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Staff
Kathy joined the Restorative Justice Project Maine in February 2020 and brings to RJP Maine a vast experience in organizational management and leadership in both the public and non-profit sectors. A collaborative and strategic leader with a strong commitment to social justice and gender and race equity, Kathy has successfully led organizations through transformative times resulting in organizational growth and sustainability. Kathy is a strategic and creative thinker and approaches every situation with an attitude to succeed along with a good sense of humor. Kathy is a native Mainer, and resides in Georgetown with her husband, Dick, and their lab Casco. When she's not leading the charge, Kathy is hiking with Casco or sailing with her husband.
Mattox floated into Belfast Harbor in 2011 in a canoe unsure as to whether she had any professional qualifications besides instructing Voyageur Outward Bound students on the etiquette of backwoods canoe and dogsled travel. Happily, within a matter of weeks she noted the postage-stamp ad in the Free Press and, shortly thereafter, joined the warm and hard-working staff of RJP. At that time, Mattox was the only full time restorative conference coordinator and facilitator in the state. She has had the distinct privilege to witness and to participate in the significant growth of the restorative movement over the past decade - both within RJP as an organization and as the RJ landscape evolves in Maine. During that time, she has learned a tremendous amount about trauma and healing, about communication, collaboration, and the power of accompaniment and community, and about the needs and nuances of nonprofit work. In her off-the-clock time, Sarah delights in movement of many kinds -- whether rowing, skiing, paddling or yoga; she has an undying allegiance to coffee and baked goods, to dogs and good books, and is deeply grateful to spend time in the company of family and friends. She is a proud graduate of Earlham College and grew up in midcoast Maine. 
Tim has been working for RJP Maine for the past eleven years as the Office and Finance Coordinator. Tim brings a wealth of experience to the table. He previously worked for 33 years with a hotel management company that granted him the expertise to lead RJP Maine to success. Tim is a native “Mainer” born and raised in Bangor. He currently resides in Searsport with his wife, Jewel, to whom he has been fondly married for 35-plus years. In his free time, he enjoys listening to ‘60s and ‘70s music.
Louise Marks is interested in the use of circle practice as a means of centering relationships and building community. Louise sees restorative practices playing a role in elevating marginalized voices and hopes to contribute to the field of RJ as it relates to broader equity work. Louise was introduced to circle practice and restorative philosophy at Bates College. Her background in community art and sociology sparked an interest in community justice and the use of restorative practices as a means of shifting culture to be more restorative. In June 2018 Louise began an internship with the Restorative Justice Project Maine and in October 2018 became the Restorative Practices Coordinator at the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center. Since June 2020, Louise has been a member of the Training & Capacity Building team where she uses her on-the-ground implementation experience to develop content and learning opportunities that expand individual and community capacity to do this work.
Margaret works with the Restorative Justice Initiative at Long Creek Youth Development Center. The initiative is focuses on supporting youth to have a greater understanding of the impact of the harm they have caused, supporting their transition back to community and training staff and youth to utilize restorative processes to build community and resolve conflict.
Additionally, Margaret works with whole school implementation of restorative practices including RSU 13, Rockland and Bucksport Middle School, and as a trainer and coach with a RAND Corporation research grant. She is also a member of the Restorative Practices Collaborative of Maine a statewide collective of trainers offering workshops and support to schools throughout Maine. Margaret was awarded a Rotary International Peace Fellowship in 2014 to study Conflict Resolution and Peace at Chulalonghorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The fellowship provided the opportunity to connect her work with restorative justice to the global peace movement. Margaret holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Masters in Public Administration from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. She lives in Belfast where she enjoys family, friends, birding, gardening, and the outdoors! 
Sarah came to Restorative Justice work with hopes of empowering community members, organizations and institutions to address conflict holistically through restorative interventions and proactive community building. Sarah focuses on training and implementation strategy at RJP Maine, having provided restorative justice and mediation services to New York City based institutions and communities in the past, such as the New York State Unified Court System, Family Court, Community Dispute Resolution Centers, and the Department of Education. Most recently, Sarah assisted the NYC Department of Education to create a Restorative Justice Pilot Project. The Pilot created and tested best practices in select schools to better implement Restorative Practices in all NYC public schools. Her ground work in select Pilot schools consisted of delivering mediation and Restorative Practices trainings to staff and students as well as directly facilitating Restorative interventions to repair harm done in the community. She continues to work towards partnering with any institution, organization, or school interested in building up their restorative culture and conflict resolution skills. Sarah began conflict resolution work at Smith College, and went onto Fordham Law School to advocate for children's rights. Her passion for helping communities to establish a culture of belonging and safety for all of its young people drives her work. When Sarah is not at RJP Maine, she is either cooking, doing yoga, swimming or dancing.
Having inherited from her familial elders strong visions of the possibility of a just world and just communities, with inclusion, compassion and dialogue, Leslie was deeply engaged with NYC's Community Gardens for decades before moving to Maine, and within a few months of her arrival here, enthused and excited about the Restorative Justice Project, found herself working first as mentor, then facilitator and now also as Hancock County's Case and Program Coordinator. She is also fortunate to work alongside the inspiring and dedicated board members of Downeast Restorative Justice. When not working with RJP and DRJ, Leslie parcels the rest of her time (in typical Maine fashion) among playing and composing music, building bassoons and teaching, supervising her local small water system, gardening, knitting, tending chickens, and hosting residency, sound installation and performance programs at the Cannery @ South Penobscot.
Erica came to Maine in 2004, chasing visions of Winslow Homer’s winter ocean. She landed in Belfast, where what was intended to be a temporary gig at the Belfast Co-op blossomed into 16 years of work in the Maine food system, including 10 years of service at Maine Farmland Trust. She’s excited to bring a mixed skillset in collaborative leadership, facilitation, program development, and data analysis to support the work of RJP Maine. A Montana girl at heart, Erica originally came out east to attend the College of the Holy Cross, where she discovered a passion for social justice and community development. She feels fortunate to care for a small, off-grid homestead in Searsport, where she and her husband, Scott, are cultivating abundant food and joy.
Leigh Anne has a background of over two decades of education work with both children and adults. She has studied, worked with, and taught in widely diverse school settings in Ohio, Virginia, New York, and other New England states in addition to Maine -- as a classroom teacher, school librarian, nature educator, and more. Leigh Anne holds a Dual Masters in Literacy and Education as well as a Masters in Political Science. During her second Masters at Bank Street School of Education, Leigh Anne created events and programs in her capacity as the Head of the Student Council for two years, building cross-division collaborations, initiating a mentoring program, and spearheading an annual community-wide showcase of teaching and learning. She then served on the Advisory Board of Alumni. Since 2003, she has tutored adults and children from around the world in English fluency work, and since 2011, tutored as a reading and writing specialist to children. At two universities, Leigh Anne created and hosted interview radio shows, highlighting vitally diverse voices. As a trained National SEED Project leader, Leigh Anne has led intensive year-long seminar programs for educators in equity and diversity. She can often be found hiking, biking, and photographing in nature. Her interest in restorative justice is rooted in community relationships, in making space for many voices, and in the potential to evolve and build together.
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Afton had the privilege of participating with Restorative Justice through her previous role in juvenile community corrections. Prior to her work in corrections, she was involved with at-risk youth as a multisystemic therapist, while also coordinating a local nonprofit to deter domestic violence. During the four years she lived on the West Coast, Afton became certified as an elementary school teacher, and taught at a Title 1 school in South Phoenix. She later worked in a position to support homeschool families in her Colorado community. Upon moving back to Maine, Afton was excited by the opportunity to coordinate local harm repair within the counties she served previously. Her degree is in Behavioral Science, with a minor in Criminal Justice. She is driven towards restorative work, as a means to continue to strengthen trusting relationships through equitable and sustainable prosocial experiences. When not working at RJP, Afton enjoys literature, art, and feeding her chickens.
Heather Fogg Waldo Harm Repair Manager Heather@rjpmidcoast.org |
Heather is thrilled to have joined Restorative Justice Project Maine in July 2021 in the role of Restorative Justice Coordinator for Waldo County. Years of visits and learning the restorative landscape in the area make being here a dream come true. Heather values the interconnectedness of all people and honors that as a circle keeper, conflict coach, mediator, restorative dialogue and restorative reflection facilitator, community dialogue facilitator, conferencing facilitator, and Certified Optimum Life Breathologist (C.O.L.B.). Heather invitationally shares her love of the work by awakening the ideas and concepts within others via trainings, presentations, and teaching courses about conflict and resolution and restorative justice. She served on the board and leadership circle of the Circle of Restorative Initiatives (CRI) for Maryland, helping to spread the awakening to restorative values and the processes that support them. Heather was fortunate to grow in the field with years of support, love, and encouragement from colleagues and collaborators at the Maryland Judiciary Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO). Heather’s educational upbringing included studying psychology because she is fascinated by people and all the gifts each individual brings in the world. Her family includes her wonder-full science-fiction loving, cosmic space study exploring partner, Mike, along with a large number of furry and feathery friends. Her favorite experiences are being in connection with others in circle gatherings of all kinds, and you can be sure she carries a talking piece with her everywhere she goes.
Jamar arrived in August of 2021 with enthusiasm as a trainer on the Training and Capacity Building Team of RJP Maine. He has extensive experience in various aspects of the prison reentry field and has leveraged his expertise to educate others in universities, institutions, and conferences across the country. Jamar's focus on social & restorative justice has led him to relocate to Maine to train others on restorative justice practices. When he is not motivating others through speeches or helping them to live a life of purpose, he can be found participating in any kind of exercise. Bicycling, reading, writing, and going for walks are ways that he rounds out his day. Jamar also enjoys gathering around food with others as he exercises his culinary skills in the kitchen.