Founder
Shari Silberstein
Shari joined Equal Justice USA in 2000 when it was primarily a death penalty repeal project of another organization called the Quixote Center. Within a few years, Shari had built the groundbreaking strategies that ended the death penalty in New York, in 2007, the first in a string of 11 states nationwide to end the death penalty. EJUSA became an independent organization, with Shari as executive director, and played a leading role in the majority of those campaigns. That work involved countless families of both murder victims and people who had committed harm. Shari developed a deep understanding of trauma and the role it plays in perpetuating violence — and the ways that healing could prevent violence. Shari became a leading national voice in efforts to build survivor-led movements for justice anchored in race equity and to find common ground between victims advocates and criminal justice reform advocates. She envisioned a new justice system — that will make the current, harmful system obsolete — that delivers safety, healing for everyone, and accountability that repairs. Inside that vision, Shari developed a framework for the new system that advances alternative responses to violence while concurrently reducing the harm of the current system. All of EJUSA’s work, including Trauma to Trust, our continued battle against the death penalty, the Trauma & Healing Network, advocacy for violence prevention at all governmental levels, our bridge-building work with conservative and evangelical audiences, and more, drives that vision forward as the foundation of our work. Shari’s work built an organization while at the same time also shaping a movement. After leaving EJUSA in 2021, Shari continues to work for equity, healing, and liberation.