Curriculum Vitae

Kerry L. Shipman, Ph.D., J.D., MPA

Interdisciplinary executive, scholar, educator and former judicial officer whose work centers on justice, behavioral health, reentry and the public systems that shape people’s lives.

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Research profiles: ORCID · Google Scholar · Wikidata

Executive & Public Leadership

TSG Behavioral Health & Community Services — Agency Director
Charlotte, North Carolina | October 2022–Present

Executive leadership for a state-licensed behavioral-health organization serving justice-involved, unhoused and underserved communities.
Strategy, compliance, program development and cross-system partnerships linking behavioral health, reentry, recovery and community support.

North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Secretary — DEI Project Manager / HBCU-MSI Internship Program Manager
February 2023–July 2023

Designed and launched a statewide HBCU-MSI internship initiative linking students with experiential opportunities across public health, human services, policy and administration.

Judicial & Legal Experience

North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts — Magistrate Judge, Mecklenburg County
January 2020–January 2023

Appointed judicial officer handling criminal and civil matters including bond and pretrial-release decisions, probable-cause determinations, domestic-violence proceedings, mental-health commitments and small-claims matters.

Selected Legal Placements

Judicial Extern, Supreme Court of North Carolina — Justice Michael R. Morgan, 2018
Judicial Intern, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina — Hon. David C. Norton, 2018
Certified Legal Intern, Bladen County District Attorney’s Office, 2018
Law Clerk, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina, 2017

Academic Appointments & Teaching

Johnson C. Smith University, Department of Political Science — Adjunct Professor
May 2021–June 2024

Taught American Government, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, and created POL 491: The Color of Justice: Race, Law, and Politics, using mock trials, policy debates, courtroom observation and applied legal analysis.

Voorhees University, Department of Criminal Justice & Social Science — Adjunct Professor
May 2021–June 2024

Taught Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Ethics in Social Science, American National Government, and Media Law & Ethics.

Education

Liberty University, Helms School of Government — Ph.D., Criminal Justice, 2025; Executive Certificate in Criminal Justice, 2020
Charleston School of Law — J.D., 2018; Dr. Raymond S. Greenberg Presidential Scholar; Outstanding Public Service Award
University of Phoenix — MPA, 2016
Shaw University — B.A., Sociology, concentration in Criminal Justice, 2013; Most Distinguished Student in Major

Scholarship, Publications & Impact

Keep the Family Close — Ph.D. dissertation, Liberty University, 2025.
The Reasonable Black Person Standard in Criminal Law: Impartiality, Justice and the Social Sciences — Southern Journal of Policy & Justice 13:75–92 (2019).
Alternatives to Traditional Practice — The Bencher, July/August 2019.
Pathway to Renewal (P2R) — published reentry and recovery workbook.
The Vending Game — with Koby M. Shipman (2020).

Selected impact: The Reasonable Black Person Standard has been cited in Wisconsin Supreme Court amicus litigation and later legal scholarship.

Explore Books & Scholarship →

Service, Media & Credentials

Selected service: Secretary, North Carolina Magistrates Association; Mayoral Appointee, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee; Commissioner, City of Charleston Commission on Disability Issues; Guardian ad Litem; member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and American Society of Criminology.

Selected media: The Post and Courier, QC News, Yahoo Finance / Black Enterprise, NBC Count On 2.

Credentials: Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) and Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS).

Research & teaching areas: reentry, family support and recidivism; race, law and criminal justice; constitutional law and civil liberties; behavioral health and justice-system intersections; public administration and systems leadership.