Foundation in applied legal studies propels Gurinder Mann to esteemed award

By Michael Wu

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is pleased to congratulate Gurinder Mann, an alumnus of SFU’s Applied Legal Studies program who recently won the prestigious Restorative Justice Memorial Award from the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Mann received the award on January 21, 2021 at the 23rd annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards ceremony, which was held virtually this year.

After earning his master’s degree in applied legal studies at SFU, Mann followed his lifelong passion of pursuing restorative justice, going on to become executive director of Communities Embracing Restorative Action, a non-profit society that offers restorative justice services for communities in the lower mainland.

“I consider myself a proud alumnus of Simon Fraser University,” says Mann, recalling that his time in the program was a positive and pivotal point in his career.

“Working in the field of justice and crime prevention, it was imperative that I possessed the ability to both understand and interpret policy, as well as to have a sound understanding of our legal and justice system.”

“The program equipped me with those skills,” he goes on, “and allowed me to utilize those learnt proficiencies in analyzing legislation, reviewing laws, and making recommendations to government on specific statutes. Furthermore, it provided me the education that paved the way for me to pursue my own instructional aspirations in law and criminology.”

Mann was also recently featured in an article by the Surrey Now-Leader, where you can read more about his achievement and his journey in the field of restorative justice thus far.