officials said.