Ellyn Ahmer is a dynamic community leader, relational organizer, and advocate for social justice with decades of experience in the for-profit business world, then years in Rockford non-profit leadership, grassroots organizing & observing how groups do or do not co-create collaborative action toward agreed-upon ends.

As the Board Chair of Reimagine Justice Illinois, Ellyn invites efforts where we can walk our talk in restorative/transformative justice, e.g., inclusive dialog, consent agreements, shared leadership, “nothing about us without us,” facilitating conversation & conflict on difficult topics, always with an eye toward everybody in (voluntarily of course). She learned with Dominic Barter (Restorative Circles), IL Balanced & Restorative Justice (IBARJ) & Ziedler Institute.

Ellyn also serves as Co-Executive Director and Board Member at the Center for Nonviolence & Conflict Transformation, where her efforts focus on fostering understanding, listening, curiosity & collective action. This involves the principles & steps laid out by Dr. Martin Luther King for movement building, plus nonviolent communication, restorative justice and working with police departments & IL Department of Juvenile Justice to transform those systems.

Ellyn has been a volunteer tutor with Family to Family and a Regional Coordinator for Operation Respect, a provider of anti-bullying programs in schools. Ellyn’s unique blend of skills includes questioning the status quo, relational organizing, circle-keeping, walking toward discomfort, and purposeful conversations toward meaningful connection.