Instructor and Implementation Coach
Dr. Whitney Howarth is an IIRP instructor and implementation coach with more than 25 years of experience in the field of education. She has extensive experience providing professional development and teacher training for K-12 teachers (both in-service and pre-service). Her international work with youth and her work coaching adults in school districts in urban centers like New York City, New York, to rural Midwestern towns has provided her with knowledge of organizational change and restorative practices-rooted implementation strategies in many contexts and cultures.
Whitney came to restorative practices via her training in Non-Violent Communication in India and in restorative circles by Dominic Barter, who developed his approach to conflict resolution among the young favela residents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the 1990s. She believes in the power of storytelling as a form of intrapersonal and systemic healing. As such, she is passionate about supporting others in telling their stories – especially those who have been made invisible or silenced by structural violence and strategic omission.
Whitney has served as a tenured professor of world history and led many community-based initiatives in the non-profit world focusing on anti-racism, refugee resettlement, sustainable ecology, and peace education. During her years in academia, her research focused on the history of race, gender, and resistance to colonial power systems designed to exploit and dispossess indigenous peoples and communities of the global majority (Asia, Africa, and Latin America). Her work in higher education has centered on creating curricula and programs that interrogate global racial inequalities, extractive economic policies, and systemic violence.
Whitney holds a Bachelor of Arts in History & Social Studies Education from Moravian University, and a Master's and Doctorate in World History from Northeastern University.
Today, she travels across the United States visiting schools, training educators, and providing support for community leaders who seek to build healthier, happier, more restorative relationships in our world. She loves singing, theatre, traveling, furry critters, creative writing, reading historical fiction, and hanging with wildly creative people like her 12-year-old daughter, Pema.