The Restorative Lens

By: National Center on Restorative Justice
  • Summary

  • The Restorative Lens podcast brings together voices in the restorative justice community to share insight, practices, & perspective. Each series of the show will highlight different restorative justice topics, & provide a space to hear from those who are most directly impacted or involved in the work. This project is supported by Grants No. 2020-MU-CX-K001 & No. 15PBJA-20-GK-00035 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Points of view, images, or opinions in this document and are those of the hosts and guests, and do not necessarily represent official position or policies of the U.S DoJ.
    National Center on Restorative Justice
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Episodes
  • Special Episode: Justice Through a Queer Lens
    Jun 21 2024
    Rami El Gharib (he/him) is a Lebanese Restorative Justice practitioner. Rami was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon but moved to the United States in 2018 to escape the criminalization of homosexuality in his home country, and to pursue a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of New Haven. Rami serves as the Juvenile Justice Program Manager for King County, Washington. Rami is the founder of the ⁠Restorative Rainbow Alliance⁠, an Alliance which aims to introduce a LGBTQ+ lens into the field of Restorative Justice by providing extra care for LGBTQ+ victims of hate crimes and assisting facilitators in understanding the extra levels of harm that LGBTQ+ individuals may face, as well as creating virtual safe spaces. Rami is also the founder of The Space, a LGBTQ+ youth safe space in Colorado that utilizes Restorative Circles to assess the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in the Region. The Space was funded by the State of Colorado’s Restorative Justice Council. Jasmyn Story (they/them) is an international Restorative Justice Facilitator, Doula, and the founder of ⁠Honeycomb Justice⁠ and ⁠Freedom Farm Azul⁠. Named one of Vice’s 31 People Making History by Creating a Better Future, they are a dedicated human rights activist with a decade of experience working in the voluntary sector. As the former Deputy Director of Social Justice & Racial Equity for the Office of the Mayor of Birmingham, Jasmyn co-led the launch of the State of Alabama’s first government-sustained Women’s Initiative. This decentralized movement aims to interrupt the cycles of harm plaguing Birmingham’s women, children, trans, and non-binary folk. After completing their M.A. in Human Rights at the University College London, they are currently completing their Ph.D. as a third-generation Tuskegee University student. Today, they serve the national office of the Sierra Club as the Conflict Transformation Strategic Advisor. Stas Schmiedt (they/them) is a nonbinary BlaQ-Italian storyteller, transformative justice practitioner, abolitionist organizer, healer, and survivor based on Ute, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne lands (also called Denver, Colorado). They are a co-founder, vision keeper, and imaginatrix at Spring Up and bluelight academy of the liberatory arts. Ames Stenson (they/them) hails from Denver, Colorado and their family tree has been rooting on stolen land in the west since the 1700s. Ames currently serves as the program manager with the ⁠City of Englewood, CO Municipal Court Restorative Justice Program⁠; the board president for the Colorado Coalition for Restorative Justice Practices; a founding board member of the Restorative Rainbow Alliance; previously served as the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice’s online programming coordinator and recently retired from seven years of teaching as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work. They have a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice, a master’s in Theological Studies and a master’s in Social Work and consider themselves to be a lifelong learner. Ames loves spending time with their family, Kyla and Russ, and doing all-things-fun from travel to sports to geocaching – it’s a yes! View Podcast Transcript Here Watch the recording of the "Justice Through a Queer Lens" panel here. This project is supported by Grants No. 2020-MU-CX-K001 and No. 15PBJA-20-GK-00035 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view, images, or opinions in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests, and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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    43 mins
  • S2, Episode 7: Policy & Advocacy in Trying Times w/Dr. Teiahsha Bankhead & Ames Stenson
    Nov 30 2023

    Most states now have legislation that endorses restorative justice. This episode explores questions such as: How important is legislation for restorative justice implementation? What can legislation provide? How does it limit or ensure best practice? What advocacy is needed to promote policy change? How can restorative justice practitioners and programs collaborate to have greater political influence? Teiahsha Bankhead, Ph.D., LCSW, is a social justice activist, a restorative justice advocate, a licensed psychotherapist and a professor with both MSW and Ph.D. degrees in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. Born to a Black radical mother during the uprising of the Watts Rebellion and coming of age in South Central Los Angeles during the embittered racial relations and social unrest of the civil rights era ignited within Dr. Bankhead a passionate commitment to social justice advocacy and transformative community empowerment. Dr. Bankhead has a commitment to racial justice, racial healing and restorative economics. She has taught racial, gender and sexual orientation diversity, theories of criminal behavior, and US social policy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She speaks and holds circle on the subjects of School-Based Restorative Justice, Race and Restorative Justice, the Indigenous Roots of Restorative Justice, Social Justice and Restorative Justice, Truth-Telling and Racial Healing, Youth-Led and Movement-Based Restorative Justice, the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Mass Incarceration, and Restorative Cities. Ames Stenson hails from Denver, Colorado and their family tree has been rooting on stolen land in the west since the 1700s. Ames currently serves as the program manager with the City of Englewood, CO Municipal Court Restorative Justice Program; the board president for the Colorado Coalition for Restorative Justice Practices; a founding board member of the Restorative Rainbow Alliance; previously served as the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice’s online programming coordinator and recently retired from seven years of teaching as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work. They have a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice, a master’s in Theological Studies and a master’s in Social Work and consider themselves to be a lifelong learner. Ames loves spending time with their family, Kyla and Russ, and doing all-things-fun from travel to sports to geocaching – it’s a yes!

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    55 mins
  • S2, Episode 6: From Cultural Competency to Cultural Humility w/Ish Orkar
    Nov 28 2023

    In Colorizing Restorative Justice, practitioners of color relate their experiences in the field, examining the inherent contradiction of using these practices within Western, white dominant, settler societies. This episode will explore questions around how cultural competency can be prioritized in equitable systems design, including: How do we account for our own implicit biases when building equitable systems? How do we monitor bias in facilitator discretion? How can we ensure that communities most impacted by inequities in the criminal legal system are included in equitable systems design, implementation, and facilitation? As an attorney, social worker, and RJ practitioner, Ish Orkar has dedicated her career to trying to answer the question: how can we best live in relationship with each other? Ish is passionate about creating liberatory and healing spaces, working with organizations to evaluate and redesign existing systems, and supporting individuals as they engage in restorative practices. She enjoys being both a facilitator and a student in shared learning spaces on restorative living, mental health, wellness, and workplace inclusion and belonging. Her favorite place to be is sitting in a circle, and she welcomes invitations. Learn more about Ish and her work at www.grounded-intention.com

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    41 mins

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