Darrion A. Walker, J.D.

Darrion Walker is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner who serves as a Graduate Research Assistant associated with the Community Youth Development & Prevention Team and the ThrYve (Together Helping Reduce Youth Violence for Equity) Initiative within the KU Center for Community Health & Development. In that role, Darrion provides leadership with the Youth and Systems Advisory Board, including ensuring meaningful youth and community engagement. As a Graduate Research Assistant, Darrion provides implementation support and coordination for youth engagement activities, including supporting the Youth Advisory Board and developing the ThrYve Youth Peer Navigators program.

 

Darrion is also a Missouri and Kansas licensed attorney who earned his Juris Doctor (J.D) from the University of Missouri School of Law; he has returned to higher learning at the University of Kansas to pursue a Ph.D in Communication Studies - with an interest in how communications intersect across criminal justice and public health. Darrion has committed a significant portion of his career to advocacy through youth and community justice, most relevantly serving as an assistant district attorney working to reduce juvenile crime. He has parlayed his past professional experience into a community-based role within the ThrYve Youth Justice Initiative, now focusing his talents and training on facilitating youth engagement in a variety of peer leadership programs.