Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D., is a teaching associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he teaches an upper-level undergraduate course titled Psychology of Race and Ethnicity and graduate and undergraduate courses on restorative justice. He is a board member of Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice (IBARJ), which seeks to promote the philosophy of restorative justice through advocacy, education, and collaboration, across Illinois.

Interested in the restorative and transformative justice movements broadly, Mikhail’s primary influence has been Restorative Circles, the restorative practice that originated in the favelas of Brazil. Since 2009, his scholarship and applied work have both focused primarily on conflict and restorative responses to conflict. Since that time, he has worked with a variety of entities, including schools, organizations, intentional communities, and the criminal justice system, in developing a sustainable infrastructure for restorative conflict engagement.

In addition to multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, Mikhail recently co-edited an academic text Toward a Socially Responsible Psychology for a Global Age. He is also a regular contributor to pop-culture anthologies, where he explores justice themes in a variety of popular media, including Marvel and Harry Potter. Anthology excerpts as well as other short essays relating to justice can be found on his Psychology Today blog: Between the Lines.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Mikhail immigrated with his family to the United States as a child in 1977. He grew up in the Chicago area and following stops in Philadelphia, East Lansing, and central Ohio, currently resides in Urbana, IL.