Restorative Justice Principles, Their Benefits, and How You Can Incorporate Them into Your Practice
May 2, 2024 | noon - 1:15 p.m.
Zoom only
Program Description:
This CLE program will introduce restorative justice principles and a variety of ways in which RJ can be applied in our mediation and legal practices. A panel of RJ practitioners will share RJ basics and the impact of RJ practices in their work, including honoring that most people already include elements of restorative justice in their work and lives generally.
Speaker Bios:
Melora Bentz (she/her) is an attorney, mediator, human relations consultant, and restorative justice facilitator focused on helping people transform conflict into opportunity. She mediates court cases throughout Colorado, facilitates difficult conversations in the workplace, and coaches leaders to become better leaders. Melora is a passionate Restorative Practices and Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity educator. She facilitates restorative justice circles for the Conflict Center in conjunction with Restorative Denver. As a restorative justice facilitator, she advocates for equal access to justice and guides individuals and communities to positive transformation despite difficult situations. She serves on the ADR Section Executive Council, and is co-chair of its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Committee. At Middle Path Mediation, she leads parties in conflict to a middle path, a workable ground, toward resolution. In her free time, she might be
lost in Arches National Park, nurturing her green thumb, or mediating for her cat and dog.
Liz Porter-Merrill (she/they) grew up on Colorado’s Western Slope, graduated as a double Buff from the University of Colorado undergrad and Colorado Law, and clerked for a Colorado trial court judge and appellate court judge before becoming a public defender. After ten years advocating for her incarcerated clients in the appellate courts, Liz transitioned into a position focusing on restorative justice at the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. She supports defense attorneys, prosecutors, victim advocates, and judges navigate restorative justice law and practices. Liz also serves as the public defender representative on the Colorado Restorative Justice Council, an organization that guides statewide restorative justice policy.
Liz aspires to create structures for and to practice compassionate accountability, healing, and transformation for all. She regularly facilitates high-impact dialogues (aka victim offender dialogues) and circle process to support people impacted by the criminal legal system – both harmed people and people responsible for harm. Liz loves to teach about RJ and transformative justice, including how to facilitate, and is often called upon by criminal system agencies to guide the implementation or expansion of community-based RJ programs. Her passion project is Project: Elevate!, working to empower people with lived experience of incarceration revision community corrections and lead a restorative way forward for re-entry. Liz's greatest inspiration for cultivating RJ and TJ is her imaginative, adventure-loving daughter, a budding circle keeper herself.
Peggy Evans (she, her), is delighted to be mediating for the Office of Dispute Resolution in Colorado. She has been mediating family, workplace, community cases and facilitating Restorative Justice Practices since 1992. Formerly, the Director of FACE-to-FACE Mediation Services, a community mediation and restorative justice program, serving Colorado’s 18th Judicial District. Peggy is grounded in facilitative, interest-based and restorative mediation styles.
Peggy had a 2013 legislative appointment to the Colorado Restorative Justice Council and was a member at large for the Probation Advisory Committee. She is certified as a Collaborative, Facilitative and Interest-Based Mediator by Phoenix Strategies, Inc. Peggy was the Training Director for the Restorative Mediation Project and has contracted with the Colorado Department of Youth Corrections and SB94 organizations. She continues a contract with the United States Postal Service Redress program since 1997. She provided domestic and county civil mediations for ODR JD18, 1998-2001 and statewide since 2011. She also mediated for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1997-2000, and restorative justice victim-sensitive dialogues for JD 18 Probation and the Division of Youth Corrections. Peggy has studied Dialogue as a true and effective communication style and community building techniques and works to expand the implementation of restorative, value-based
programs to create a healthier, more civil society.