Shari Silberstein, Chief Operating Officer

Shari Silberstein (any pronoun) is the Chief Operating Officer of the Fund for Nonviolence. Prior to joining FNV in 2021, Shari was the founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice USA, a national leader in the movement to transform the justice system. For 21 years, Shari led Equal Justice USA through a period of significant growth, transition, and impact, including adopting a groundbreaking new vision for justice that centers racial equity, community safety, healing, and repair. Under Shari’s leadership, Equal Justice USA helped end the death penalty in ten states; built a national model for community safety and healing in Newark, NJ; launched an innovative program for addressing trauma between police and communities of color; secured millions in state funding for grassroots groups led by Black and brown survivors; and shifted the organization from white-led to Black-led and majority BIPOC at all levels of the organization. Shari’s voice has been featured in an array of media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, the New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Fox News, the Marshall Project, U.S. News and World Report, and more. Shari has a bachelor’s degree in film from New York University and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin.