Kaaren M. Williamsen, PhD, is an experienced educator and consultant specializing in restorative justice, sexual misconduct prevention and response, and organizational development. After nearly three decades in higher education, she now partners with colleges, universities, and organizations to promote values-driven programs and response systems through trauma-informed practices, strategic planning, and restorative approaches.

Kaaren is currently consulting with New York University’s Center on Violence and Recovery on a Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grant evaluating the use of restorative justice in community-based responses to sexual misconduct. She also serves as an instructor and trainer with the University of San Diego’s Center for Restorative Justice, where she teaches practitioners and administrators seeking to integrate restorative approaches into their work.

Most recently, Kaaren served as the founding Director of PEAR (Prevention, Education, Assistance, Resources) within the Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office at the University of Michigan. PEAR was established in 2022 following a university-wide reorganization of Title IX-related work. As part of a small team of institutional leaders and external consultants, Kaaren helped design the structure of PEAR to bring together prevention education, policy education, and support for employees and departments under one coordinated unit. She was subsequently selected to lead the new office, where she oversaw a team focused on addressing sexual misconduct and cultivating respectful campus environments.

Earlier in her career at Michigan, Kaaren served as Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC), where she oversaw and helped expand peer-led education programs and a well-established advocacy program, contributing to the growth of one of the country’s first prevention and advocacy campus-based survivor support services.

Before her time at Michigan, Kaaren served as the first full-time Title IX Coordinator at Swarthmore College, where she developed the campus’s Title IX infrastructure to include a strong emphasis on prevention, policy awareness, and coordinated response. Her work focused on rebuilding trust, increasing transparency, and aligning campus practices with federal guidance and community values.

Earlier, she founded and directed the Gender and Sexuality Center at Carleton College, where she also served as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator. At Carleton, she developed and led campus-wide peer education and support initiatives focused on gender, sexuality, consent, and healthy relationships, helping to shape a more inclusive and responsive campus climate.

Kaaren is the co-editor of Applying Restorative Justice to Campus Sexual Misconduct: A Guide to Emerging Practices and frequently speaks, facilitates, and trains nationally on topics such as restorative justice, trauma-informed leadership, community accountability, and organizational change. She holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota, with a research focus on restorative justice in cases of campus sexual misconduct.