Chaplain Clementina M. Chéry 

Chaplain Clementina M. Chéry is the co-founder, & CEO of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. With over two decades of experience as a survivor serving families impacted by murder, Chaplain Chéry has developed the best practices in the field of homicide response. Her ultimate goal is to transform society’s response to homicide so that all families are treated with dignity and compassion, regardless of the circumstances.

Chaplain Chéry was chosen as a 2017 Barr Fellow for her effective, visionary, and collaborative leadership and capacity to motivate others, drive change, and produce results. She was also selected as a 2016 Social Innovator by the Social Innovation Forum in recognition of the Peace Institute’s groundbreaking solutions to social problems. Chaplain Chéry has developed groundbreaking publications for families of murder victims and the providers who serve them, including Always in My Heart: A Workbook for Grieving Children (2011) and the Survivors Burial and Resource Guide (2013). Chaplain Chéry is also coauthor of an article entitled “Homicide Survivors: Research and Practice Implications” published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2005. 

Chaplain Chéry has extensive experience training public health professionals and law enforcement officials to better serve families impacted by murder and interrupt cycles of retaliatory violence. She has trained doctors, social workers, psychologists, street workers, religious leaders, police officers, homicide detectives, and other providers at city and state agencies, hospitals, and community-based organizations. Chaplain Chéry has presented at the National Organization for Victims Assistance conference three times. Chaplain Chéry worked closely with the Boston Police Department to establish the Family Resource Officer position within the Homicide unit to better serve families of homicide victims. Chaplain Chéry also convened the first ever Homicide Response Briefing in Massachusetts for over 100 law enforcement officials from across the state.

Chaplain Chéry has received countless awards in recognition of her courageous leadership and tireless peacemaking work. Most recently, Chéry was named one of Boston’s 100 most influential leaders of color in 2016 by Collette Phillips Communications, Inc.  She was also given the 2016 Impact Award by Phillips Brooks House Association at Harvard University. In 2014, Salem State University Awarded Chaplain Chéry the Champion of Peace Award.  She was named Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers in 2011. Chaplain Chéry holds honorary Doctorate Degrees from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Regis College in Weston and Mount Ida College in Newton. She has also received The Chancellor’s Medal of Honor from the University of MA. She was ordained as a senior chaplain with the International Fellowship of Chaplain, Inc. in February of 2012. Her best accomplishments is being mother of Louis, Alexandra and Allen and the proud grandmother of 4 yr. old Alexander.

Notable Leadership Experience

1996-present     
Founder of the Annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace

Chaplain Chéry founded the Mother's Day Walk for Peace so mothers of murdered children could receive support and love from their neighbors. The Mother’s Day Walk has become a time-honored tradition in the region and a powerful way to honor our loved ones who have been murdered and celebrate our potential to create more peaceful communities.
 

1999-2000     
Founding member of Survivors of Homicide Victim Organized for Change

As a prominent member of the survivors of homicide victims rights movement, Chaplain Chéry helped form a statewide coalition to establish Massachusetts’ Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month (November 20-December 20). The Awareness Month is a coordinated effort to educate the public and policymakers about the impact of murder on families and communities and recognize the diverse contributions of survivors in their communities.
 

2001-Present     
Founding member of the Survivors of Homicide Victims Network

Chaplain Chéry continues to mentor survivors she served in the aftermath of their loved ones murder. She worked with fellow survivors to form a statewide network with the goal of informing, influencing, and impacting public policy. Currently the Survivors Network is working on legislative reform statutes regulating Victim Compensation.
 

2009-Present     
Founding member of the Serving Survivors of Homicide Victims Providers Network

Chaplain Chéry noticed a gap in the public health field Greater Boston. She collaborated with colleagues to found a professional network for providers to build relationships, practice self-care, and increase capacity to deliver coordinated, consistent, and compassionate services when a homicide happens.
 

2010     
Developed Peace Play in Urban Settings

Chaplain Chéry has witnessed racial disparities in access to mental healthcare and healing opportunities in her personal and professional life. In response to the need for culturally relevant and trauma informed healing modalities, she adapted the practice of Sand Tray/World Play primarily for survivors of homicide victims of color. Peace Play allows individuals and families to express and reflect on their struggles and strengths by creating scenes using miniature figures in a tray of sand.
 

2017     
Established the Training, Technical Assistance, and Consulting Center at the Peace Institute

After two decades of serving survivors of homicide victims, Chaplain Chéry formally established a training department at the Peace Institute in order to share best practices for serving families of murder victims and strategies to transform society’s response to homicide.