Sokoloff Receives Shepherd of Peace Award

October 21, 2011 - Penn GSE faculty member Harris Sokoloff has been honored for his work encouraging civil dialogue, peace, and social justice in Philadelphia. 

On October 19, the Good Shepherd Mediation Program awarded Sokoloff, who serves as director of the Penn Project on Civic Engagement (PPCE), with its Fifth Annual Shepherd of Peace award. 

As founder and director of PPCE, Sokoloff designs and implements community engagement projects at the local and national level. His work focuses on developing civic engagement projects to engage citizens in deliberative processes to inform the development of public policy. 

Citizen Voices, a project he developed with the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, won the National Batten Award for Civic Journalism. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has credited two other projects, The Big Canvas and The City Budget: Tight Times, Tough Choices, with informing his budget process. 

This year's honorees also included Jane Golden, executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program; Rue Landau, executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations; and Chris Satullo, executive director of News and Civic Engagement, WHYY.

The Good Shepherd Mediation Program, established in 1984, is a neighborhood justice center located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. The program offers mediation as well as training and consulting services to the Greater Philadelphia area.

Contact: Kat Stein, Exec. Director of Communications / katstein@gse.upenn.edu / (215) 898-9642