Vera Institute of Justice

Matthew Lowen is the associate director for site work in the Restoring Promise initiative, a collaboration between Vera and the MILPA Collective. Restoring Promise works with departments of corrections to create housing units in prisons rooted in human dignity and restorative practices. Matthew has led site work in Connecticut, Idaho, and Massachusetts and currently supports all site leads and teams for Restoring Promise.

Before Vera, Matthew was the associate program director for the American Friends Service Committee in Arizona, where he led a statewide effort to reduce solitary confinement, documented conditions of confinement, and worked to stem mass incarceration.

Matthew has facilitated restorative justice workshops, coordinated mediation processes for juveniles, and worked as a counselor for youth living in residential care facilities.

Matthew holds a BA in justice, peace, and conflict studies from Eastern Mennonite University and an MA in geography from the University of Arizona.