A World Champion in martial arts and kickboxing, CIS Executive Director, William "Blinky" Rodriguez has a long historyof working with youth.
The work became very personal in 1990 when Blinky's own family fell victim to gang violence. Sonny, his 16-year old son was killed in a drive-by shooting. It was this tragedy that inspired Blinky to dedicate his life to ending gang violence. Despite intense anger, hurt and grief, Blinky and his wife, Lilly, had the courage to meet the three killers face to face in the courtroom, not for retribution, but to forgive them.
The news of the forgiveness spread among the gangs, and when Blinky called for the gangs to meet with him, they met and listened. Blinky negotiated a truce, called the Valley Unity Peace Treaty, which was signed by over 75 gangs with over 1,000 members. The treaty successfully reduced gang-related deaths in the following year in Los Angeles from 52 to 2. This peace treaty project lead to CIS San Fernando Valley, a non-profit organization formed in 1994.
Numerous national and international leaders including Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Dr. Jane Goodall, Al Gore and Barbara Boxer have recognized the work of Blinky and CIS. CIS violence prevention and intervention practices have been replicated in the USA, Germany, Tanzania, England and South Africa. The work of Blinky, Bobby and CIS has been recognized by over 93 awards. In 1998, Blinky received the Medaille d’Excellence, presented in Switzerland to only 14 people worldwide in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Over 120 articles have been written about CIS. One such article outlined how CIS engages the families that fall victim to gang violence and help them navigate the tragedy including transportation to the hospital, assisting with funeral arrangements and even provide burial plots. As a result, 57 burial plots have been donated to CIS and sadly we have used far too many of them.