Sarwat Sharif, MSW

Sarwat Sharif is a PhD Candidate in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research focuses on criminal legal system reform, prison education, violence prevention, participatory research methods, and community-engaged approaches to social change. Her dissertation examines how justice-involved individuals experience prerelease services and programming during incarceration. It also examines how they perceive, access, and make meaning of interventions intended to support their transition into the community. The study further explores the implementation of the World Café methodology as a participatory research framework within a correctional setting, contributing methodological insights into conducting collaborative research in restrictive institutional environments.

Drawing from Critical and Narrative Criminology, Sarwat employs qualitative, mixed-methods, and participatory research approaches that center the lived experiences and expertise of individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Her work emphasizes collaborative knowledge production and seeks to bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice by engaging community members, practitioners, and policymakers in the research process. Her methodological interests include participatory action research, World Café, Photovoice, systems thinking and mapping, qualitative inquiry, and community-engaged program evaluation.

Sarwat has served as a research assistant and evaluator on numerous federally, state, and privately funded projects focused on criminal legal reform, violence prevention, community well-being, and reentry. These projects include Project Safe Neighborhoods, the SMART Reentry Initiative, Reentry Rising, Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST), and the Milwaukee Criminal Justice Data Landscape Project. Through this work, she has contributed to program evaluations, policy analyses, and research reports that inform practice, funding decisions, and systems-level reform efforts. She has co-authored federal and state reports and presented her scholarship at national conferences, including the annual Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), American Society of Criminology (ASC), Wisconsin Idea, and Data You Can Use.

In addition to her research activities, Sarwat serves as the Education Preparedness Program (EPP) Site Coordinator at Marquette University, where she supports access to higher education for students impacted by the criminal legal system. Her work includes coordinating educational programming within correctional facilities, supporting student success, strengthening institutional partnerships, and advancing opportunities for current justice-involved individuals to pursue higher education.

Originally from Pakistan, Sarwat brings an interdisciplinary and international perspective to her scholarship. She holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from Iqra University, a Master of Arts in Sustainable Peacebuilding, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to entering academia, she spent more than fifteen years working across Pakistan, Turkey, and Kenya in information technology, communications, and organizational management. These experiences continue to inform her commitment to community engagement, systems change, and social justice.

Through her research, teaching, and community partnerships, Sarwat seeks to advance evidence-informed criminal legal reform, strengthen prison education initiatives, and support community-centered policy development that expands opportunities for justice-impacted individuals.

Education:

• MSW, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Masters in Sustainable Peacebuilding, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, College of Nursing
• MS, Computer Science, Iqra University, Karachi-Pakistan

ICFW Projects:

• Smart Reentry Milwaukee
• Project Safe Neighborhood
• Resiliency in Community after Stress and Trauma (ReCAST)
• Reentry Rising
• Milwaukee Public Welfare CJ Landscape Analysis

Research/Practice Interests:

• Participatory research within carceral spaces
• Community-engaged research
• Reentry and mass incarceration
• Structural violence and equity
• Public policy and evaluation

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)