Keyria Rodgers

Founder

Keyria Rodgers is the Director of Millikin University’s Criminal Justice Department, Professor of Criminal Justice, and Director of the Macon County Teen Justice Program in Decatur, IL. Ms. Rodgers works as an independent contractor for the Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office as the grant writer and Program Manager for Macon County's Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI). 

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Ms. Rodgers was recently appointed to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission by Governor J.B. Pritzker, and this Commission develops, reviews, and approves the state's juvenile justice plan for federal funds, determines spending priorities for statewide policies and initiatives, and ensures compliance with federal laws and regulations. The Commission also advises the Illinois Department of Human Services on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs and services. Ms. Rodgers serves on many statewide and local boards including the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI), Macon County CASA, and the Boys and Girls Club of Decatur, IL.

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Ms. Rodgers and her colleagues founded the Global Restorative Justice Global Partnership (GRJP) which includes practitioners from Hawaii, Chicago, Decatur (IL), Washington D.C., New York, Italy, London, Singapore, Nepal, and more. Ms. Rodgers is an independent consultant for grant writing, restorative justice training, workshop development, financial wellness, and community-based program creation. Her research interests include public administration, public policy, criminal justice issues, reentry, social justice, expungement, deflection, diversion, restorative justice, probation, and program development in the United States and around the world. As a grant writer and public manager, Rodgers creates budgets for non-profits, government agencies, independent contractors, foundations and community-based organizations. To date, she has written grants and managed more than $4.9 million in various types of funds for government and community-based programming.

Penelope Griffith, LICSW

Ms. Penelope Griffith, LICSW, is an internationally recognized trainer and facilitator in solution-focused and restorative based family group conferencing and circle processes. Her trainees include child welfare and law enforcement agencies and individual workers in Toronto, Rome, Amsterdam, Lyon, Burgees, Alberta and jurisdictions across the United States. Ms. Griffith directs Collaborative Solutions for Communities in Washington, DC and helped establish and lead DC’s Gang Intervention Partnership. She works with individual youth and communities to prevent retaliatory violence. Short and long term support is offered to help victims of youth violence and their families, re-establish and revive family and community norms around youth violence, increase the use of healing circles to restore relationships between offenders and victims, and increase overall capacity to implement positive youth development strategies in underserved communities.

Lorenn Walker, JD, MPH

Lorenn Walker, JD, MPH, develops, implements, researches and reports on cooperative learning interventions using public health approaches including restorative justice and solution-focused applications. She collaborates with schools, prisons, courts, law enforcement, NGOs and individuals to address injustice. She directs Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice and is a professor of practice, University of Hawai‘i’, Public Policy Center. She’s authored over 60 publications. She’s trained thousands worldwide and has facilitated hundreds of restorative meetings including for CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Network. She is a Senior Fulbright Specialist for peacemaking She has a personal interest in helping disenfranchised and marginalized populations. She experienced numerous childhood challenges including learning difficulties and was incarcerated in an adult jail for a week. See more at Lorennwalker.com.

Ram Tiwari, JD

Ram Tiwari is the Founder Chair of Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice. A lawyer by academic and professional background, he has been working in the fields of restorative justice and peacebuilding in Nepal for over 13 years. Apart from serving as a member of a task-force to prepare Nepal's first national Restorative Justice Curriculum, he has been involved in introducing and establishing restorative justice in judicial and community contexts. He has served as a member of the Expert Committee in reviewing the UN Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes, a member of the Restorative Justice Working Group at the Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice (USA), and recently, an International Expert on Restorative and Transitional Justice for the UN Office in Somalia.