Non-Profit · Intercultural Family Services · 2025 & 2026
Intercultural Family Services
Hope Symposium on Gun Violence · Two Years, One Ongoing Partnership
Founded in 1979 as a refugee resettlement organization, Intercultural Family Services has spent nearly five decades doing some of the hardest work in Philadelphia — behavioral health, family services, mental health support for immigrants and refugees, truancy prevention across 70 schools in West and Northeast Philadelphia. Under CEO Javier Alvarado, a licensed clinical social worker and Army veteran with over 30 years of behavioral health experience, IFS has moved toward greater visibility while staying rooted in its mission.
Taíno Studios has covered the Hope Symposium on Gun Violence for both years it has existed. The first engagement in 2025 established the relationship — and produced IFS's first-ever mission video since the organization's founding. The second, in 2026, added the ribbon cutting of IFS's new 36,000-square-foot headquarters at 4240 Chestnut Street in West Philadelphia, attended by City Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier.
The images from 2025 lived beyond the event. IFS used that photography in their 2026 event materials, flyers, and promotional assets — the work doing exactly what good event photography should do: extending the story forward.
1st Annual Hope Symposium on Gun Violence
A full-day symposium bringing together community leaders, clinicians, faith leaders, and advocates. Taíno Studios documented speakers, panels, and the audience alongside producing IFS's first-ever mission video since the organization's founding in 1979.
- Full-day event photography
- Mission video production
- 200+ images delivered
- Press-ready and web-ready selects
2nd Annual Hope Symposium + Ribbon Cutting
IFS returned to Taíno Studios for year two. The event expanded across two full days and added the ribbon cutting of IFS's new West Philadelphia headquarters. The 2025 photography was used in the 2026 promotional materials — the work kept working.
- Two-day event photography
- Ribbon cutting documentation
- Community Voices + Bridging Perspectives panels
- Six breakout sessions covered
2026 Speakers & Panelists
Garry Mills
Founder & Executive Director, Shoot Basketballs Not People
Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier
City Councilmember, Third District
Oronde McClain
Survivor Connection Director, Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting
Dr. Stephen S. Leff
Co-Director, Center for Violence Prevention at CHOP
Eric Marsh Sr.
Director of Operations, Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting
Kareem Brown, Ed.D
Program Director, Pushing Progress Philly (P3)
Jaime Jalil Meekins
Community Violence Intervention Leader & Public Safety Innovator
David Buck
Founder, Bridges of Opportunities
The best measure of the first year's work is that they used it to announce the second year. Good photography keeps earning its place long after the event ends.
Mission-driven work deserves images that keep working long after the event.
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