Position Title
Co-Founder and Executive Director, TJE Center
- School of Education, UC Davis
Lawrence “Torry” Winn is an Associate Professor and the Chancellor Leadership Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis, where he co-founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Transformative Justice in Education (TJE) Center. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Winn holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, a Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Human Ecology and Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
With a diverse professional background spanning over twenty-five years, Dr. Winn has collaborated and consulted with foundations, cities, schools, colleges/universities, and non-profits, including Casey Family Programs, Annie E. Casey, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, City of Newark (NJ), City of Madison (WI), St. HOPE, University of California, Berkeley, Sierra Health Foundation, MLK Sr. Community Resources Collaborative, Ithaca City School District, and Race to Equity. His research examines race, critical consciousness, foresight, and how Black youth acquire social capital in out-of-school learning spaces.
As a trained ethnographer, Dr. Winn’s projects explore the nuanced connections between historically marginalized communities of color and various entities, including schools, non-profits, and government organizations. He has co-authored several books including Faith Made Flesh: The Black Child Legacy Campaign for Transformative Justice and Healthy Futures (Cornell University Press, 2023) and Restorative Justice in Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning Through the Disciplines (Harvard Education Press, 2021). Currently, he is engaged in co-editing the Encyclopedia of Social Justice in Education—a 10 volume set with the publisher Bloomsbury in London. He also authored articles in Theory into Practice, Race and Social Problems, the Journal of Future Studies, and Adolescent Research Review. In addition to research and writing, Dr. Winn values teaching and mentoring students and emerging scholars. In 2021 he was selected out of 3,000 senate members as one of two faculty to receive the UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching for excellence in teaching, distinguished class organization, innovative advising, and a steadfast commitment to student success.
Prior to joining the faculty at the UC Davis, Dr. Winn was the Founding Executive Director of the Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resources Collaborative at Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships for St. HOPE (California and New York), and Executive Director of Uth Turn (Newark, New Jersey) which served incarcerate Black youth.
Outside of academia, Dr. Winn and his wife Dr. Maisha T. Winn share a passion for international travel, African American history, art, and culture, reading all things Toni Morrison, and running. As co-founders of Winn-Winn Strategies, they offer trainings, keynote presentations, and consulting services to a diverse range of organizations, including colleges and universities, K-12 schools, hospitals, and large businesses. Dr. Winn takes great joy in spending quality time with his two sons Obasi and Zafir, observing their golfing skills, engaging in literary debates, exploring coding projects, and participating in discussions about current events.