Linda Bowen

Linda K. Bowen is a national expert on violence prevention, structural change and community development. As executive director of the Institute for Community Peace (ICP) for more than 20 years she has led the organization in researching, developing and implementing strategies that target the intersection of structural violence and structural racism.  Bowen’s work has focused primarily on engaging residents of poor communities of color and their city partners in strategies that support structural change. She has written on issues related to poverty, violence, race, community engagement and structural change.

Her career includes service as chief of staff to the Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (HHS); Assistant Dean at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago; and Deputy Director for Program Development for a national research and demonstration project to improve child outcomes.

Bowen has served as a board member of several organizations and has been an advisor for the development of federal violence prevention initiatives.  She is currently Board Chair for the Campaign for Youth Justice (which seeks to end the incarceration of adolescents in adult facilities); a Fellow and board member of the FrameWorks Institute (a national communications research organization); Senior Fellow with Attendance Works (a national and state initiative that promotes better policy, practice and research on school attendance).   She has also served as an expert consultant to Cities United (a national organization addressing violent deaths among African American boys and young men).

Bowen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in human behavior and related institutions from the University of Chicago and a Master of Arts degree in social welfare policy from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.