Restorative Justice
A – I
Elizabeth Allen
Email: eallensocialphd@gmail.com
Website: http://www.drelizabethallen.org/
I bring more than 25 years of clinical experience with justice-involved women and other marginalized groups. I am tenaciously committed to smart decarceration research, policy, and practice and throughout my career aimed to embrace what academia together with activism can offer change-agents and guide and support radical social change.
My dissertation research was an inquiry into redemptive narratives and the distance process for justIce-involved women with the goal of adding to the knowledge base of desistance, advocating for policies and interventions that support the process of distance and promoting a unifying framework to bridge micro and macro approaches with vulnerable and marginalized populations. Currently, I am a PI on a CBPR project using Photovoice with the urban youth with the lived experience of parental incarceration.
The synthesis of my clinical and research experience prepares me for the dual role of researcher and policy-maker and utilizing evidence to advance policy and practice. My research interests are vast and include the intersection of micro and macro issues amplified within criminal justice systems including racial, gender and economic justice and human rights.
Janae Bonsu, UIC
Doctoral Candidate, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
Email: jbonsu2@uic.edu
About: I am a doctoral candidate at Jane Addams College of Social Work, activist, and restorative justice practitioner. My work is based in an intersectional and structural analysis. My current work interrogates the intersection of gender-based violence, policing, and survivor empowerment; building and sustaining models of transformative justice; and policies that directly impact incarcerated people and their families.
Brita Bookser, UC Berkeley
Doctoral Candidate, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
Email: britabookser@berkeley.edu
Website: https://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/people/phd-students
About: Brita A. Bookser’s research interests include early care and education, education policy, carceral logics in education, feminist anti-carceral studies, womanism, and critical race theory. Her research-praxis agenda is facilitated by varied agency partnerships that explore policies and pedagogies for inclusion and civic engagement. Bookser’s qualitatively-driven mixed-method dissertation explores a typology of exclusionary discipline measures in preschools and examines how structural factors influence exclusionary tactics in early care and education settings.
Rob Butters, University of Utah
Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
Email: rob.butters@socwk.utah.edu
Website: https://faculty.utah.edu/u0050005-ROB_BUTTERS/teaching/index.hml
Christino Chavez, New York University
Adjunct Professor, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Email: cnc350@nyu.edu
Website: https://socialwork.nyu.edu/faculty-and-research/our-faculty/adjuncts/bios-a-c.html#chavez
About: My research interests and professional experience revolve around criminal and juvenile justice, gang violence and membership, racism in justice, restorative justice practices, mental health and trauma, policies and legislations regarding criminal justice, and immigration.
Dominique Courts, UCONN
Graduate Student, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Email: Dominique.Courts@uconn.edu
Website: https://ssw.uconn.edu/person/c-l-dominique-courts-ma-mft/#
About: After graduating from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology with a concentration in Social and Cultural Analysis, Dominique Courts, MA, MFT, earned a clinical master’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy at UCONN. Following her work as a therapist, Dominique is now a Crandall-Cordero fellow at The UCONN School of Social Work and invested in affecting change on an institutional and systems level.
As a doctoral student, she is particularly interested in using a reproductive and healing justice framework to understand the healing process for people, who live with intersecting marginalized identities, especially lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer individuals of color. The lack of visibility and research around LGBTQ people of color led her to be passionate about conducting mixed-methods and participatory action research to explore various aspects of their lived experiences. Ultimately, Dominique desires to amplify the voices of marginalized populations in her research and use collaborative and empowering research methods and accessible dissemination techniques.
Throughout the CT community, Dominique also facilitates workshops and groups focused on relationships, LGBTQ identities and other topics related to social justice and healing. She centers the lived experiences and needs of the individuals at the intersections of race, sexuality, gender and ability in her research, teaching, clinical and community work and advocacy.
Matthew J. Cuellar, University of Alaska-Anchorage
Professor, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA-ANCHORAGE
Pronouns: he/him/his
Email: mjcuellar@alaska.edu
About: Scholarship focuses on school violence and school security. Teaching expertise incudes mental health and juvenile justice.
Aditi Das, UC Berkeley
Post-Doctoral Scholar, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
Email: aditidas@berkeley.edu
About: Aditi Das is a former Postdoctoral Scholar at the Mack Center on Nonprofit and Public Sector Management in the Human Services at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Das’s research focuses on strengthening upstream human service delivery for vulnerable children, youth and families while assessing sustainability of reform efforts within complex human service organizations. In close partnership with California Bay Area counties, Aditi lead three projects focused on 1) understanding client and frontline worker perspectives on recent TANF policy reforms, 2) showcasing innovative county practices within child welfare and welfare-to-work services, and 3) building a compendium of age-friendly initiatives for adult and aging services. Her dissertation supported by a competitive grant from the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, focuses on the implementation of restorative justice reform within an urban public-school district to address the school-to-prion pipeline. Her work has been published at premier social work journals such as Contemporary Justice Review, Youth and Society and has presented her work at various national conferences including the Society for Social Work and Research, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management and Network for Social Work Management. Dr. Das completed her PhD from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and her MSW from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
Research Interests: Youth violence prevention, Juvenile Justice, Restorative justice, Informal social control and public safety.
Teaching Interests: Youth violence prevention, Cross national ideation on juvenile crime and delinquency, Restorative justice and alternative approaches to crime and prevention
Varsha DuBose, LCSW, Southern Connecticut State University
Doctoral Student & Teaching Assistant, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Email: Dubosev1@southernct.edu
About: Varsha Dubose is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of practice experience and legal and mental health settings. Varsha is currently a doctoral student and teaching assistant at Southern Connecticut State University. Varsha has practical experience working with justice-involved veterans with significant mental health and substance use disorders. One of the theoretical approaches that Varsha is focusing her research on is critical race theory. Varsha is interested in addressing the intersections of racial oppression and social injustices that are prevalent in the United States judicial system. Varsha’s teaching interests are in areas related to veterans, race/oppression, mental health and substance use disorders within the criminal justice systems.
Liz Espinoza, College of Saint Rose
VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE
Email: espinozl@strose.edu
Liz Espinoza has forensic social work experience at state government level in NY.
John Gallagher, Indiana University South Bend
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND
Email: johngall@iupui.edu
Website: https://socialwork.iusb.edu/FacultyAndStaff/profile.php?id=Gallagher_John_johngall
Dr. John R. Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the Indiana University School of Social Work at IU South Bend, where he teaches classes in addiction and mental health counseling. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor (LCAC) who has practiced addiction and mental health counseling for nearly 20 years. Gallagher’s research agenda is focused on the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in treating opioid use disorders; exploring drug court and other treatment court participants’ lived experiences in programming; identifying the factors that may contribute to racial disparities in treatment court outcomes; program evaluation for drug courts and other treatment courts; and implementing evidence-based interventions to promote addiction and mental health recovery.
Carina Gallo, San Francisco State University
Associate Professor, CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES, SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Email: cgallo@sfsu.edu
Website: https://cj.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/carina-gallo
About: My scholarship addresses historical and international trends in crime and welfare policies, with particular attention to how policies and laws intending to support underrepresented and marginalized groups have developed over the last century. I am especially interested in the “criminalization” of poverty and the penalization of vulnerable populations. One of my recent research projects examines how categories in crime policy, such as the “crime victim,” have crossed over to welfare law and policy. The study shows how new categories can change the way policy makers and practitioners conceptualize social problems, in particular, poverty and inequality. I’m currently working on a book exploring the roots of the Swedish victim movement. This book is vital to informing the literature how different societies have approached issues related to crime and victims.
I am also a trained social worker. Before entering academia, I worked with many different actors involved in the criminal justice system. For instance, between 2001 and 2006 I was the director of a nongovernmental victim support center, which provides services to over 500 crime victims per year.
Matthew Gilmour, Florida State University
Doctoral Student, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
Email: mgilmour@fsu.edu
Website: https://csw.fsu.edu/person/matthew-gilmour
About: My current research interests are focused on correctional and criminal justice system policies and reform, particularly inmate medical and mental health care, inmate rights, privatization of correctional/criminal justice services, reentry and rehabilitation. I am also interested in the utilization of research in advocacy work as it relates to social justice in general, particularly racial disparities and other issues involving the oppression of marginalized populations.
Ivan Godfrey, SUNY Ulster
Associate Professor, SUNY ULSTER
Email: Godfreyi@sunyulster.edu
Website: http://sunyulster.edu
About: I have participated in a recent research study about the value of post secondary education for incarcerated persons. My teaching interest and expertise is in Alternative to Incarceration & Reentry strategies and initiatives
Lauri Goldkind, Fordham University
Associate Professor, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Email: goldkind@fordham.edu
Website: https://www.laurigoldkind.net/
About: Dr. Goldkind is currently studying the data practices and data literacy of justice informed young men.
Warren Graham, SUNY Stony Brook
Clinical Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean of Field Education, SUNY STONY BROOK
Email: warren.graham@stonybrook.edu
Website: https://socialwelfare.stonybrookmedicine.edu/faculty-staff-warren-graham
About: Having taught on both the graduate and undergraduate levels multiple institutions over the years, I oversaw the administration of Nassau County Adult and Juvenile Drug Court Programs for 7 years. prior to that I worked in outpatient substance abuse and alternatives to incarceration treatment programs. I have also been active in NASW, having been elected as Delegate to the National Assembly, Division Director, Program Committee, and selected as Advocacy and Governmental Relations Committee member. I am currently a member of the NASW NYS Diversity Committee, member of the NASW Social Work in the Courts Specialty Practice Section where I publish annually, and am a CSWE Council on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity member. I have authored/co-authored “Criminal Injustice Competency” (NASW, 2019), “Navigating Privilege and Confidentiality for Social Workers in Legal Settings” (NASW, 2020), and “Specialized opportunities for Social Workers in the Courts” (NASW, 2010) as a part of the inaugural newsletter, co-authored “The Death of Black Males: The unmasking of cultural competence and oppressive practices in a micro-aggressive environment” (Routledge, 2016), “Evidence Based Practices for the Criminal Justice System” (2018), “To Protect and to Serve,” a book chapter in the Violence Against Black Bodies book. I am a Board member of DC based non-profit, re-entry program, Darnice’s Place, and the NYS Social Work Educator’s Association and am interested in decarceration. On the Board of Advisors for the Center for Children, Families, and the Law at Hofstra University, I am a forensic social worker in private practice for over 12 years, and member of the National Organization of Forensic Social Workers.
Caroline Harmon-Darrow, Rutgers University
Assistant Professor, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Email: caroline.harmon-darrow@rutgers.edu
Website: https://socialwork.rutgers.edu/caroline-harmon-darrow
About: Caroline Harmon-Darrow, PhD, MSW, is committed to violence prevention, criminal justice diversion, conflict resolution and restorative justice interventions, and the prevention of human trafficking. Dr. Harmon-Darrow’s mixed method dissertation “Comparing the impact of community-based mediation vs. prosecution on assault recidivism among adults” represents her longstanding commitment to criminal justice diversion and decarceration, and the craft of community-based mediation, and led to the creation of a statewide working group on intimate partner violence screening in criminal cases. Caroline was a macro social worker and community mediator serving as a community organizer, nonprofit Development Director and Executive Director for 24 years in Baltimore. In the community, Caroline volunteers with community mediation and Baltimore Ceasefire, a grassroots public health movement to end gun violence. She completed her PhD & MSWat the University of Maryland Baltimore, with a BA in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.
Debra Hrouda, Northeast Ohio Medical University
Director of Practice Implementation and Evaluation, NORTHEAST OHIO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY
Email: dhrouda@neomed.edu
About: Focus on the implementation of evidence-based, best, and emerging practices for people along the continuum of justice involvement.
Russ Immarigeon, CRI Publications
Editor
Email: russimmarigeon@fairpoint.net
About: Editor of national publications on community corrections, alternatives to prison, and offender programming. Editor of four books on crime desistance, prisoner reentry, and women, gender and girls in the criminal justice system. Independent researcher on the overuse of incarceration for women and others, and of cash bail in pretrial settings
J – Z
Leah Jacobs, University of Pittsburgh
Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Email: leahjacobs@pitt.edu
Website: https://www.socialwork.pitt.edu/people/leah-jacobs
About: My research interests include: socio-structural risk factors for criminal justice involvement; the role of neighborhood qualities in contributing to arrests among people with mental health and substance use problems; the provision of mental health and substance abuse treatment in jails; and reentry programs that seek to decrease recidivism among individuals with mental health and substance abuse problems.
Elisa Kawam
Email: ekawam@gmail.com
About: I have my bachelors, masters, and doctorate in social work which is my true passion. My main area of work has concerned on children, youth, and families in the areas of poverty, violence, substance use, abuse, and child welfare. Motivated by my experiences in child welfare, most of my work recently has been specific to mothers, trauma, and PTSD. Specifically, examining the mediating and moderating influences that attachment and the social environment have on family stability, trauma symptomology, and overall resiliency. I also have extensive experience in mezzo and macro aspects of social work including communities, policy, advocacy, grant writing, teaching, and research. I am an Associate Professor of social work and in my free time enjoy hiking, yoga, cooking, reading and spending time with my pets/family. Please feel free to reach out to me at anytime with questions, comments, or collaborations.
Topic Areas:
- Juvenile Justice
- Policy and Courts
- Restorative Justice
- Gender and Sexuality
Erin Kerrison, UC Berkeley
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
Email: kerrison@berkeley.edu
Website: http://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/faculty/erin-kerrison
My research and teaching interests extend from a legal epidemiological framework, wherein law and legal institutions operate as social determinants of health. Specifically, through varied agency partnerships, my mixed-method research agenda investigates the impact that compounded structural disadvantage, concentrated poverty and state supervision has on service delivery, substance abuse, violence and other health outcomes for individuals and communities marked by criminal justice intervention.
Karen Kolivoski, Howard University
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, HOWARD UNIVERSITY
Email: karen.kolivoski@howard.edu
Website: https://www.karenkolivoski.com and https://twitter.com/KKolivoski
My research interests focus on crossover youth, specifically on understanding how factors in children and youths’ experiences within the child welfare system impact subsequent juvenile and criminal justice system involvement. I am especially interested in understanding the role of out of home placements within the child welfare system, youths’ relationships and perceptions of their child welfare caseworkers, and sibling and family influences as related to criminal justice outcomes. I also have interest and experience in transfer of youths to the adult system and juvenile life without parole, including the misconduct/experiences of youth in prisons. In regards to teaching, I teach in the criminal justice field of practice specialization in the MSW program at Howard University.
George Leibowitz, Stony Brook University
Professor, STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
Email: George.Leibowitz@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Website: https://socialwelfare.stonybrookmedicine.edu/faculty-staff/leibowitz
About: For the past 20 years, I have been working as an interdisciplinary researcher, forensic evaluator, national consultant and trainer in the related fields of adolescent delinquency, addictions, sexually harmful behavior among youth, and adult sexually offending behavior. I am interested in research on sex offender registry reform, restorative justice, and compassionate release laws. I am also a member of the National Association of Forensic Social Work recently co-authored the following textbook: Maschi, T. & Leibowitz, G.S. (Eds.) (2018). Forensic social work: Psychosocial and legal issues across diverse populations and settings (2nd Ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Charles H. Lea III, Columbia University
Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
Email: chl2159@columbia.edu
Website: https://socialwork.columbia.edu/directory/charles-h-lea-iii
About: Dr. Lea’s research and scholarship investigate the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, class, and gender in educational, correctional, and neighborhood contexts, and the impact these issues have on the health and well-being of young Black men and boys at risk and involved in the juvenile and criminal punishment systems. The overarching aims of this work is to develop knowledge and build theory that informs policies, practices, and interventions that can promote resilience and healthy development among young Black men and boys’, as well as lessen their risk for health-compromising behaviors, arrest, incarceration, and recidivism.
Carl Mazza, Lehman College CUNY
Associate Professor & Department Chair, SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT LEHMAN COLLEGE (CUNY)
Email: carl.maaza@lehman.cuny.edu
Website: https://www.lehman.edu/academics/health-human-services-nursing/social-work/faculty-mazza.php
About: Dr. Mazza has written on incarcerated fathers, children of incarcerated parents, prison education, practicing social work in prison, and various issues regarding reentry. He has recently completed a book on fatherhood in the U.S. and has a chapter on incarcerated fathers. He is the former track chair of the Criminal & Juvenile Justice Track for the Council on Social Work Education. He is currently researching and writing a book on social work with exonerated people.
Branden McLeod, UIC
Associate Professor, JANE ADDAMS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
Email: bmcleod7@uic.edu
Website: https://socialwork.uic.edu/profiles/branden-a-mcleod/
About: My research examines the intersection between fatherhood and the criminal justice system. I endeavor unpack how the criminal justice system potentially attenuates the role of fathers and the factors that mitigate, sustain, and strengthen paternal involvement and family well-being. I teach social welfare, social policy analysis and advocacy, and research methods.
Louisiana Medina, USC
LCSW, USC
Email: louisiana.medina@gmail.com
Nakia Miller, UCONN
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AND ADVISOR, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Email: nakia.miller@uconn.edu
As the ongoing epidemic of Mass Incarceration increases, it is imperative to research, understand and knowledgeable of the interventions that already implemented which have been both successful and unsuccessful to be able to develop interventions that will be effective. As social workers, it is our duty to be well informed of the challenges that individuals affected by criminal justice system face as well as possible interventions to help them regain quality of life taken from them because of criminalization.
Miriam Commodore Mensah, Indiana University
PhD Student, INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Email: mcommodo@iu.edu
About: Doing research on trauma and trauma informed care in the juvenile justice system.
Topic Areas:
- Juvenile Justice
- Restorative Justice
Trang Nguyen, VNU
PhD, VNU-UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Email: maiphivn@yahoo.com
I am interested in crime and delinquency, and have been studying violent behaviors for many years, mostly students’ violent conducts including bullying at school and domestic violence. I am working to find a way to establish the presence of social work in justice in Vietnam, firstly for juvenile justice.
Savannah Olsen, University of Southern California
Social Worker, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Pronouns: She/Her
Email: olsens@usc.edu
About: My research interests focus on youth justice reform in Wisconsin, specifically waiver practices and the systemic challenges marginalized youth face. I am especially interested in using restorative justice as an alternative to punitive systems, promoting healing and accountability. My work explores the impacts of waiving youth into adult court, highlighting the need for developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed approaches. I also examine how child welfare systems intersect with youth justice, advocating for integrated, equity-driven policies that support youth and families holistically.
Clark Peters, University of Missouri
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
Email: peterscm@missouri.edu
Website: http://ssw.missouri.edu/faculty_peters.html
Hughlett Powell, United Arab Emirates University
Assistant Professor, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY
Email: brownhillnevis@gmail.com
Website: https://research.uaeu.ac.ae/en/persons/hughlett-omris-powell
Jacoba Rock, Boise State University
Clinical Associate Professor, BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY
Pronouns: She/They
Email: jacobarock@boisestate.edu
Website: https://www.boisestate.edu/socialwork/jacoba-rock-ph-d/
About:Jacoba Rock is an Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work at Boise State School of Social Work. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, with a doctoral minor in Criminology, from Pennsylvania State University. She received a Master of Social Work degree, with a clinical concentration in work with High-Risk Youth, and a graduate certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution, both from the University of Denver. Dr. Rock’s applied research focuses on incarcerated youth (juveniles and young adults), opportunities for improved system response and reform, as well as deimplementation and abolition. Dr. Rock has conducted many program evaluations within carceral and other criminal/juvenile legal settings, offered professional development trainings to both courtroom and correctional staff, and also offered consultation, assessment, and testimony on hundreds of cases of juvenile and young adult life, virtual life, and capital sentences. Dr. Rock has taught Social Work since 2012 in BSW, MSW, and DSW programs, and focuses on courses on Intersectionality and other critical approaches, Human Behavior and Social Environment, Program Evaluation, and Pedagogy.
Shannon Sliva, University of Denver
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
Email: shannon.sliva@du.edu
Website: https://socialwork.du.edu/about/gssw-directory/shannon-marie-sliva
Shannon Sliva is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver, where she conducts leading research on restorative and collaborative approaches to justice which challenge current criminal legal models. Her work questions the efficacy of courts and prisons as mechanisms of justice and considers the role of dialogue and shared experiences in transforming people and systems. Sliva tracks state-level restorative justice legislation across the U.S., and is currently partnering with Colorado practitioners, policymakers and advocates to document the impacts of leading-edge restorative justice laws and develop recommendations for policy transfer. Most recently, Sliva’s research team – in partnership with Sterling Correctional Facility in the Colorado Department of Corrections – joined the Urban Institute’s Prison Innovation and Research Network, a six state consortium to test transformative innovations in correctional facilities. Sliva is also the Director of Research for the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative, where she oversees evaluation of DU PAI’s arts-based workshops and public performances.
Carolyn Sutherby, Ferris State University
Associate Professor, FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
Email: carolynsutherby@ferris.edu
Website: https://www.ferris.edu/arts-sciences/profiles/social-work/carolyn-sutherby.html
About: Carolyn completed her Ph.D. in Social Work at Michigan State University, and her research interests involve maternal mental health and substance use disorders, alternatives to incarceration, and the intersection of behavioral health and the criminal legal system. She is certified to teach the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program and recently developed an experimental course: SCWK 390: Policing & Social Work.
Christopher Thyberg, Augsburg Univeristy
Assistant Professor, AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Email: thyberg@augsburg.edu
Website: https://www.augsburg.edu/faculty/thyberg-christopher/
About: My research is heavily informed by my clinical experience as a therapist working with children, adolescents, and families. Many of my clients had exposure to traumatic experiences, which profoundly impacted their mental and behavioral health. Through my work, I observed how schools played a pivotal role in the process of helping or harming students, often criminalizing behaviors instead of seeking to provide support or ask questions. I saw how schools act as an access point to the criminal legal system for many students who were sent to court, fined, charged, or otherwise punished. Moreover, I witnessed how often this occurred differentially based on race, class, gender, ability as various forms of oppression and discrimination impacted these students’ experiences. This informs my research, as I am passionate about finding ways to break the pathway between schools and incarceration through restorative justice, transformative justice, and anti-oppressive practices of mental health and community support initiatives. My dissertation is focused on building anti-racist and critical consciousness professional development for teachers within school spaces that are using restorative justice to further address racial disparities in exclusionary school discipline. This process has also had an impact on my teaching and inspired my passion for critical and structural social work as my paradigm of practice and teaching
Barb Toews, University of Washington Tacoma
Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON TACOMA
Email: btoews@uw.edu
Website: https://directory.tacoma.uw.edu/employee/btoews
About: My interests include restorative justice, jails and prisons, and architecture/design. I am a long time restorative justice practitioner and educator, with substantial experience in victim offender dialogue in nonviolent and violent crime. Since 2000, my work has focused on the application of restorative justice in correctional facilities and the meaning and implications of such applications. This work has included educating incarcerated men and women about the philosophy and its common practices and supporting them as they develop and facilitate their own programs. More recently, my interests have grown to include the relationship between restorative justice, architecture/design of correctional facilities and other buildings in which criminal justice occurs, and psycho-social-behavioral-judicial outcomes.
Katherine Van Wormer, University of Northern Iowa
PROFESSOR EMIRITA OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
Email: katherine.vanwormer@uni.edu
Website: https://csbs.uni.edu/socialwork/faculty-staff-directory/katherine-vanwormer-phd
Blog Posts:
Dr. van Wormer is the author or co-author of 15 books (not counting new editions), including Death by Domestic Violence: Preventing the Murders and the Murder-Suicides. Some of her recent books are: Confronting Oppression, Restoring Justice: From Policy Analysis to Social Action (2nd ed.) (co-authored by L .Kaplan and C. Juby) (CSWE, 2012); The Maid Narratives (LSU Press, 2012); Restorative Justice Today (SAGE, 2013); Women and the Criminal Justice System (co-authored with C. Bartollas) (Pearson, 2014); Social Welfare Policy for a Sustainable Future (SAGE, 2016), Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Micro Level and HBSE, Macro Level (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective (4th ed.) (co-authored with D.R. Davis) (Cengage, 2018). Van Wormer is currently working on a 5th edition of Women and the Criminal Justice System.