Amplify RJ (Restorative Justice)

Send us Fan Mail Dorothy is an artist, quilter, activist, and restorative justice practitioner based in Chicago. Among many other things, Dorothy received a 2017 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artist as Activist fellowship and is an Envisioning Justice Commissioned Artist. You will meet Dorothy (0:55), hear about how she got started in this work (5:00) in public service to her roles in teaching (2...

Send us Fan Mail Valerie Luna Serrels is a weaver and synthesizer, a mother and mystic. She is also an author of the chapter Radical Relationalism: Restorative Justice with the Earth. She weaves together her background in conflict transformation and restorative justice with Celtic spirituality This episode comes just in time to honor Earth day. Valerie discusses the connections to restorative just...

Send us Fan Mail Before we FULLY jump back into new episodes, we're sharing this community conversation with Alisha Maynoush Mernick (PLUS a special guest)! How does your classroom culture inadvertently reflect and reinforce the values and practices of White Supremacy Culture? How can you disrupt these systems through your practices? As an artist, educator, activist, organizer, mom, Persian S...

Send us Fan Mail While David's on a paternity break we're re-running one of our favorite episodes! Derek Brown is a lifelong North Lawndale Resident who among so many other things is an ex-offender trying to prevent the next offender. He and his family run a Restorative Justice infused Boxing program and he’s connected with so many other community initiatives. Support Derek’s work: Insta...

Send us Fan Mail We're on a brief hiatus as I (David) navigate the world as a new parent! New episodes will be dropping in late April. But I ALSO wanted to share about our new community Mighty Networks. Join us at amplifyrj.mn.co ! It's a community membership platform that will allows  us to share even more content and experiences.   You'll get FREE access to: - Our mini-course: &qu...

Send us Fan Mail “Stas” Schmiedt (they/them) and Lea Roth founded Spring Up in 2013. Spring Up works to cultivate a culture of consent and liberty for all through storytelling and popular education. You will meet Stas and Lea (0:55), hear about their introductions to restorative vs. transformative justice (7:57).  They have a conversation about sexual assault (21:02) and the shortcomings of school...

Send us Fan Mail Eloise Sepeda is a child/adult survivor of family/domestic and sexual violence, gangs, drugs, homelessness, poverty, teen pregnancy &  drop out. She learned the power of holistic rescue, healing, with the support of the community and faith leaders. Mrs. Sepeda and her blended family are overcoming statistics,  thriving and healthy advocates for race equity and justice. Dr. Sep...

Send us Fan Mail Edward C Valandra, Ph. D., is Sicangu Titunwan, born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. He received his B.A. in chemistry from Mankato State University, his M.A. in political science (public policy) from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and his Ph. D. in American Studies (Native Studies concentration) from SUNY-Buffalo. Make sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share!...

Send us Fan Mail Kat McKim is a writer who also works in operations at a network of K-12 schools in New York City. She loves working behind the scenes to put all the pieces together and make everything flow smoothly—a passion that perhaps surprisingly applies to both operations and writing.  In this episode, Kat shares her experience merging restorative justice with education, handling restorative...

Send us Fan Mail Fabrice Guerrier is a Haitian-American entrepreneur, science fiction and fantasy writer, and a columnist at Haïti Observateur. He founded the sci-fi and fantasy production company for writers and creatives, Syllble (pronounced Syll-a-ble). In this episode, Fabrice shares about the importance of creativity in movements, the impact of revolutionizing, and his journey bringing restor...

Send us Fan Mail Janice Jerome is the recipient of many awards, including the 2015 Community and Leadership Restorative Justice award from the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ), the Romae Powell award, and the Director's Award of the Juvenile Courts Association of Georgia. Ms. Jerome is the founder of The Restorative Justice Institute of Atlanta, LLC. This orga...

Send us Fan Mail Eric is recognized for his impactful restorative justice work as a restorative justice practitioner, activist, and educator. He went on to found the “Talking Peace” model of Restorative Justice, a set of practices and philosophy aimed at building relationships through shared values.  You will meet Eric (2:32). Eric shares how he got started in restorative justice (4:12) and his jo...

Send us Fan Mail Chimdindu Okafor is a 17-year-old high school senior at North Star Academy in Newark, NJ as well as a local youth activist. A lot of her activism centers around educational equality, black liberation, prison abolition, and eradicating medical racism and implicit biases. You will meet Chimdindu (2:15), and hear about the article she wrote about restorative justice in her school (3:...

Send us Fan Mail DeMointé Wesley returns for their third appearance on these airwaves, (but FIRST as a full-time Amplify RJ team member) to talk about the upcoming workshop series "History of Black Abolitionist Politics & Action" starting this Saturday, February 5.  (Listen closely for another special announcement at 1:02.) This Black History Month join the Amplify RJ community in pu...

Send us Fan Mail William Evans is the co-director for this Institute for Transformative Mentoring. As a restorative justice practitioner William focuses on healing, developing, and leading systems that impact individuals on a journey to rebuild community, decrease violence and incarceration. William is the founder of Neighborhood Benches, an organization increasing the presence of local neighborho...

Send us Fan Mail Jodie Geddes is an international speaker on restorative justice, author, and advocate for racial healing and justice.  Jodie is also co-author of the Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation. In addition, she co-host a podcast called Maternity Leave. You will meet Jodie (0:55), hear about her finding her own path (16:50)...

Send us Fan Mail Sippin’ asks the question, what happens when you serve white fragility at the table?  This short film presents the encounter of four women of color who gather for celebration & healing with a ritual of tea & stories. Sippin' is a project that presents the experiences of women of color, developed by stories of harm and impact. The purpose and intention of the film is t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Diversity & Inclusion: Revolution or Reform? On today’s episode, we are joined by the legendary Amber Hikes. Our conversation today with Amber is centered around her vast experience and how it has helped her in her role as Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at the American Civil Liberties Union as she navigates free speech, inclusion, and Restorative Justice. We are...

Send us Fan Mail for a handful of logistical, capacity, and need for rest reasons, we're taking a break from this podcast for the rest of 2021. We'll be back sometime in early 2022.  In the absence of new TRJL episodes then feel free to go back through our archive of 50+ episodes or check out sister Restorative Justice podcasts like "Restorative Justice on the Rise", "What...

Send us Fan Mail The featured episode from "The Restorative Lens Podcast" hosts LTomay Douglas and Allana Ojibway speak with Edward Valandra,  Waŋbli Wapȟáha Hokšíla, who is both an author and editor for Colorizing Restorative Justice . His chapter, “Undoing the First Harm: Settlers in Restorative Justice,” gives voice to the need for settlers to recognize the ways that restorative justi...

Send us Fan Mail Katherine Evans has been a professor in teacher education at Eastern Mennonite University since 2011. She teaches courses in educational psychology, special education, and restorative justice in education (RJE).  You will meet Kathy (1:30), hear about how she got started in this work in schools (12:48), and learn the importance of retethering to your soul (30:05). Kathy explains t...

Send us Fan Mail Erika has studied human rights, law, criminal justice, Peace and Conflict studies, and more. She was involved in creating the Red Hook peacemaking program, and she was the director of restorative practices at the Center for Court Innovation, for over a decade she oversaw CCI’s restorative initiatives across a broad range of disciplines.  You will meet Erika (1:45), hear about her...

Send us Fan Mail Christopher Mendez has may professional experiences range considerably: naval military security, retail management, higher educational editing, writing instruction and training, international manufacturing management, middle/high school instruction (private-school setting), higher education academic affairs, refugee case management for trauma-informed minors, and program developme...

Send us Fan Mail Becky McCammon is a circle keeper, coach, and collaborator and former restorative practice program coordinator at Saint Paul Public Schools. She loves haiku poems, effusive text messaging, and, most especially, having been a middle and high school English teacher for 14 years. You will meet Becky McCammon (1:32) and hear about how she got started in restorative justice (6:14) and...

Send us Fan Mail Nancy Riestenberg has thirty years of experience in the fields of violence prevention education, child sexual abuse prevention and restorative measures in schools.  She has worked with school districts in Minnesota and 20 other states, from Cass Lake-Bena to the Chicago Public Schools, and speaks nationally on restorative measures at conferences and through trainings, and through...