Institute for Restorative Justice & Practices Conference 2023

THE PROCESS OF RES TO RATION START S HERE.

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES: Transcending Traditional Approaches to Training and Application

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WELCOME!

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2023

8 A.M. - 4 P.M. (EST) CHECK IN BEGINS AT 7:30 A.M.

Bowie State University

14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, MD 20715

Student Center / Wiseman Ballroom

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES:

Transcending Traditional Approaches to Training and Application

This conference provides a platform for practitioners, criminal justice agents, activists, community leaders, educators, students, policymakers, and experts to explore, discuss, and engage in experiential learning of indigenous restorative justice practices. The environment will foster a synergetic exchange of ideas and make space for the work of restoration in all its forms. FREE Continuing Education Units are available for eligible attendees.

THE PROCESS OF RES TO RATION START S HERE.

IRJP TEAM

FELLOWS

WORKSHOP FACILITATORS

MODERATOR

FOUNDER

DR. CHARLES ADAMS

CO-FOUNDER DR. MATASHA HARRIS

DR. OMETHA LEWIS-JACK

DR. WENDY M. EDMONDS

DR. NICOLE BRANCH-ELLIS

DR. SHANNELL C. THOMAS

DR. ASHLEY GRIFFIN GILCHRIST

DR. ANTHONY JACKSON

DR. ASHLEY GRIFFIN-GILCHRIST

DR. ANTHONY JACKSON

MS. DAPHNEY ADO-ADO

DR. CICELY J. COTTRELL

DR. SHANNELL THOMAS

DR. RON GARRETT

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

ENTERTAINMENT

SPECIAL EVENTS

FLORAL DESIGNER

PRESIDENT

SPECIAL THANKS

AMINTA BREAUX

U.S. CONGRESSMAN STENY H. HOYER

MS. SHINZIRA SHOMADE

MRS. VICTORIA KELLY

HANDS ON DRUM LEON TIMBO FAYCEZ U KNOW LENNARD JACK, JR.

ANNETTE WEDDERBURN

EMBELLISHED DETAILS

ASST. DIRECTOR

Dr. Charles B. Adams is a Criminologist and is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Human Services at Bowie State University. His works have highlighted the treatment of marginalized communities in the criminal justice system and the call to “reimagine” a new way of addressing criminalized behaviors and punishment.

He partnered with federal, state, local, and community organizations to address the issue of inequality in our justice systems through his work on police reform, school to prison pipeline, problem-solving courts, restorative justice, and returning citizens’ reentry. He has published scholarly articles, book chapters and presented papers at local and national conferences on topics ranging from racial impact statements; substance abuse and delinquency; militarization of the police; spatial analysis of crime patterns; racial profiling, and restorative justice. He is the founder of the Institute of Restorative

Justice and Practices at Bowie State University. A recipient of the Second Chance Pell Grant to offer post-secondary education to incarcerated citizens in Maryland. He is a current member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Western Society of Criminology, American Society of Criminology, American Sociological Association, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from Howard University.

Dr. Matasha L. Harris is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Bowie State University’s (BSU) Institute for Restorative Justice & Practices. She has specialized in restorative justice for over 15 years and affirms, through research and practice, the education and edification of incarcerated people and returning citizens.

In 2019, Dr. Harris served as coprincipal investigator for Bowie State University’s Second Chance Pell Grant Experimental Sites Initiative through the U.S. Department of Education. Her research and contributions to the proposed project in support of BSU receiving the designation as a Second Chance Pell Grant Experimental Site awardee was instrumental. Bowie State University was one of 67 colleges or universities selected for this program.

Currently, Dr. Harris serves as principal investigator for Bowie Stare University’s Restorative Justice and Practices Job Pilot Prison Program. This program is designed to provide participants within 12 months of release the skills and competencies necessary to gain successful

employment post-release. The multi-layered approach affords women incarcerated at Maryland Correctional Institution for Women an opportunity to receive college credits and training through Bowie State University.

Dr. Harris’ research is reflected in her book, Returning home: Intimate Partner Violence and Reentry, numerous journal articles, and book chapters. She received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, with a specialization in Public Policy, and a Master of Philosophy in Criminal Justice from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. She received a Master of Arts in Applied Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.

DR. MATASHA L. HARRIS

DAPHNEY DEESE ADO-ADO

Daphney Deese Ado-Ado is a Restorative Justice Coach and Social Justice Researcher. Currently, a Special Education Instructor Montgomery County Public Schools, a team member of the Anti-racist Implementation Team, and working to complete a professional training as a Thought Leader in Restorative and Social Justice. I am a member and leader for the Maryland State Teacher Association and Women’s Leadership Program since 2022, and I have worked with The International Association of Women (IWA) since 2019. Other areas of research include several Literature reviews, Data Analysis, Capstone Project, and research on Equity, Excellence and Education projects, Restorative Justice Leadership, and Social Justice.

DEGREE:

• Bowie State Educational Doctoral Candidate, Fall 2023

• Masters of Arts McDaniel College 2020

• Post Baccalaureate Certificate McDaniel College 2018

• Bachelor of Arts North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Speech

• Communications Theater Arts (Professional Media)

DR. CICELY J. COTTRELL

Dr. Cicely J. Cottrell is an Assistant Professor and the Program Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, where she challenges and supports her students in reimagining and reinventing the meaning of justice. In her current position, she revitalized the program of study for the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies to have an emphasis in restorative justice and criminal justice reform, which is unique and innovative for an undergraduate degree.

Dr. Cottrell is a restorative justice and practices trainer and practitioner with over ten years of experience in various local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies – such as the Kentucky Department of Corrections, Administrative Office of Kentucky Courts, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Job Corps Center, and the United States House Committee on the Judiciary.

WENDY M. EDMONDS, PH.D.

Dr. Edmonds is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Bowie State University, the oldest Historically Black College and University in Maryland. She is Chair of the Followership Learning Community at the International Leadership Association – the largest followership research and practitioner group in the world. Recognized internationally as a scholar-practitioner in followership, an emerging field of study in organizational leadership,

Dr. Edmonds is the author of inTOXICating FOLLOWERSHIP in the Jonestown Massacre and coeditor of When Leadership Fails:

Individual, Group and Organizational Lessons from the Worst Workplace Experiences.  Her most recent research focuses on the lived experiences of victims of domestic violence in relation to followership and the impact of spirituality.

Dr. Nicole Branch-Ellis hails from Barbados. She earned her Ph.D. from Howard University and seeks to bridge research with policy advocacy. Her research has focused on juvenile delinquency, justice reform and alternates to incarceration, which includes providing recommendations for juvenile justice reform to the government of Barbados. Her current research focuses on racial injustice, police impunity and restorative justice. As an Assistant Professor at Bowie State University, she teaches courses in juvenile and criminal justice, incorporating comparative international justice systems.

Throughout her career, Dr. Branch-Ellis has held a variety of research and youth advocacy positions with government agencies and non-profit organizations, the National Institute of Justice, DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, Child Trends Incorporated and the National Crime Prevention Council.

Passionate about the healthy well-being of children, she has volunteered with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Washington, DC.

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST

CONFERENCE AGENDA

7:30 am - 8:00 am Check-in/Registration

Shinzira Shomade and Victoria Kelly

8:00 am - 8:15 am Morning Vibrations Hands On Drum

8:15 am - 8:25 am Opening Remarks

8:25 am - 8:50 am Energy Experience

Dr. Charles Adams

Dr. Ometha Lewis-Jack & Lennard Jack, Jr.

8:55 am - 9:00 am Introduction of President Dr. Matasha L. Harris

9:00 am - 9:05 am Welcoming Remarks President Aminta H. Breaux

9:05 am - 9:20 am Transition to Workshops Ballroom B & C, Baltimore & Columbia

9:25 am - 10:55 am Morning Breakout Sessions: Interactive Workshops*

PreK- 12 Ms. Daphney D. Ado-Ado

Cultural Humility & Restorative Justice

Baltimore Room

Moderator: Dr. Ashley Gilchrist

Higher Education

Dr. Cicely Cottrell

Faculty Vulnerability: A Case Study of a Restorative Experiential Learning Activity to Connect with Academically Disengaged College Students

Columbia Room

Moderator: Dr. Anthony Jackson

Community Engagement

Dr. Ron Garrett

Restorative Justice: A 21st Century Approach to Reducing Mass Incarceration

Ballroom C

Moderator: Dr. Wendy M. Edmonds

Restorative Justice

Dr. Shannell C. Thomas

Excavating Our Roots: The Indigenous Origins of Restorative Justice

Ballroom B

Moderator: Dr. Nicole Branch-Ellis

10:55 am - 11:00 am Return to Main Ballroom A Morning Workshop Evaluation Reminder

11:00 am - 11:30 am Plenary Session

Implementing Restorative Justice in Our Communities

IRJP Fellows:

Dr. Nicole Branch-Ellis

Dr. Ashley Gilchrist

Dr. Matasha L. Harris

Dr. Anthony Jackson

Dr. Shannell C. Thomas

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

12:30 pm - 1:15 pm

1:15 pm - 1:20 pm

1:20 pm - 1:45 pm

1:45 pm - 2:00pm

Lunch/Energy Experience Hands On Drum

Restorative Experience Leon Timbo

Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker

Refresh/Replenish/Transition to Workshops

Dr. Anthony Jackson

Dr. Matasha L. Harris

Ballroom B, C & Baltimore

2:00 pm - 3:30pm Afternoon Breakout Sessions: Interactive Workshops*

PreK- 12

Dr. Ashley Gilchrist

A Restorative Practices Training on Fidelity of Implementation

Ballroom C

Moderator: Dr. Wendy M. Edmonds

Higher Education

Dr. Anthony Jackson

BSU Prison Education ProgramA Strategic Plan Baltimore Room

Moderator: Dr. Nicole Branch-Ellis

3:30 pm - 3:35 pm

3:35 pm - 3:40 pm

Restorative Justice

Dr. Shannell C. Thomas

Planting Seeds for Collective Healing: The Future of Restorative Justice

Ballroom B

Moderator: Dr. Matasha L. Harris

Afternoon Workshop Evaluation

Return to Main Ballroom A Hands on Drum

Closing Remarks

Reminder

Overall Conference Evaluation

Dr. Matasha L. Harris

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Closing Entertainment Faycez U Know

*Green Room Information for IRJP Team Chesapeake Conference Room (3rd floor)

*Green Room Information for Facilitators Susquehanna Conference Room (3rd floor)

*Conference Moderator Dr. Ometha Lewis-Jack

*Conference Support Mrs. Victoria Kelly & Ms. Shinzira Shomade

Please send all questions to: restorativepracticesconference@bowiestate.edu

On September 4, 2018, Dr. Ron D. Garrett was released from the Augusta Transitional Center, after completing a twenty-year prison sentence.

Garrett now serves as Director, Reentry Services and Supports, Mettle-Works Behavioral Health. In this role developing a Division within a Health Care Agency specifically to meet the needs of returning citizens and their families, which is an extension of his previous role, as Director of the Bridge Center at Adams House, a one stop shop for Returning Citizens, Veterans and 18 - 24 year old’s, located in Prince George’s County Maryland. He is the Founder of Reentry United Inc. and Co-Chair of RAN Prince George’s County.

Formerly, Garrett served as the Regional Reentry Coordinator, Washington DC, for the Welcome Home Reentry Program, a division of Catholic Charities Washington DC. His primary role is to recruit and train mentors to be matched with Returning Citizens.

While still housed in the Augusta Transition Center, Garrett served as Business Development Coordinator

for Knewskill, a company dedicated to developing learners into adaptable, collaborative, problem solvers with the entrepreneurial drive to perform and evolve at the speed of work.

DR. ASHLEY GRIFFIN GILCHRIST

Dr. Ashley Griffin Gilchrist is an assistant professor in the Behavioral Sciences and Human Services department and the program coordinator of the Child and Adolescent Studies program at Bowie State University.

She is a Senior Fellow of Transformative SEL at the Center for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and a Restorative Justice and Practices Institute faculty fellow. Her work focuses on the complex connections and interactions of race, education policy, research, and practice on the academic experiences and development of Black children, families, and teachers.  Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgetown University, a Master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Howard University, and certificates in Large Scale Assessment and Nonprofit Executive Management

from the University of Maryland College Park, and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, respectively.

Dr. Ometha Lewis-Jack is currently a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Bowie State University and current Chair since Fall, 2021. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Master of Science and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Howard University where she specialized in Clinical Neuropsychology. She also served as director of the Graduate Clinical Psychology Program at Howard University from 1999 – 2005, and was member of the medical faculty with hospital admission privileges. She specializes in the Neuropsychological Assessment of African Americans with brain/ spinal cord injury and subsequent treatment as a result of this injury.

She is a licensed psychologist in the District of Columbia and consults with mental health agencies to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment of clients with severe mental disorders. She also provides workshops to mental healthcare providers regarding intervention strategies and specialized treatments to dual-diagnosed clients. Her

research interests vary between neuropsychology, learning styles and disabilities.

Currently, she is conducting research on the effects of stress, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and coping skills on mental health outcomes in college students. Her current focus is on matching psychological symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety disorders with physical outcomes using bio-feedback and other psychophysiological measures.

Lennard Jack, Jr. is a steel pannist born in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

He has been playing the steel pans for over 40 years and has played for numerous events, parties and concerts throughout the East Coast of the United States and in Trinidad and Tobago. He is the leader of the Caribbean Jazz band “FUSION” and has released his debut CD, entitled “Give Thanks*. Lennard first began playing the steelpan under the tutelage of one of the greatest pan tuners ever, Bertand “Birch” Kellman with his band Travatos, then went on to play with the Fonclaire Steel Orchestra based in San- Fernando, Trinidad. He is also one of the foundation members and musical arrangers of the Panmasters Steel Orchestra based in Maryland USA. Lennard plays an eclectic blend of Caribbean Jazz, Calypso, Reggae and other genres of music of the African Diaspora, and has played with Robert Greenidge, Len”

Boogsie” Sharpe, Ken Professor”

Philmore, David Boothman and the

DC jazz veteran Robert Northern, aka. Brother Ah. He has also recorded on Raf Robertson’s album entitled, UNIVERSAL

sweetpan.lennard@gmail.com

Phone: 301-642-1433

DR. LENNARD JACK, JR.

Dr. Anthony J. Jackson is a scholaractivist, a movement educator, and revolutionary with a heart for liberation.

Dr. Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Human Services at Bowie State University and a former Lecturer at Howard University in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Dr. Jackson also serves as the Program Coordinator for the Sociology Program at Bowie State University as well as the CoDirector of the Prison Education Program -- a partnership between Jessup Correctional Institution and Bowie State University to offer Bachelor of Science degrees in Sociology to incarcerated individuals. Dr. Jackson’s work in the community as well as the academy serves as a transformative praxis to bridge the gap between these two areas of social life which are fundamentally interrelated. Trained in the philosophical, theoretical, and methodological principles of emancipatory sociology, Dr. Jackson’s pedagogy and praxis recognizes the

value in movement education, community building, and critical consciousness development—an active process that happens in both the classrooms and within our communities. Dr. Jackson’s academic research challenges systems and structures that benefit from the exploitation and oppression of working class people in general and Black people in particular; this transformative sociological approach is not only an act of resistance, but also the basis of Dr. Jackson’s scholarship and activism.

DR. ANTHONY J. JACKSON

Dr. Shannell C. Thomas is an Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Bowie State University. She earned her PhD in Sociology (with concentrations in Criminology and Social Inequality) from Howard University and holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of South Florida and an M.A. in Humanities & Social Thought from New York University. Her research interests are currently centered around the political impacts of incarceration and the societal barriers for returning citizens.

Having first been trained in Restorative Practices at UC, Berkeley in 2011, Dr. Thomas has since used restorative approaches to respond to violations of Student Codes of Conduct (on various college and university campuses) and to resolve inter-personal and conflicts (in local communities and in formal organizations). As a ‘restorative’ practitioner, Dr. Thomas has conducted numerous needs assessments; facilitated focus groups; evaluated countless programs and services; coordinated many trainings;

planned and implemented largescale events; and been involved in the coordination and instruction of credit bearing courses.

Dr. Thomas is particularly interested in foregrounding the indigenous origins of restorative justice during conversations, trainings, and curricula that focus on its practices and approaches. She believes, and is committed to advancing the notion, that restorative justice can and should become the prevailing form of ‘justice’ within and between communities of color.

DR. SHANNELL C. THOMAS

ARTIST LEON TIMBO

Leon Timbo is a veteran artist who brings “a unique, rootsy sound that incorporates equal measures of vintage soul, gospel, folk, R&B, funk, dance music, and even modern blues” (All Music Guide) to a style he calls “transparent soul.”

FAYCEZ-U-KNOW BAND

Faycez U Know Music Group

/Kainaia.Ent are a unit of producers, song writers, arrangers, composers & studio engineers, Faycez U Know Band is an American Soul and Funk band from the Washington, DC Metropolitan (DMV) area with the drive of the DC “Go-Go” swing.

They have the showman ship vastly compared to the likes of the Rolling Stones, and the versatility of a Parliament Party…The group is blessed with musicians who are determined to provide the entertainment of the old school showstoppers while carrying the modern sound of music. The groups quintessential soul singer (Halima Peru) hails from Miami, Florida and so does her raw sound, sun kissed voice and the feet that are sure to roam the stage and crowd. The sultry voiced male singer (Keenen (KO) Ivor) delivers satisfaction faster than a speeding bullet. That grand sound of the bass guitar comes from no other than Kenneth “Doc” Hughes. Anthony

“Tom Tom” Talley & Dennis Garland

JR adds that powerful keyboard fire and creativity to the stage while Dave Gussom adds that amazing rhythm and lead guitar to give the music that

smooth silky sound. The phenomenal percussion section is led by William (Keemy) Slade  on drums, Craig “Clip” Clipper .

On a quest to constantly bring you a sound to make you move to the music, it’s no wonder they are growing so swiftly in popularity.

Their presentation is just what the doctor ordered to sooth and lift your spirits. After all, music is medicine for the soul and they intend to medicate properly. The Faycez-U-Know music group has performed with and backed many local and national recording artist such as rappers Beanie Seagul and Method Man, R&B artist Carl

Thomas, R Kelly, Fantasia, Chuck Brown, Raheem Devaughn, Jaguare Wright and Marsha Ambrosius just to name a few. This is definitely an experience to witness live because if you blink you will miss something.

HANDS ON DRUMS

Hands on Drums is building a home for our Ghana craftworkers, whose homes and workshops in the Accra arts center annex are being demolished for development. Our craftworkers are artisans: tailors, carvers, blacksmiths, cobblers, instrument builders, soap makers, jewelers and more. We purchase

their beautiful items via direct trade and sell them in our pop-up store, Hands on Drums, in Washington, DC – a hub for culture, community, cooperative economics, music, healing and peace-building.

INSTITUTE FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE & PRACTICES

For interest in future Bowie State University Institute for Restorative Justice and Practices conferences, events, partnerships, sponsorships and training please contact restorativepracticesconference@bowiestate.edu