On August 5, 2026, The Hear Foundation President and CEO Leon Ford joined more than 200 law enforcement professionals from across Massachusetts at the third annual statewide Civil Rights Symposium in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Hosted by the Healey-Driscoll Administration through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, in partnership with the Municipal Police Training Committee and the Massachusetts State Police, the daylong training focused on civil rights, community policing, hate crime investigations, and building public trust.
Leon led a breakout session on how stress, trauma, and lived experience shape interactions between law enforcement and the public, with a focus on empathy, communication, and trust.
I’ve been on the other side of a badge in the worst way possible, and I’ve spent years since then trying to understand how we rebuild trust after moments like that. Restorative justice isn’t about letting anyone off the hook, it’s about creating space for accountability and healing to exist in the same room. That’s the work of the HEAR Foundation, and it’s the work I hope every officer in this symposium walks away thinking about. Public safety and civil rights aren’t opposing goals, they’re the same goal, and we get there together or not at all.
Leon Ford, President and CEO, The Hear Foundation
Thank you to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the invitation and for its commitment to training that brings law enforcement and community voices into the same room.
