News & Announcements
The nonprofit organization, Foresee Research Group, received the 2018 European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) award for outstanding contributions 
Edit Törzs, Ph.D., EFRJ Executive Director, praised the group, presenting the award at EFRJ's biannual conference, in Tirana, Albania, in June. She lauded Fellegi as "the driving force behind Foresee and chair of the EFRJ Research Committee for many years."
The Foresee team are researchers and scientists who are also practitioners, trainers and activists. Their work across Hungary and Europe shows "an amazing high level of competence and quality," added Törzs.
Managing is about overseeing processes, plans and systems. It’s about keeping things, often created by others, running.
Leading is about engaging and becoming immersed in the nuanced and complicated lives of real people. Leading is envisioning, building and sometimes breaking things on purpose. Leadership helps a team manifest ideas and aspirations.
Management and leadership skills are both essential for a healthy organization, but they are not the same thing. In some organizations, the assignment of these tasks is rigid and highly concentrated into specific job roles.
A nuclear power plant has a very high percentage of people whose job it is to manage a finely tuned system of fixed processes and procedures. In other settings these roles are, shall we say, more fluid…
There are a limited number of people in any organization who are explicitly assigned managerial tasks. But the great thing about leadership is – anyone can lead.
Some roles have strong leadership expectations baked into them. However, the most effective organizations expect some amount of leadership from every role – from the part-time intern to the CEO.
Schools across the country are moving away from an era of zero-tolerance policies and shifting toward methods that involve restorative justice, encouraging students to resolve their differences by talking to each other rather than resorting to violence. In New York City, five schools that have implemented this system are already seeing results. NewsHour Weekend's Megan Thompson reports.
The city of Detroit has been plagued by some of the worst crime and violence in the U.S., along with rampant student expulsion, dropping out and truancy. 
Detroit community members are eager to share their successes and learn from practitioners from around the globe at "Strengthening the Spirit of Community," the IIRP World Conference in Detroit this October.
"They want to celebrate and share the progress they’re making in their city and hear what other places are doing with similar challenges," affirms Alice Thompson, CEO of IIRP partner Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI), which is hosting the conference.
Breakout Sessions
- A Dynamic Blended Family: When Restorative Practice Marries Family Therapy – Anne Martin, Ph.D., Jennifer Bowen, M.Div., RMFT, RP (powerpoint)
- Becoming a Restorative Community: The Journey of ChildStrive – Mary Cline-Stively, M.A., Rebecca Mauldin, M.P.A. (powerpoint)
- Brighter Futures: A Vision for a Restorative Learning Community in Dublin, Ireland – Emma Wheatley, Karen Mooney (powerpoint, handout)
Preston's Ph.D. research is focused on developing restorative concepts as a narrative approach to assessment and diagnosis of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and other social and emotional issues that affect children. The narrative therapy approach separates the individual from the behavior. It allows children to examine their own problematic actions as external attributes — mistakes that can be corrected — rather than integral, unchangeable elements of their personality or identity.
Empathy is overrated. I know this is heresy. Before you light your torch and grab your pitchfork, hear me out.
We live in a world suffused with psychological language. Even in fields that are not traditionally considered to be “touchy-feely,” leaders are likely to be expected to know how to increase their team’s emotional intelligence, help employees build emotional self-management skills or increase a sense of belonging and community.
This is good. My “day job” is focused on teaching others these skills. In fact, my institution has helped lead the creation of an emerging social science entirely focused on how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities.
A Milwaukee school shares how they are working with students and staff to take responsibility for implementing talking circles.
Univest Corporation announced a $10,000 donation to Buxmont Academy on March 7, 2018. Univest made this donation through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, 
enabling them to direct their Pennsylvania taxes to Buxmont Academy. This donation supports educational opportunities for financially disadvantaged students at Buxmont Academy.
Buxmont Academy is dedicated to providing education and counseling to youth in eastern Pennsylvania. A model program of the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), Buxmont Academy operates 5 school/day programs.
Univest Corporation awarded $75,000 to nine educational organizations in Lehigh County that qualify for the Pennsylvania EITC program. Buxmont Academy Executive Director Michael DeAntonio, Ph.D., is fifth from the right.
It’s been less than a year since teachers and administrators at Charles W. Henry School (K-8) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began incorporating circles and other restorative practices through the SaferSanerSchools™ program alongside the Second Step Program, which teaches students skills for developing emotional intelligence.
But already the culture of the school has shown marked improvement, with office referrals down and teachers helping students resolve conflicts in new ways.
Second Step, a social-emotional learning (SEL) program created by the global nonprofit, Committee for Children, provides a curriculum to teach students skills to recognize and manage emotions and improve relationships. The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) SaferSanerSchools™ program provides professional development and ongoing coaching to help school communities cultivate healthy relationships, improve culture and climate, and resolve problems collaboratively and constructively.
Restorative Works Year in Review 2025 (PDF)
All our donors are acknowledged annually in Restorative Works.