Sylvia Clute is a former trial attorney who now works for social justice and legal reform that heals brokenness, not merely resolves disputes. Her career as a trial attorney began in 1975, but her spiritual journey began in 1987 when she read A Course in Miracles for the first time. The confluence of these two paths prepared her to describe our present justice system in a way that penetrates our system blindness and discloses its weaknesses. It also enabled her to create a map for how we can go from what we now have to a new system of justice that is grounded on the moral principle of lovingkindness—heal, do no harm. This model is called “Unitive Justice,” and it has no punitive elements.
For two years Sylvia helped create and implement a Restorative Justice program in a high school as an alternative to zero tolerance. This was her first opportunity to apply Unitive Justice principles in practice and the results proved the theory to be effective. She also implemented a semester-long pilot middle school program. Presently she teaches Unitive Justice theory and circle facilitation at the college level and in workshops. She is the President of the Alliance for Unitive Justice.
She is writing a book titled “Unitive Justice: Bending the Arc of Justice Toward Love,” and is also author of Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality: A Call for a Compassionate Revolution and the novel, Destiny Unveiled. She holds graduate degrees from Harvard Kennedy School of Government (MPA), Boston University School of Law (JD) and the Univ. of California at Berkeley (MPA) A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal, she was co-founder and Chair of the Board of Women’s Bank in Richmond, Va., and has been active in community service throughout her career. Her websites are sylviaclute.com and unitivejustice.com.
Information about Alliance for Unitive Justice
AUJ is a Virginia non-profit headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. www.a4uj.org Founded in 2010 to implement a pilot Restorative Justice program at Armstrong High School, AUJ continues to provide education and implement programs. AUJ is presently sponsoring an Internship to train Virginia Union University students in Unitive Justice and circle facilitation. AUJ frequently offers workshops to the public and provides circle facilitation services on a limited basis. AUJ is presently exploring how Unitive Justice may be applied in other areas of endeavor, such as education, business, spirituality, politics and media. Please visit our Facebook page, Alliance for Unitive Justice.
The mission of the Alliance for Unitive Justice is to provide services that resolve conflict, transform relationships and build community in ways that are consistent with the principles of Unitive Justice. AUJ is committed to serving neighborhoods, schools, courts, detention centers and other organizations and agencies that may benefit therefrom; (b) training facilitators, staff and volunteers; (c) educating the community about Unitive Justice, its uses and benefits, (d) working collaboratively with organizations and individuals to make Unitive Justice a more widely used practice; and (e) fostering policies that enhance opportunities for Unitive Justice to be implemented.