West Virginia Restorative Justice Project

We are a non-profit organization in West Virginia dedicated to supporting our communities in bringing restorative justice resources to everyone, expanding RJ in the state. We are a volunteer-run organization. We were founded as an informal organization in 2021 and in 2024 incorporated as a non-profit organization in West Virginia.

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Advisory Committee

  • Hon. Michael John Aloi (returning member)

  • Rev. Ronald English (returning member)

  • Heather Schneider

  • Stacy Kay

  • Taylor Graham

  • Dominique Kirl

  • Erin Gaertner

  • Beth Currence

  • Amber Blankenship

  • Deborah L. McHenry

  • Durand Warren

Board of Directors

  • Cathy Grewe

  • Gregory Robertson

  • Nicole Bailey

  • Nic Cochran

  • Jim Nolan

  • Debra Murphy

  • Lida Shepherd

  • Rose Hefner

Staff

As a volunteer-run organization, our only staff member is Brenda Waugh, our part-time volunteer executive director. Our volunteer board and advisory members perform all work that would usually be assigned to staff members.

Officers of the Board of Directors

  • Lida Shepherd

    President, Board of Directors

    Co-director WV Economic Justice Project; American Friends Service Committee and President of the Board of Directors

    “I believe restorative justice is a paradigm shift where punishment is no longer our first response to harm. And instead we see that harm is not simply about individual wrongdoing, but often stems from our collective failures as a society. Restorative justice demonstrates our interconnectedness.”

  • Rose Ann Hefner

    Secretary, Board of Directors

    Sister of St. Joseph; Restorative Justice Practitioner at American Friends Service Committee

    “Having worked in prisons and with justice impacted people, I value using restorative justice as a way to help people take responsibility for their actions, heal relationships and build community, as well as help end the school to prison pipeline. I believe the circle process can help bridge the divides in our culture and help people build understanding with one another in our schools, churches, and community settings.”

  • Dr. Debra Dean Murphy

    Treasurer, Board of Directors

    Professor of Religious Studies; Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies; Co-Director at Center for Restorative Justice at West Virginia Wesleyan College and Treasurer of the Board of Directors

"Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence."   ~ Dorothy Thompson