Claire de Mézerville López welcomes award-winning public servant leader, Ruchelle Pride, to Restorative Works! Podcast.

Ruchellespeaks to us about working with people involved in the justice system. She speaks to engaging with people in ways that subvert the traditional experience of the justice system, one that removes conflict from the stakeholders and never asks them what they truly need to feel that justice has served them. By giving the conflict back to the people affected by it, stakeholders have the choice to participate in determining their needs.

She also discusses the social determinants of health, including structural and systemic barriers like slavery, Jim Crow laws, discrimination in housing, and segregation, and how we move forward strategically by including those most impacted by these systems. Through impromptu conversations, formal conferences, mediation, and providing high support, we can let those affected be the driving force for change in their lives. Ruchelle reminds us to recognize where we have been and where we are now; those places are the map to where we need to go while focusing on driving change through practice, process, and policy.

Ruchelle has almost two decades of expertise in criminal justice, youth services, advocacy, and leadership. In 2021, Ruchelle became the first Black woman appointed as Director under the Franklin County Board of Commissioners to lead the Office of Justice Policy & Programs (OJPP) and CASA of Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio. She is a fierce advocate for prison reform and disrupting the business of mass incarceration. Ruchelle holds a Master of Science in Restorative Practices from the International Institute for Restorative Practices and completed her undergraduate coursework at Franklin University in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She is a transformational public speaker, Life Coach, and CertifiedDiversity Executive.