LEADERS IN ACTION
Community and restorative justice has grown tremendously in recent decades in thanks to countless individuals, organizations, communities, and groups who work tirelessly on these efforts across the U.S. and world. As part of its national conference, NACRJ recognizes leaders in six categories who have a consistent record of putting the NACRJ mission and vision into action.
Nominations will open in advance of the 2024 conference. NACRJ members are invited to submit nominations at that time.

Background
NACRJ honors the memory of John W. Byrd with the biannual Education and Training Award for Community and Restorative Justice in his name.
John W. Byrd had an incurably positive attitude and modeled selflessness, humility, kindness, commitment to family, self-reflection, and genuine concern and respect for others. These attributes were magnetic and served as guideposts to many. He had a way of making everyone feel important. John wanted to improve society and envisioned what could be.
In 2001, John was at a National Institute of Corrections seminar on restorative justice on September 11 when the Twin Towers fell. Two attendees lost family members that day. That week was a galvanizing experience for John. He committed his professional and personal life to broadening the use of restorative justice in Texas and across the nation.
As a faculty member at the University of Texas at San Antonio, John introduced students to theory and research on restorative and community justice. His students learned to think critically about the justice system and consider the potential of restorative and community justice to prevent crime, reduce recidivism and promote higher quality of life in communities.
He used the emerging research to train practitioners and educate the community about the potential of restorative and community justice to provide more effective responses to crime, treatment of offenders under supervision, and reentry programming. For several years he led an effort San Antonio Restorative Justice Community Initiative which resulted in: a two year community education project; the creation of a community reentry roundtable and the development of neighborhood based applications of restorative and community justice principles and practices; and, the 1st National Conference on Restorative Justice in 2007.
John brought out the best in those around him and left the world a better and more positive place. He worked tirelessly to build a better, safer and more livable society.
Award Criteria
The award shall recognize individuals, organizations or groups for a record of sustained and important contributions to restorative and/or community justice education, training, or practice focused on producing safe, just, equitable and livable communities through:
- K-12 Education,
- Higher Education,
- Employee/Staff Training,
- Application of theory to practice, and
- Program design and implementation.
Restorative Justice – promoting safer neighborhoods by healing individual harms:
- Focus on healing the harms caused by crimes (or other harmful conduct) rather than the rules that have been broken.
- Show equal concern and commitment for both victims and offenders, involving both in the process.
- Work toward restoration of the victim or victim’s family by empowering them and attending to their needs as they see them.
- Support offenders, while encouraging them to understand, accept, and carry out their obligations.
- Recognize that obligations of an offender to a victim(s) may be difficult for offenders but those obligations must be achievable and should not be imposed as harms.
- Provide opportunities for dialogue, direct and indirect, between victims and offenders as appropriate.
- Find meaningful ways to involve the community and respond to the community bases of crime or other harmful conduct.
- Encourage collaboration and reintegration of victims and offenders, rather than coercion and isolation.
- Show respect for all parties-victims, offender, community, and justice officials.
- Strengthen the capacity of residents for pro-social self-governance and collective actions.
Community Justice – Promoting higher quality of life in neighborhoods by healing communities
- Promote social justice and ethics of care within the neighborhood and across the larger community.
- Focus on strengthening the capacity of neighborhoods for self-governance and collective action to reduce, improve, or solve community problems.
- Strengthen pro-social norms within neighborhoods.
- Strengthen the capacity of residents to work collaboratively toward creating a safer community with higher quality of life.
- Promote mutually respectful collaborations with government agencies (i.e., social service, code compliance, law enforcement and other justice systems, etc.) to improve social conditions within the neighborhood.
Past Recipients of the John W. Byrd Education and Training Award
2017 Recipient
Loyola Marymount University, Intercultural Facilitator Program
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is effectively challenging itself to establish authentic, non- traditional student engagement, by creating spaces for students to manage the dissonance between the promise of equality for all and the reality of their lived experiences. At the center of this multifaceted process is a revolutionary student-led effort called the Intercultural Facilitator (IF) Program. These students, educated in social justice pedagogy. are highly skilled in principles of mediation and facilitation. Such efforts relate to ongoing LMU projects focused on restorative justice, including the killing of unarmed black men and women by police which has divided our country.
Intercultural Facilitator Program, LMU Department of Public Safety and The Los Angeles Police Department collaborated to create a program that would allow students to candidly question law enforcement officers on police policy, tactics, training, and racial profiling. The Los Angeles Police Department committed more than 20 law enforcement participants, including division commanders, captains, sergeants and rank and file officers to the discussion. Consequently, this program provided an opportunity for students to gain greater clarity and awareness of LAPD policies and procedures, gain a better understanding of the myths and realities of policing and for the officers and student to see each other as human beings. It was an emotional, brutally honest conversation that confronted systems of privilege, fostered new understandings, and encouraged a greater appreciation of our common humanity.
2015 Recipient
Ms. Nancy Riestenberg, Restorative Practices Specialist for the Minnestoa Department of Education.
Nancy Riestenberg has dedicated her professional life to helping communities and schools become safe, livable, and effective places for people to thrive. She has done this through education, training and writing.
She has worked with school districts across Minnesota and in 20 other states. Her work has had broad impact which can be seen in the growing rate of adoption of restorative practices by schools across the nation. This is, in part, due to her books Circle in the Square: Building Community and Repairing Harm in Schools (2012) and Restorative Approaches to Conflict in Schools: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Whole School Approaches to Managing Relationships (2014).
Signs of her work can be seen in Texas. Over the last several years she has worked on a project directed by Dr. Marilyn Armour, Director of the Institute for Restorative Justice and Restorative Dialogue at The University of Texas at Austin, College of Social Work. This project has dramatically changed the school climate at the Ed White Middle School (Northeast Independent School District) in San Antonio, TX. The outcomes of this project have led to a new statewide effort to introduce restorative practices and restorative discipline in Texas schools.
2013 Recipient
Dr. Daniel Van Ness, Executive Director, Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, Prison Fellowship International.
2011 Recipient
Lorenn Walker, J. D., MPH, Restorative Law Practitioner, Waialua, Hawaii.
2009 Recipient
Dr. Mark Umbreit, Executive Director, Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota.

Mark Umbreit receives the John W. Byrd Award, presented by Dr. Michael Gilbert.
2022 Award Recipient - Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation
Chicago, Illinois
Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation works with youth and families who have been impacted by violence and incarceration through Radical Hospitality, Accompaniment, Relentless Engagement of Youth and Families, Engagement of Stakeholders and Systems, and Collaboration. PBMR recognizes that many young people and families have suffered trauma in their lives. Through mentoring and case management, trained staff strive to meet members of the community where they are at and build relationships in order to help them feel safe. PBMR helps youth and families build the confidence and trust to access services and support, and attention is given to mentoring and programming that allows for stories to be told.
Background
NACRJ honors the memory of Bert Thompson with an award in his name. Bert Thompson embodied unwavering faith; his community and restorative justice work reflected his faith-filled efforts. This award recognizes individuals and organizations who embody the characteristics that Bert brought to his work to broaden the application of community and restorative justice principles and practices.
Community and restorative justice thrive when community partnerships and collaborative networks are created with synergy and connectivity. Bert Thompson lived this principle as a consummate networker. His successes were the result of partnerships with people of many faiths to promote peace and justice. His efforts were dedicated to reintegrating offenders and assisting victims through faith–based applications of community and restorative justice principles and practices.
Servant leadership and volunteerism were reflected in Bert’s life as he worked tirelessly simply for the satisfaction of being useful as a servant to his community and to the restorative justice movement. Mr. Thompson was a role model and mentor who encouraged people to work toward greater personal involvement in their communities. His work was to connect people and employ community and restorative justice principles and practice to help others.
Vision and “forward” thinking combined with faith-driven optimism described Bert’s desire to see that community and restorative justice principles and practices become integral problem solving strategies for individuals and their communities. Bert was a statesman, finding common interests that often brought differing perspectives together by focusing on strategies to build safer, more livable communities that spend less on justice systems.
Award Criteria
Recipients of this award have:
- A record of important and sustained contributions to the faith-based programs and services that deliver community and restorative justice practices that produce safer and more livable communities.
- A life’s work that reflects leadership and innovation in the community as well as the restorative justice movement.
- Reflected an ideal of encouragement to those who reinvent their lives after imprisonment.
- Embodied steadfast faith and idealism in their work
- A record of successes in the community and the prison system that reveal examples of guidance, encouragement, and an ability to be a role model.
- A background of volunteerism, leadership, and the capability to interact with a variety of individuals.
Past Recipients of the Bert Thompson Faith-Based Award
2017 Recipient
Eric Boldiszar - Inmate at Handlon Correctional Facility, Ionia, MI
Eric Boldiszar and 19 other men are students in the Calvin Prison Initiative, a five year program after which inmates will receive a bachelor's degree from Calvin College. Eric invited Jared Ortiz, a professor from Hope College, to speak to this group about restorative justice. A friendship developed and Eric had the idea of organizing a conference on restorative justice which could be co-sponsored by Hope College, the Calvin Prison Initiative, and the Saint Benedict Institute, the local Catholic intellectual and spiritual ministry which serves Hope College. Eric and his friends at Handlon Correctional Facility organized the full-day conference set for March 4, 2017. They conceived it, chose the speakers, wrote to the speakers, picked the topics and the panels, and even insisted on providing hospitality for the participants.
Under Eric's leadership, these men invited ten different organizations (mostly faith-based organizations that serve prisoners) to be present so these people could learn more about the work of restorative justice and get involved. The inmates also wrote and recorded three talks: one on the meaning of restorative justice, another on the various vocational programs at Handlon, and a third which was a call to prayer for victims, communities, and offenders. More than 300 people attended the conference which is also now available on YouTube for people to keep learning.* These men at Handlon, locked behind bars, were able to be a gift to the outside world. They not only have learned about restorative justice, but are practicing it and teaching it to others.
2015 Recipient
Scott Wood, JD, Professor of Law, Founder of the Loyola Law School Center for Restorative Justice
Professor Scott Wood is an unsung hero of restorative justice in Los Angeles. He has played a leadership role in his faith community for many years on promoting restorative justice in schools, courts, prisons, re-entry programs, as well as policy and sentencing reform. Scott has served as the Chair of the Board of the Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative, as the Founder of the Loyola Law School Center for Restorative Justice, a leader in the Southern California Catholics Against the Death Penalty, in the promotion of Proposition 34 to end the Death Penalty, in the exoneration case of Francisco Carrillo, Jr. after 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, and an organizer for American Martyrs Catholic Parish in Manhattan Beach, CA – including 2 mission trips to visit prisoners in Guatemala, including the coordination of a visit to Guatemala by Fr. Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries. Scott has overcome numerous health challenges in the past years and yet remains a strong voice of the LA faith community for restorative justice.
2011 Recipient
Alexander McLean, JD, African Prisons Project, London, UK and Kampala, Uganda.
2009 Recipient
John Sage, Founder & Executive Director, Bridges to Life, Houston, TX.
2022 Award Recipient - Thalia González
University of California Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA

Left: Thalia González Right: Thalia González (right), pictured with NACRJ Board Member Dr. Mara Schiff, accepts the Research/Journalism Award at the 2022 NACRJ National Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Thalia González is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of Law where she holds a Harry & Lillian Hastings Research Chair. She is also a Senior Scholar in the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown University Law Center where she leads national research and policy advocacy on restorative justice. Professor González is the author of more than 40 academic publications and currently an editor of the North American Volume of the International Encyclopedia of Restorative Justice (forthcoming 2023). Her interdisciplinary scholarship appears in top law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, book, policy reports, white papers, issue briefs, court opinions, and legislative trend analyses, as well as in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. In recognition of her research, Professor González has been selected as a 2022–2024 Restorative Justice Research Community Research Fellow supported by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. In the field of restorative justice, she has been awarded research grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Grantmakers for Girls of Color, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and Spencer Foundation. Professor González is Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Alternative Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice Committee and serves on the design and research teams for the San Francisco Truth, Justice & Reconciliation Commission.
Award Background
NACRJ endorses, encourages and supports both well-designed academic research (qualitative, quantitative, legal, and theoretical) and thorough, unbiased investigative journalism, in print or media, which explore potential or actual applications of community and restorative justice theory and/or practices that contribute to the development of safe, just and equitable communities. NACRJ periodically recognizes accomplishments by journalists and academic researchers with its Research/Journalism Award. Going forward, this award is named in the memory of Dr. Gordon Bazemore, an early pioneer of the modern-day restorative justice movement.

Gordon Bazemore 1951-2021
Dr. Bazemore began his work with restorative justice in the early 1990s. From 1997-2007, he directed the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Project, which was among the first to integrate restorative justice philosophy into juvenile justice systems across the country. Gordon was a prolific and visionary writer, publishing three co-authored books and over 100 academic journal articles and book chapters focused on juvenile and restorative justice. Gordon was a faculty member at Florida Atlantic University's School of Public Administration and later the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, where he served as Director for six years. In 2013, Gordon
was the first recipient of the NACRJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Read Dr. Bazemore’s obituary and a memorial written by NACRJ Board Member Dr. Mara Schiff.
Award Criteria
Academic Research
- The researcher(s) being recognized have published their research in established academic outlets (peer reviewed journals, law journals, academic books, or monographs published by university research institutes or highly regarded private research institutes).
- The central research questions explored by the research publications are directly relevant to restorative justice or community justice theory, application, or evaluation.
- The researcher’s publication(s) provide a substantively relevant literature review which demonstrates a sound understanding of theory, values, and principles of community and restorative justice.
- The researcher’s publication(s) demonstrate that the researcher(s) applied relevant theory, values, and principles to inform the design or theoretical/legal exploration of the research questions explored.
Investigative Journalism
- The print or media investigative journalist (or group of journalists) recognized have published their article(s) in credible journalistic or media outlets that have well established reputations for maintaining high ethical standards for journalistic ethics [see the code of ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists and the Center for Investigative Reporting].
- The substantive focus of the investigative research project is directly relevant to community and restorative justice theory, application, evaluation, or impacts.
- The journalist’s work(s) demonstrate that the journalist(s) has a sound understanding of the theory, values, and principles of community and restorative justice.
- The journalist’s work(s) in its published or final form, explore and discuss the topic in informed ways consistent with theory, values, and principles of community and restorative justice.
Past Recipients of the Research / Journalism Award
2019 Recipient
Danielle Sered
Executive Director of Common Justice, New York, NY
2017 Recipient
Dr. Marilyn Armour
Institute for Restorative Justice, Austin, TX
Dr. Marilyn Armour is a leading national scholar on restorative justice theory, practice, implementation and evaluation. She has authored or co-authored five books dealing with restorative justice, with the most recent one on “dyadic forgiveness” as it relates to healing processes for those involved in severe harms. In 2010 she coauthored Restorative Dialogue: An Essential Guide for Research and Practice with Dr. Mark Umbreit, a key resource for academics and practitioners. Since 1994 she has published 39 peer reviewed journal articles, 21 book chapters, and 9 monographs related to program evaluations. Over half of these writings relate directly to the theory, practice and evaluation of restorative justice.
Within the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin she established the Institute for Restorative Justice and Restorative Dialogue (IRJRD) in 2008, which has provided trainings, education on restorative justice principles and practice models, guidance and consultation on program development, and evaluation research on program effectiveness.
Their largest project to date has been a statewide effort to provide training for educators across Texas on the application of restorative practices in schools to promote a positive school climate, foster self-governance among students, and provide restorative responses to student misconduct.
2022 Award Recipient - Circles & Ciphers
Chicago, Illinois
Circles & Ciphers is a Black youth-led organization that uses restorative practices, mutual aid, accompaniment, and the art of Hip-Hop expression to support, nurture, and teach young people of color (ages 14-29) suffering from the impact by violence. Created in 2011, Circles & Ciphers provides safe spaces for young people impacted by the criminal legal system and community violence to gather in Hip-Hop centric peace circles, build community, and heal. We offer opportunities to young people to express their emotions, build leadership skills, share their experiences, reflect and be free to be who they are without boundaries.
Award Background
NACRJ periodically recognizes individuals, groups, or programs for a record of important and sustained contributions to youth-based community and restorative justice. This Dennis Maloney award is named in the memory of Dennis Maloney, an individual whose dedication to youth-based restorative justice is still being heralded and followed today.
Dennis Maloney or “Denny” as he was better known, was a charismatic, larger-than-life leader who was influential in the community and restorative justice movement. Having attended Ohio State University as a proud Buckeye, Denny served his alma mater and fellow community and restorative justice peers well.
His achievements included the establishment of community and restorative justice initiatives in the Deschutes County (Oregon) juvenile justice system. In addition, the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) project continues to influence the juvenile justice system in a number of states. His work has inspired many of the leaders in today’s community and restorative and justice fields.
Award Criteria
Recipients of this award have:
- Compiled a record of important and sustained contributions to youth-based community and restorative justice programs.
- A life’s work dedicated to the juvenile justice system or youth-based restorative justice programs.
- Succeeded at being a role model in the community, providing needed guidance and encouragement.
- A resume that demonstrates innovation in youth-based community and restorative justice practices.
Past Recipients of the Youth-Based Award
2019 Recipient
Cindy Bigbie
Coordinator | Community Connections, Tallahassee, FL
2017 Recipient
Ayesha Brooks
Restorative Practices in Schools, Los Angeles, CA
Ayesha Brooks, born and raised in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, experienced many of the challenges that face urban youth, and thus she has used her compassion, ability, and training in the service of her community and others like it for over twenty-five years. Her commitment to working with all members of a community to build better relationships and change the culture and climate of her schools in positive ways led her to become involved with restorative practices as the most effective way to achieve her goals. Since receiving her MS degree from the International Institute of Restorative Practices she has pioneered the use of restorative practices first in Watts and Compton and then in the Fontana Unified School District.
While serving on the LAUSD’s Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Task Force, she co-drafted the School Climate Bill of Rights and worked to set district-wide student discipline policies and procedures. Additionally, while acting as Restorative Justice Coordinator and the PBIS Coordinator at Markham Middle School, she was able to succeed with a diverse student population that needed a multi-tiered approach to discipline, including support of the social and emotional growth of her students and the development of effective communication rather than suspension and expulsion and addressed the school-to-prison issue at its root. The number of suspensions at Markham dropped 50% under her guidance, side-by-side with a dramatic improvement in school climate. Similarly, her work with Truman Middle School resulted in the reduction of suspensions by 71%. When she extended her field to the Fontana School District as Coordinator of Climate and Culture, she was the only person trained in restorative practices; there are now over 100 trained practitioners. Ms. Brooks facilitates, co-facilitates, coaches, observes and provides feedback for everyone trained in her district, ensuring the continuation and spread of restorative practices.
2015 Recipients
Cheryl Graves, Ora Schub and Robert Spicer
Community Justice for Youth Institute
The 2015 Dennis Maloney Award was presented to Community Justice for Youth Institute (CJYI) specifically recognizing the deep commitment and relational justice approaches used by its key personnel - Cheryl Graves, Ora Schub and Robert Spicer. Collectively, they have been instrumental in providing a range of programs and services to youth residing in high crime areas of Chicago that employ relational strategies of community and restorative justice. These include:
- Street Law Peer Education Project
- Girl Talk
- Community Panels for Youth
- Restorative Justice Peer Juries in Public Schools
Interestingly both Cheryl Graves and Ora Schub were good friends with Dennis Maloney, the name sake for this award.
2013 Recipients
Dr. Fania E. Davis & Mr. Eric Butler
Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY)
2022 Award Recipient - Margaret Thorsborne
Pioneer, Author, Practitioner, Trainer
Margaret is a pioneer of Restorative Practice in schools in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-late 90’s, and the UK in the early 2000’s. She has since trained conference facilitators in education, community, police and justice sectors across Australia, SE Asia, China, South Korea, New Zealand, UK, USA, and Canada. She remains involved in this important reform in schools, particularly around whole school implementation.
Marg has continued to widen the use of restorative measures by applying the principles and philosophy of conferencing and restorative approaches in workplaces in private and public sectors to rebuild relationships in the wake of a wide range of difficulties, including workplace bullying and high level conflict. She is board member and current Chair of Restorative Practice International, a not-for-profit membership organization. Marg has been awarded the Order of Australia for her services to education.
Award Background
NACRJ periodically honors a person for lifetime achievements in restorative and/or community justice. Those recognized are individuals who have made vital contributions to community and restorative justice education, research and/or practice.
Award Criteria
Recipients of this award have:
- Worked in restorative and/or community justice fields.
- Made exemplary contributions to the understanding and application of community and restorative justice over an entire career with a definable body of work through one or more of the following:
- Public Speaking
- Teaching/Training
- Research
- Collaborative Work
- Publications
- Professional Practice
- Embodied the principles and practices of community and restorative justice within their personal and professional lives.
- Mentored people in community and restorative justice fields.
- Been a living role model who inspires others.
- Worked in the best interest of the greater good.
- Advanced the fields of community and restorative justice nationally and/or internationally.
Past Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award
2019 Recipient
Fania Davis
Co-Founder and former Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY)
2017 Recipient
Ted Wachtel
Founder of IIRP (International Institute for Restorative Practices) Bethlehem, PA
Ted Wachtel is the founder and former President of the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) Graduate School (http://www.iirp.edu). A former public school teacher, Wachtel was one of the first educators to recognize the positive impact of restorative practices in school, family and workplace settings. Educator, inspirational speaker and author, Wachtel has been in the vanguard of this transformational movement. In 1977, Wachtel and his wife, Susan, co-founded Community Service Foundation & Buxmont Academy (CSF Buxmont), which now encompasses six alternative schools, 12 foster group homes and probation, drug and alcohol and conferencing programs for delinquent and at-risk youth. CSF Buxmont utilizes restorative practices as its guiding principle.
The IIRP was established in 1999 to further the spread of restorative practices. It was accredited as a master’s-degree granting graduate school in 2011. Wachtel co-authored two best-selling books for parents of troubled adolescents in the 1980s: Toughlove and Toughlove Solutions. During this time, he appeared on national television shows, including Donahue and the Mike Douglas Show. Wachtel is the author and co-author of a number of books, including Real Justice, The Conferencing Handbook, the Restorative Practices Handbook, and Restorative Circles in Schools, as well as numerous articles on restorative practices, He has been a guest speaker at conferences on restorative practices and restorative justice around the world. The IIRP Graduate School is now a leading global provider of restorative practices training, consulting, educational materials and international conferences for professionals in education, criminal justice and social services.
2015 Recipient
Kay Pranis
Restorative Justice Practitioner, Theorist, and Author
Over nearly all of the last 30 years Kay Pranis has been a leader in the movement to promote broader applications of relational justice (i.e., restorative justice and community justice) strategies to conflicts, crimes and community problems. Her work has helped people to address conflicts, repair harms and relationships, and helped communities to create safer neighborhoods and better schools.
Her work has contributed markedly to the foundations that guide the modern practice of victim-offender mediation as a diversionary alternative to traditional justice, post-conviction victim-offender dialogue to bring healing to victims and offenders, and the use of circle processes in community justice problem solving and resolution and healing of community conflicts. The extent of her influence on the development of restorative practices as a viable response to conflict, crime, harms and community problems cannot be overstated. It can be seen everywhere.
2013 Recipient
Dr. Gordon Bazemore
Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2022 Award Recipient - Silas Deane
Founder and Director of Community Readiness at Tyler Technologies, Nashville, Tennessee

Left: Silas Deane Right: Silas Deane (right), pictured with NACRJ Board Member Lee Rush, accepts the Leadership and Innovation Award at the 2022 NACRJ National Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
Silas Deane is the founder and director of Community Readiness at Tyler Technologies. Silas discovered the issue of reentry in our corrections system during an internship in college. After traveling to over 50 jails across the country and asking those in leadership for the current list of resources they provide to inmates, he realized that the criminal justice system lacked reentry infrastructure.
This realization prompted him to start the Resource Project to change the incentives of the corrections industry and connect those incarcerated and the community. Using his platform, those incarcerated can access kiosks, find aid or job opportunities, submit applications, start communication, and have the need to wait when they leave the facility. This process evolves the mores of reentry and creates real change in the lives of millions of Americans.
The Resource Project, now Community Readiness, is a division of S&P 500 Company Tyler Technologies, launching across +600 facilities and integrating with court systems to enable more successful data for reentry across the United States. This software bridges the gap between the jail and the community, providing the opportunity for responsibility to millions of Americans.
Award Background
NACRJ periodically recognizes individuals, groups, or programs that have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and/or innovation in community and restorative justice education, research, and/or practice.
Award Criteria
Recipients of this award have:
- Made innovative contributions to the theory or practice in the field to broaden the application, apply principles and values, or develop new perspectives based on community and restorative justice.
- Continually sought innovative ways to improve his/her/their work and create outstanding results in community and restorative justice.
- Pursued opportunities and innovative ways to advance community and restorative justice
- Recognized, understood, and appreciated that people from multiple cultures and experiences view problems and opportunities differently.
- Set an example by dealing ethically in relationships and by maintaining the highest personal standards.
- Been seen as a bridge builder and peacemaker by others..
- Modeled the principles, values and practices of community and restorative justice by:
- Taking prompt, decisive action to avoid or resolve problems.
- Sharing responsibility, leadership, vision, talent, and credit with others.
- Extending respect and courtesy to others, no matter how difficult the circumstances.
- Conducting their personal and professional lives consistent with restorative principles, values and practices.
Past Recipients of the Leadership and Innovation Award
2019 Recipient
David Karp
Professor
School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA.
Leadership and Innovation Award in Community and Restorative Justice—Recognizes individuals, groups or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the fields of restorative and community justice. Click here for David’s accomplishments
2017 Recipient
Sujatha Baliga
Promoting Youth RJ Diversion Programs, Bay Area, CA
Sujatha Baliga is a pioneer in the restorative justice movement, particularly in the creation of restorative youth diversion programs in the Bay Area, which have become models for restorative youth diversion programs throughout California and nationwide. The first of these programs—Restorative Community Conferencing (RCC) juvenile diversion program in Alameda County, CA—currently keeps up to 100 youth out of the juvenile justice system each year. Data collected from over 100 young people who participated in RCC revealed substantial decreases in recidivism rates and costs for youth going through the RCC programs. Survivors have consistently reported very high rates of satisfaction with the program. This landmark set of data has led to the implementation of similar RCC programs in ten cities nationwide.
Sujatha's work of centering crime survivors’ identified needs while simultaneously reducing the role of punishment and disproportionate racial and ethnic contact in our justice processes extends far beyond her diversion work in the Bay Area. She has been nationally-recognized as a leading voice both in restorative justice and in the crime survivors’ movement, and has sought to utilize the approach of restorative justice in ending child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence as well. She brings her personal story of forgiveness as a survivor to bear in every group, and invites others to "bring conflict first to the source with love."
2015 Recipient
Janice Jerome
Executive Director
Restorative Justice Institute of Atlanta, LLC
Janice Jerome demonstrates the type of leadership that draws people from the community to Restorative Justice work. Through her leadership she is able to help them address community problems using dialogue driven practices rooted in the values and principles of restorative and community justice.
Her work is through the Restorative Justice Institute of Atlanta as well as her church which supports and promotes her community organizing efforts. These efforts have made a difference in the lives of many people as well as the communities in which they live and work. In these ways she has helped members of her community understand and respond to harms and conflicts in constructive ways that are effective while also promoting peace, understanding, reparation and accountabilty.
She is a consummate leader with a vision of a more constructive future which she is able to convey and motivate others to work toward. She uses a dialogue driven personal style that is respectful, considerate, informed, and open. As a result, Janice is able to motivate others to give their best efforts as they work together to develop and execute plans for a more just, livable, and safe community. She has wisdom beyond her years. This wisdome is combined with a strong work ethic and personal diligence. She seems tireless and able to do the work of several people with love, dignity, respect and integrity. She is a living model of effective leadership within the community and restorative justice movement.
As a side note, Janice Jerome received two nominations for the Leadership Award independent of one anothers. This is unusual and noteworthy in itself.
2011 Recipient
Janet Conner
Restorative Justice Educator, Victim Advocate and Peace Activist, Boston, MA.