About Us

In Memory of Gail Leland
Founder
After Gail Leland’s 14-year-old son, Richard, was murdered in 1981, she recognized the need for support for parents of murdered children. She founded the charter chapter of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) in Tucson, Arizona, on February 19, 1982, which later became Homicide Survivors, Inc. Read more about Gail’s story here.
Meet The Team

James Gierke
Executive Director
In 1999, James began his career in social work and worked with different victim service agencies in Tucson, Az. James is honored to work with an organization dedicated to advocacy, support, and assistance to family and friends who have lost a loved one to murder.

Dennisse Ley
Operations Manager/Victim Advocate
Born in Mexico to two parents that always encouraged her to help others, Dennisse became involved in community & social justice groups at a young age. Dennisse feels honored to work for HSI & hopes to grow & formalize our program to better serve families & friends of murder victims.

Sylvia Alvarez
Victim Advocate

Alexandra Gastelum
Development Associate

Amy Gomez
Victim Advocate
Prior to joining Homicide Survivors in 2018, Amy Gomez spent most of her career working as an advocate for victims of domestic abuse. Amy’s primary focus at Homicide Surviors is supporting families and friends of homicide victims through the criminal justice process.

Brad Holland
Victim's Counsel
At a young age Brad grew a passion for music, at one point he moved to Hollywood to become a star. However, he moved back to Tucson where he pursued his law degree to make an impact in his community. Today, he is pleased to act as Victim’s Counsel with Homicide Survivors and help in any way he can.

Paloma Sainz
Victim Advocate
Meet the board of directors