Howard Zehr directed the first victim offender conferencing program in the U.S. and is one of the original developers of restorative justice as a concept. A prolific writer and editor, speaker, educator, and photojournalist, Zehr has spoken and trained others throughout North America and in more than 25 other countries, including Brazil, Japan, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, the Ukraine, and New Zealand, where a restorative approach in the juvenile justice system has led to a dramatic drop in youth crime.

Zehr is Distinguished Professor of Restorative Justice and co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Virginia). Zehr received his B.A. from Morehouse College, his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia.