Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Margaret Clark to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Margaret shares her inspiring journey of integrating Indigenous wisdom into restorative practices, highlighting how these approaches foster healing, accountability, and community connection. Drawing on her Canadian roots and extensive experience, she explains why centering Indigenous voices and values strengthens restorative justice efforts across diverse settings. Margaret emphasizes that restorative practices are not just conflict resolution tools—they’re pathways to building trust, repairing harm, and nurturing resilient relationships. Her insights illuminate the powerful role of storytelling, circle processes, and cultural humility in creating spaces where everyone feels heard and respected. Margaret is the manager of the Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon & District Restorative Justice Services. Her interest in restorative justice came about through her background of working in correctional centers as a life skills coach and treatment programs as a program coordinator/counselor. As a proud member of the Syilx Nation, Margaret is committed to sharing Indigenous knowledge in the North Okanagan. She is a respected voice on local committees and was recently honored with the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her leadership and service.  With strong ties to the North Okanagan, Margaret carries a vision of learning and teaching about restorative justice principles and practices. Tune in to discover practical strategies and inspiring stories that demonstrate the difference restorative practices can make in healing individuals and communities.

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Natasha Akery to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Natasha joins us and introduces her original framework, the “Restorative Compass,” a forward-looking alternative to the Compass of Shame. Designed to help students and educators navigate difficult emotions and conversations, the Restorative Compass guides users from reactivity toward engagement, self-compassion, and acknowledgment of others. In the classroom, she repurposes restorative questions to examine literary conflict, inviting students to explore who is impacted, how relationships shift, and how characters might repair harm. The result? Deeper learning, more critical thought, and powerful public speaking skills. From circle time with 9th graders to one-on-one conversations with overwhelmed educators, Natasha models what it means to be restorative in every interaction. She shares practical insights, real classroom stories, and how building a culture of safety and curiosity helps students thrive. Natasha is a high school English language arts teacher and professional developer who brings a restorative lens to literary analysis, classroom culture, and continuing education for teachers. Passionate about ancient literature, mythology, and folklore, she explores how stories can help build empathy and community. Natasha is also conducting graduate research on the impact of restorative literary analysis in secondary education, and her “Restorative Compass” framework has been a resource for faculty members of the IIRP and teachers across the country. She believes that when students feel seen and heard, powerful learning can happen. Tune in to hear more from Natasha and her passion for mythology, folklore, and ancient texts. She uses restorative practices to help students connect emotionally and intellectually with stories, fostering empathy, deep analysis, and meaningful relationships.

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Juan Martinez to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Juan joins us and shares his experience as a dedicated yoga instructor innovating with inclusive yoga practices in unconventional spaces. We explore how yoga and meditation foster compassion and wellbeing within challenging environments, including prisons and centers for vulnerable populations. Juan shares his journey from the corporate world to becoming an accredited teacher, spreading the healing benefits of yoga through programs like Yoga Inclusivo Costa Rica and collaborations across Central America. Through poignant anecdotes and reflections, Juan illustrates how yoga is more than physical exercise—it's a tool for empowerment, agency, and self-discovery. Learn how Juan navigates logistical challenges to bring yoga to prisons, creating safe spaces for inmates to find peace and inner strength.  Juan is a seasoned advertising and design professional, with over a decade of experience in advertising agencies across Costa Rica. In 2001, he was introduced to the practice of yoga. Today, Juan is an accredited Yoga teacher with the Costa Rica Ashtanga Association, the European Yoga Institute, Yoga 10, AccessibleYoga.org, the Prison Yoga Project, and the Trauma Center.  Juan has extensive experience as an instructor with a specialization in working with disabled and prison populations. His approach goes beyond postural practice and seeks to show a sanctuary, a laboratory, an opportunity, a place for contemplation and expression of compassion, and respect for ourselves as well as for life itself through yoga.  Tune in to hear firsthand accounts of transformation and resilience as individuals find solace and hope through yoga, reshaping their lives amidst adversity.

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Katherine Stanley Obando to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Katherine shares how restorative practices show up organically in her work as a journalist, particularly in rural areas where trust, voice, and relationships are essential. Through El Colectivo 506, a Costa Rican journalism collective rooted in community, collaboration, and care, Katherine and her team practice a relational approach to storytelling by listening first, amplifying community voices, and prioritizing local leadership. Their journalism isn’t extractive—it’s connective. Katherine is a journalist specializing in in-depth reporting on immigration, education, women’s rights, and civil society initiatives. She is the co-founder of El Colectivo 506, an award-winning, bilingual media organization that's using solutions journalism to build a "library of what works" in Costa Rica and beyond. She's also the co-founder of the Latin American Solutions Journalism Fund, which is training and funding in-depth journalism throughout the region. Katherine lives in San José with her husband Adrián and daughter Emma, for whom she wrote Love in Translation: Letters to My Costa Rican Daughter, published in 2016. Tune in to hear as Katherine describes how this innovative model, including listening circles and relation-based editorial practices, helps strengthen civic engagement and social cohesion across Costa Rica.

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Bianca Johnson to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Bianca joins us and shares her introduction to restorative justice through a pilot diversion program that instantly resonated with her values. Her story highlights how relationships built in the community can open the door for meaningful engagement and real change within institutions. Bianca shares a moving story of a stolen car, a juvenile offender, and a powerful moment of healing and accountability that shows what’s possible when we center dialogue and compassion over punishment. This episode also explores the importance of proactive restorative work—building relationships before conflict arises. Bianca shares how students and staff in her schools now seek out restorative conferences and circles, showing the impact of cultivating a relational culture. Bianca is the family engagement and restorative justice coordinator at Charlottesville City Schools. She also works as a restorative justice facilitator with Central Virginia Community Justice, which provides a restorative justice diversion program. Through her work at City Schools and in the greater community, she helps create healing spaces for individuals and families impacted by harm. Bianca also completed professional development with the IIRP, informing her own training and facilitation to support both the school and greater community in relationship building and conflict resolution.  Passionate about her work, Bianca is committed to strengthening relationships and promoting healing. Tune in to hear more of Bianca’s insight into what true community engagement looks like and the signs that show it's working: trust, empowerment, and people stepping into hard conversations with openness.

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada, Pat Lewis, for a special IIRP Canada series, highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode, they welcome long-time educator and bilingual consultant Peggy Barrette to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Peggy joins us to share her journey of integrating restorative practices in French-speaking communities across Canada. Raised in a small, predominantly Francophone town in Northern Ontario, Peggy shares the impact of growing up straddling both French and English identities—and how those early experiences shaped her commitment to creating safe, authentic spaces for connection. Peggy discusses the cultural and linguistic challenges of bringing restorative practices to Francophone communities, where true equity demands more than just translation—it requires cultural relevance, deep listening, and honoring lived experiences. From fighting the pitfalls of superficial translations to ensuring French-speaking practitioners see themselves reflected in the tools and training they receive, Peggy unpacks what meaningful involvement really looks like. Peggy Barrette has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education. She is a bilingual (French and English) trainer and consultant for IIRP Canada. Peggy was born and raised in Hearst, a small, predominantly French town in Northern Ontario. She studied French at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and received her master's in educational administration from the same university.  Peggy spent 13 years working with the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board and the remainder of her career with Trillium Lakelands District School Board in Ontario, where she led professional learning in French and English. As a school administrator, she has gained invaluable experience implementing restorative practices within diverse school communities.  Tune in to learn more about working in bilingual contexts, navigating cultural identity in your community, and how language can shape the restorative journey. 

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada, Pat Lewis, for a special IIRP Canada series, highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode, they welcome seasoned youth care specialist Joe Blake to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Joe joins us to discuss the representation of Indigenous youth in Canada's justice system and the cultural disconnect they often experience. He explains how restorative practices align closely with Indigenous ways of resolving conflict—centered on healing, empathy, and community. Through stories from his own practice, including a powerful anecdote involving two youth in a group home, Joe illustrates how even informal restorative conversations can defuse tension, foster understanding, and build authentic relationships. Joe is a restorative practices instructor with IIRP Canada. He runs restorative justice training workshops and has been working in the field of Child and Youth Care for more than fifteen years. Joe has a Master of Arts in Child and Youth Care. The research focus for his Master of Arts thesis is on restorative practices with Indigenous youth within the youth criminal justice system. Joe’s key areas of interest in the field particularly lie in the youth criminal justice system, youth rights, restorative practices, social justice, Indigenous practices, and youth advocacy.  He teaches these topics at several Toronto-based colleges, including Toronto Metropolitan University, Sheridan College, and Durham College. Joe serves in a variety of family counselling and court-ordered supervised access program positions. Joe identifies as Ojibwe, First Nations and is especially aware of the challenges that Indigenous and other marginalized youth face.  Tune in to learn more about how restorative justice offers a meaningful alternative to punitive systems by promoting accountability without shame, and how youth themselves begin to use these tools in their homes and schools. 

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada, Pat Lewis, for a special IIRP Canada series, highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode, they welcome dedicated community leader, Nicole Chouinard, to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Nicole joins us to share how she and her team collaborate with schools across seven communities and over 30 schools to embed restorative practices early on—training teachers, engaging parents, and creating safe, supportive spaces for students. In a region deeply shaped by transient workforces and past emergencies, these efforts are helping young people build lasting relationships, cultural pride, and emotional safety. Sharing her journey into restorative justice and the stories of youth who were positively affected by their involvement in restorative justice processes, she highlights the emotional depth of her work—navigating the unpredictability of human experience while advocating for victims’ voices and supporting accused youth on their healing journeys. Nicole and her husband have called the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) home since 2009, where they live, work, and play.  In 2012, Nicole transitioned into her role as a leader within the RCMP Support Services Branch, where she became involved with Victim Services and Restorative Justice. The exposure to these programs opened a passion to advocate for change in how justice is viewed, amplification of victims’ voices, better understanding of why a client causes harm, and improvement of community connections and supports. In 2020, Nicole started the process to grow Restorative Justice within the RMWB and has been instrumental in its success, including continued collaboration with stakeholders and the community. Since completing her Legal Assistant Diploma through SAIT in 2007, Nicole has been embedded in careers with legal backgrounds through work with quasi-judicial boards including the National Energy Board, Alberta Energy Regulator, Assessment Review Board, and the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.  Tune in to understand how restorative practices can prevent violence, promote healing, and empower youth.

Claire de Mézerville López is joined by co-host, Executive Director of IIRP Canada Pat Lewis, for a special series with IIRP Canada highlighting the use of restorative practices and restorative justice across Canada. In this episode they welcome seasoned educator, consultant, and curriculum specialist, Angela Green, to the Restorative Works! Podcast. Join us as Angela helps us explore the intersection of restorative practices and education in the Canadian context. Sharing how she integrates restorative practices into literacy, numeracy, and school improvement initiatives, Angela discusses the power of relationships in the classroom, the importance of psychological safety for learning, and how formative assessment fosters student engagement. Through personal stories and practical insights, Angela challenges the misconception that relationship-building and curriculum development exist in opposition. She highlights how restorative practices enhance student voice, support universal design for learning, and create environments where both teachers and students feel empowered to take academic risks. Angela Green is a former elementary educator and consultant who is passionate about the power of relationships and thrives on fostering positive learning communities for adults and young people.  As a curriculum specialist in literacy and numeracy, Angela has engaged in instructional design, school improvement planning, and consulting using a restorative practices approach for over 30 years. She is currently an instructor for IIRP Canada and an adjunct mathematics education instructor at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.  Tune in to learn more about how Canadian educators are using restorative practices to integrate student voice, emotional safety, and academic rigor into their classroom environments.

The Power of Storytelling is a special collaboration episode between Minorities in Publishing and the Restorative Works! Podcast. Through the power of storytelling, we aim to engage powerful leaders and activists in conversations around keeping hope in dire times; giving back power to communities; radical empathy; arts as means to tell real life stories, and the effects of genuine engagement in community resilience. Listen to learn from critical storytellers and educators including Jennifer Coreas, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and Tiffany Yu, who have been foundational in bringing awareness to societal issues and community movements through storytelling and literacy.  Jennifer Baker is an author, editor, writing instructor, and creator of the Minorities in Publishing podcast. She’s been a recipient of NYSCA/NYFA and Queens Council on the Arts grants, a 2024 Axinn Writing Award, and was named the Publishers Weekly Star Watch SuperStar in 2019. She edited the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (2018) and is the author of Forgive Me Not (2023) a 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, an NYPL 2023 Best Book for Teens, and 2023 Best of the Best by the BCALA.  Jennifer Coreas is the coordinator and cofounder of the program Literacy for Reconciliation for ConTextos in El Salvador and Chicago. Her work extends from curriculum development and teaching to advocacy, training, and facilitation of dialogue. She has led the work and the vision for ConTextos’s work in prisons and communities, accompanied authors in their journeys of self-discovery, and brought their stories to hundreds of teachers, psychologists, and social workers in professional development spaces. She has been recognized with numerous fellowships and scholarships including the Rocky Gooch Memorial Scholarship and the Esperanza Fellowship. She holds degrees from El Salvador in English as a second language and applied linguistics, and she received a master’s degree in English from Middlebury College in 2018. Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Executive Director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that is radically transforming the access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries in prisons across this country. Betts has authored several books including the poetry collections Bastards of the Reagan Era and Felon. Tiffany Yu is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to elevate disability pride, the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, and the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World. Her TED Talk, How to Help Employees with Disabilities Thrive, has over one million views.  She serves on the NIH National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research and was a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit. At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father. Tune in to hear these influential voices speak on the power of transforming stories into actionable change in the worlds of criminal justice, disability awareness, and publishing.