In this edition, host Patric Haerle interviews one of the recipients of the 2024 Innovating Justice Awards, Dom Hardeman, Pierce County District Court’s Probation Manager, on Pierce County’s one-of-a-kind Pathways to Progress Program. The award recognizes individuals or groups for providing exceptional leadership in helping courts across Washington State deliver innovative and responsive justice using a race equity lens.

The program, which was created by Hardeman, has helped hundreds of justice-impacted individuals by connecting them to essential services for recovery and reintegration, such as behavioral health services, employment connections and training, and housing services.

Topics of conversation for today’s episode include the creation of Pathways to Progress, how the program is innovating justice in Pierce County, and what motivates Hardeman to go above and beyond in his work serving Pierce County.