Restorative Works

We are joined by Lan Nguyen and Jennifer Vermillion, two restorative justice leaders who take us beyond surface-level change to discover what it truly takes to sustain restorative practices in schools and communities across complex educational systems.  Together, they unpack a critical tension facing educators and administrators today: why restorative practices are widely embraced, yet so difficul...

T he reality of today's organizations :  tension runs high, trust feels fragile, and progress stalls under the weight of reactivity. Seasoned practitioners Kristina Katayama and Miriam Zachariah join us to explore relational methods for charting a path forward rooted in awareness, connection, and intentional change.   With decades of experience across education, leadership, and organizational tran...

Discover what it really takes to sustain restorative practices in today's complex school systems.  In this episode of Restorative Works, host Claire de Mezerville-López, alongside co-hosts Dr. Michael Washington and Dr. Doug Judge, welcomes veteran educator and systems leader Saundra Hensel. With more than 35 years in education and nearly a decade leading district-wide implementation, Saundra brin...

We are joined by nationally and internationally recognized educator, leadership coach, and bestselling author Mirko Chardin for a deeply reflective conversation about healing school communities through restorative practices and equity-centered design. Drawing from lived experience and decades of leadership in education, Mirko shares how schools can move beyond compliance-driven systems and cultiva...

Boston University Professor James W. McCarty, Ph. D., joins us to explore how restorative justice and conflict transformation can reshape the way communities engage in disagreement, repair harm, and build collective power.  Dr. McCarthy invites listeners to rethink one of society's most misunderstood realities: conflict. Rather than treating conflict as something to avoid, he reframes it as a powe...

What if the practice of law could heal instead of harm?  In this episode of Restorative Works! Podcast, Dr. Claire de Mézerville López welcomes lawyer, mediator, and restorative justice facilitator Brenda Waugh for a compelling conversation about restorative lawyering. Brenda shares how she transformed her traditional legal career into a justice-centered practice rooted in healing, dignity, and hu...

In this episode of Restorative Works! Podcast , Dr. Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Juan Pablo Blanco, Ph. D., for a discussion about intergenerational collaboration, youth leadership, and education justice as a basis for transforming systems that affect youth and families.   Dr. Blanco brings more than a decade of experience in community organizing and community-engaged research to this conve...

Dr. Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Amy Hart, principal of Stanley Elementary in Wichita, Kansas, to the Restorative Works! Podcast.   Drawing from more than 14 years in education, Amy shares how relationship-centered leadership improves school culture, even amid systemic change, limited resources, and community mistrust. Through a real-world story involving two fifth-grade students on the bri...

Welcome to season four of Restorative Works! Podcast! In this episode, Dr. Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Johari "J.P." Mitchell for a discussion around positive self-talk, children's literature, and how the power of storytelling helps shape how we relate to ourselves and one another.  J.P. explores how children's literature, especially picture books, can serve as a restorative practices tool...

How can restorative practices deepen learning in subjects like English, social studies, music, art, or science? In this episode, Claire de Mezerville López and Nikki Chamblee are joined by restorative practices instructional coach Erika Schwanbeck on the Restorative Pedagogies series of the Restorative Works! Podcast to explore what meaningful curriculum collaboration can look like in practice. Er...

In this episode of Restorative Works! , the Restorative Pedagogies Series continues with a rich, practice-forward conversation on how restorative practices transform English Language Arts classrooms from the inside out. Host Claire de Mezerville López is joined by co-host Nikki Chamblee and special guest Jamee Cox, an eighth-grade English Language Arts teacher and IIRP Graduate School student, for...

What happens when science education is designed as a relational, exploratory process rather than a rigid set of steps? In this episode, Claire de Mezerville López and Nikki Chamblee welcome science educator and restorative practitioner Kate Shapero to the Restorative Pedagogies series of the Restorative Works! Podcast to examine how restorative practices can transform the science classroom. Kate r...

In this opening episode of the Restorative Pedagogies series, Claire de Mezerville López and Nikki Chamblee to the Restorative Works! Podcast to explore what it means to approach teaching through a restorative practices lens.  Moving beyond the idea of restorative practices as solely relational or disciplinary tools, Claire and Nikki reflect on pedagogy as a human-centered practice—one that honors...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Eric S. Lee to the Restorative Works! Podcast .  Eric S. Lee, Executive Director of Full Circle Restorative Justice , joins us to explore a visionary model for transforming how communities guide young people toward healthier, more connected futures. He shares the three-pronged framework that drives Full Circle Restorative Justice: a youth diversion program that...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Deanna Van Buren and Adrienne Hogg to the Restorative Works! Podcast .  We are joined by Deanna Van Buren, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces (DJDS), and Adrienne Hogg, Co-Executive Director of Community Works. Together, we explore how spaces, rooms, buildings, and environments in which we gather directly shape our nervous...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Mushtaq Ahmed Malla to the Restorative Works! Podcast . Mushtaq joins us and shares his journey that weaves together youth education, mental health counseling, child rights advocacy, and an unwavering commitment to creating humane, relationship-centered systems of justice. He discusses how his Fulbright–Humphrey Fellowship at the University of Minnesota introduc...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Nikki Fynn, Ed. D., to the Restorative Works! Podcast .  We are joined by Dr. Nikki Fynn, a restorative education and leadership consultant whose journey through guilt, grief, and shame has reshaped her approach to healing, leadership, and human-centered systems. She shares with us a pivotal moment from 2018, when a mentor's story about a monkey trapped by its o...

In this special collaborative episode, Claire de Mézerville López is joined by cohost Bridget Johnson , current IIRP graduate student and founder of the Deans' Roundtable , an organization that supports student life professionals. Together, they dive into this collaborative episode on Restorative Practices That Move the Needle. Through the power of storytelling and the exchange of in-depth experie...

This week we're revisiting our conversation with Marlee Liss from January 18, 2024! Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Marlee Liss to the R estorative Works! Podcast . Marlee speaks with us about her experiences as a survivor of sexual assault. Her case made history as the first in North America to conclude with restorative justice processes through the courts. She describes her experience in the...

This week we're revisiting our podcast episode from November 23, 2023! Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Shelley Jones-Holt, Ed. D., to the  Restorative Works!   Podcast , World Conference series. This series of conversations were held during the 2023 IIRP World Conference,  Building Thriving Communities: A Radical Approach Through Restorative Practices,  held in Detroit, MI, October 2-4, 2023....

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Blair Kirby and Professor Mark Osler to the Restorative Works! Podcast . Blair and Mark join us to illuminate how restorative practices intersect with clemency work, storytelling, and systemic reform. Their conversation opens a window into the human impact of policies that often feel remote, revealing how small acts of recognition and repair can shift entire sys...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Officer Warren Edmondson to the Restorative Works! Podcast . Officer Edmondson joins us to share how he first embraced restorative practices when transitioning from street policing to middle school hallways. He describes the emotional landscapes of sixth to eighth graders and explains why relationship-building became the cornerstone of his approach. Rather than...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Devanshi Patel to the Restorative Works! Podcast.   Devanshi joins us to explore how youth leadership, community trust, and restorative practices intersect to build what she calls "the beloved community"— a vision rooted in justice, dignity, and belonging. She shares the groundbreaking work of the Youth Peer Court Ambassador Academy, a hands-on training program...

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Kevin Jones to the Restorative Works! Podcast.   Kevin joins us to explore how vulnerability and authenticity transform leadership, build stronger teams, and repair workplace divides, especially in times of conflict. Through real stories, Kevin illustrates how restorative circles and authentic conversations can turn tension into trust. From school districts inte...

Claire de  Mézerville  López welcomes Amanda Carrasco to the  Restorative Works!  Podcast .   Amanda is a family survivor of homicide and sexual assault who has turned profound personal tragedy into a mission for healing and accountability. She  uses her story to illuminate how truth, empathy, and connection can break cycles of harm and bring re pair  to individuals and communities alike.   Amanda...