Sheryl R. Wilson is the Director of the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) which is one of the oldest regional peace institutes in the U.S. KIPCOR offers an array of resources in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, restorative justice education and training, and consulting and intervention services. Sheryl currently serves as President of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice, a professional organization for restorative justice practitioners. She also serves on the Advisory Council on Dispute Resolution for the State of Kansas Office of Judicial Administration. Sheryl has been a practitioner, trainer and educator in restorative justice for over fifteen years and has had the honor of working with individuals from around the world in her practice. She holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Mediation and Communication Studies and a restorative justice-based Master of Liberal Studies degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Beginning her restorative justice career as a trainer and research associate at the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, Sheryl developed and facilitated Victims, Offenders, Community, A Restorative Experience (VOCARE) dialogues in Minnesota correctional facilities. Sheryl also worked as a community mediator with the Victim Offender Conferencing program in Washington County, Minnesota.

 

As a researcher, she was actively involved in the evaluation of the VOCARE prison-based program. Her work in victim offender dialogue at Minnesota Department of Corrections is featured in an A & E Network pilot, “Confrontation.” She has served as a Special Projects Coordinator for the Georgia Council for Restorative Justice (GCRJ), a program of Georgia State University. Her work with GCRJ centered on Defense Initiated Victim Outreach work in death penalty cases.

In her spare time, Sheryl is working on various writing projects that explore the relationship between the restorative justice movement and racial reconciliation. She recently completed a chapter of Colorizing Restorative Justice (June 2020), a book about restorative justice practitioners of color and the challenges they face.