Building Bridges to a Better Community

715 16th St

715 16th Street, 26101, Parkersburg, WV, United States

Beverly Sharp, Exec. Dir., The REACH Initiative

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Beverly Sharp is a native of Charleston, West Virginia and is the Founder and Executive Director of The REACH Initiative. She has worked in the field of Law Enforcement and Corrections for over 35 years. Most of her professional career was spent with the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Beverly previously served as the Director of Reentry Initiatives for the West Virginia Council of Churches where she was instrumental in the formation of Reentry Councils across the state and developing programs, initiatives, and training to improve the opportunities for former offenders to successfully return to the community. Additionally, she developed workshops to educate the community on the barriers faced by former offenders entitled Building Bridges to a Better Community and Faith Community United – the Conversation Continues. Beverly built an organization based on the principle of hiring justice involved and justice impacted people to find common ground for developing solutions to the collateral consequences imposed on individuals with a criminal record. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the West Virginia Association of Addiction and Prevention Professionals; former Co-Chair of Housing, Transportation and Employment Committees on the WV Governor’s Council for Substance Use Disorder; and member of the Reentry Subcommittee on the Access to Justice Commission, WVU Law School.