Remembering Ted Lewis
In Memoriam
Ted Lewis, a beloved member of the NACRJ Board of Directors, passed away on July 23, 2024, just two months after learning of his cancer diagnosis. A dedicated member of the NACRJ community for over a decade, Ted served on the inaugural Advisory Council from 2014 to 2017 before being elected to the Board of Directors, where he remained an active and vital leader until his passing.
Ted's contributions to the restorative justice movement were profound and far-reaching. His work with faith communities, especially through The Restorative Church Project, exemplified his commitment to bridging the values of justice and faith. For this reason, he was posthumously honored with the Bert Thompson Faith-Based Award at the 9th National Conference on Community and Restorative Justice in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 2024.
Though Ted passed less than a week before the conference, he had been a strong advocate for hosting the event in the nation’s capital, and his contributions to the planning process were instrumental. His work with the Law and Policy Committee, particularly in engaging federal partners and policymakers, was a testament to his leadership and vision.
Ted will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and his legacy will live on through the lasting impact of his work.
Biography
Ted Lewis was a restorative justice trainer and consultant with the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota (Duluth). His primary work was training facilitators in the restorative conference model and creating new resources for trainings and dialogue-based programs.
After being introduced to Restorative Justice on Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota) in the early 1990s, Ted became the program manager for Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) of Central Kansas. Later he merged restorative dialogue with dispute resolution at Community Mediation Services in Eugene, OR. Casework included two hate crimes that reached national-level news. He was also a director for the Barron County Restorative Justice Program in Wisconsin.
Throughout the past 20 years, he provided a growing number of restorative workshops and reconciliation services for church communities. In 2016 he founded the Restorative Church website which connects RJ with restorative theology and practices for faith communities.
In 2013 Ted joined Mark Umbreit at the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking where he deepened his training and facilitation work for restorative conferencing for harming and harmed parties. Writing projects included his co-editorship of the book, Listening to the Movement: Essays on New Growth and New Challenges in RJ. Additionally, he oversaw the Restorative Justice Classics Series for Wipf & Stock Publishers.
A top passion of Ted’s was to gather and share stories of deep healing and meaningful accountability. He lived in Duluth, MN, and loved the beautiful cold waters of Lake Superior. He is survived by his wife Nancy and daughters Clarity and Elie.