Jerome Sloan

Jerome Sloan is a Restorative Justice Director, artist, and community advocate whose work is rooted in accountability, healing, and the belief that people have the capacity to change. After spending 28 years incarcerated, Jerome returned to his community with a commitment to use his life experience to help others avoid the path that once led him away from his family and community.

In 2022, Jerome received a commutation from Oregon Governor Kate Brown in recognition of his work in criminal justice reform and his contributions as an artist. As part of that transition back into the community, Jerome embraced a mandate that has become a guiding principle for his life: “Go help rebuild what you helped destroy.” Jerome has worked to live out those words every day by giving back to the communities affected by violence, incarceration, and cycles of harm.

Jerome brings a unique perspective to Restorative Justice because he has experienced the process firsthand. While incarcerated, he participated in restorative justice and witnessed the power of accountability, honest dialogue, healing, and repairing harm. Those experiences shaped his belief that justice can be about more than punishment—it can also create opportunities for people to take responsibility, repair relationships, and build a different future.

Today, through Regroup, Jerome works directly with individuals navigating reentry and the restorative justice process. He supports participants as they confront the harm that has occurred, develop accountability, rebuild relationships, and work toward becoming productive members of their communities. His approach is grounded in lived experience, compassion, honesty, and the understanding that meaningful change often begins when someone is willing to help another person see a different path.

Jerome's work as an artist is closely connected to his work in restorative justice. His art explores themes of incarceration, transformation, accountability, healing, and the human capacity for change. Through both his artwork and his community work, he uses his experiences to tell a larger story about redemption and the possibility of rebuilding a life after harm.

Jerome's mission is simple but deeply personal: to help the person he once was. By turning his own experiences into an opportunity to serve others, he strives to make communities safer, reduce recidivism, support people returning home, and create spaces where accountability and healing can take place.

For Jerome, rebuilding is not simply a phrase—it is a lifelong commitment.