Facilitator Network

Share a highlight about your experience participating in the restorative practice training. 

The training process was one of the most impactful experiences I've had at UCSF. The idea of adapting a restorative mindset and addressing harm as a community instead of reflexive and isolated punishment just made sense. The training was intense and engaging. There were so many highlights of the facilitation training experience. When I looked around at the group of people present, I was struck by the diversity represented in the room. This included the fact that Honeycomb Justice facilitators expertly led the sessions; Honeycomb Justice is a Black and Queer owned business dedicated to anti-oppressive transformation.

How have you seen your mindset shift after learning about restorative justice principles? 

I now reflexively think of RJ as an approach to build community as well as the way to address and repair harm. There are so many ways to integrate RJ into the culture of my work community, I'm so excited to implement them in a meaningful and sustained way.  

How have you applied restorative principles in your work environment?

I've led several community circles to demonstrate circle practices to trainees and faculty in my department. I've also presented the idea of restorative justice in small groups. Most participants have never heard of restorative justice and were experiencing community practices for the first time. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and people are eager for more.

Share a highlight about your experience participating in the restorative practice training. 

The highlight of my experience was being in community with folks who want to make a difference at UCSF. I met so many people from different facets of the university that I wouldn't have met otherwise, and I also made some great connections.

How have you seen your mindset shift after learning about restorative justice principles? 

Being trained in RJP has helped me see the humanity in others, especially during difficult situations. It has also given me the skills to be a better meeting facilitator, using different techniques to ensure all community members feel seen, heard, and valued. 

How have you applied restorative principles in your work environment?

After additional training and facilitation opportunities through the UCSF RJP office, I have gained more confidence in my practice to lead circles on my own. In my previous role at UCSF Real Estate, I held lower-risk community-building circles via Zoom. Now that I work for UCSF Police, I'm looking for additional ways to incorporate RJP into our work. Several of my Police Department colleagues were recently trained. I will partner with them to hold space for Police Officers, Security Guards, and other Police Department Staff through recognition circles to build relationships between team members and acknowledge each other's contributions and value to this organization. 

Share a highlight about your experience participating in the restorative practice training. 

Mind blown. The entire process was not at all what I expected. I have to say the highlight for me was feeling so close to my group members after a short period of time and learning skills to help in many aspects of my job I had no training for. Everyone who wants to, should have a chance to take the course. After the session I felt closer with the others than ever before. We had work together before and now had a better connection than before. 

How have you seen your mindset shift after learning about restorative justice principles? 

I stayed the night at friends the night of the first day. My mind as I lay in bed was racing. Endless places I feel this could be used to help others and groups I associate with. It actually led me personally to decide this year to focus on my mental health. Dedicate this year to making the effort focused there and from then until now, I feel like I have a changed mindset on so many things and open for change more than ever before.  

How have you applied restorative principles in your work environment?

First thing I did when I got home was to lead a circle with my family. My 3, 5 year old wife and wife. I since have ran many in a slightly more informal setting. The openness of my kids has changed since. We call them family meetings now. And my oldest often asks for them for no real reason, I think, but to connect.

In my environment, I began to incorporate icebreakers into my weekly team huddles and a way to connect on a semi-non-work level before diving into business.

I first learned about Restorative Justice (RJ) from my children when they started middle school. Their school and school district (Oakland Unified School District) were using RJ to create a culture that was inclusive and created connected communities and handled harms that occurred as a way to restore those community connections. When I learned that UCSF had an RJ program, I eagerly wanted to learn more so was fortunate to enroll in the RJ Facilitator trainings. I was inspired by the power of RJ to bring connection and meaning to teams in which we work and to be a method to enhance the work that we do. 

One of the responsibilities of being the President of the Medical Staff is to address harms and often to identify consequences for those harms. This is an important role, but I noted the absence in supporting ways to create community and allow the clinical units to develop connection and be able to address harms in a way that creates connection and repair within those units. As President of the Medical Staff, I would like to partner with UCSF Office of Restorative Justice Practices, UCSF Health Executive Leadership, UCSF School of Medicine Departmental Leadership, and local Clinical Unit leaders to bring a restorative justice practice and culture to our clinical communities to create connections that improve patient care and opportunities to repair harm when it occurs.”

Since 2020, the Graduate Division Dean’s Office in partnership with the Office of Restorative Justice Practices, has hosted community circles for incoming first-year PhD students to establish the importance of creating a community of care during their graduate program’s orientation. It has been truly inspirational to watch the expansion and integration of restorative justice practices across the Graduate Division – from PhD program cohorts – courses – to individual labs and research groups. The tools and lessons learned from the community circles enrich our environment where our graduate students, faculty, and administrators strengthen relationships and authentic communication. The Graduate Division Dean’s Office is currently preparing to host community circles for the 2024 PhD program cohorts.

Since 2020, the Graduate Division Dean’s Office in partnership with the Office of Restorative Justice Practices, has hosted community circles for incoming first-year PhD students to establish the importance of creating a community of care during their graduate program’s orientation. It has been truly inspirational to watch the expansion and integration of restorative justice practices across the Graduate Division – from PhD program cohorts – courses – to individual labs and research groups. The tools and lessons learned from the community circles enrich our environment where our graduate students, faculty, and administrators strengthen relationships and authentic communication. The Graduate Division Dean’s Office is currently preparing to host community circles for the 2024 PhD program cohorts.

During their gap year, Jessa Culver served as the AOCI Fellow, working alongside Dr. Denise Connor. Jessa was interested in cultivating a healing-centered learning environment that honors everyone’s identities and lived experiences within medical education. On this journey, Jessa attended a half-day restorative mindset workshop, which opened their eyes to the power of restorative justice practices in bringing connection, empathy, and curiosity to the workplace (or learning environment).

As part of their fellowship, Jessa led efforts to find opportunities to embed restorative justice practices into the Bridges curriculum in the School of Medicine. Read Jessa’s reflection on the role restorative justice practices can play in medical education.

“This year, I was fortunate to work with both the RJP Office and AOCI to think about how we might thread RJ principles throughout the Bridges curriculum. We started by getting a baseline understanding of existing curricula and then met with curricular leaders to identify opportunities to bring an RJ lens to current sessions, as well as create new sessions grounded in restorative practices. For example, we looked at a session within Physician Identity Weeks focused on conflict navigation and asked ourselves how we might approach it through a restorative lens. We also talked about future sessions where students can reflect on what it means to practice medicine with an RJ mindset.

As medical students, we sometimes navigate moments that can be uncomfortable, whether that looks like conflict within our small learning groups, disagreement between clinical team members, or giving feedback to others, including our professors and colleagues. It’s so helpful for students to have opportunities to build our capacity to navigate these kinds of challenging moments—not just during training, but throughout our careers. Learning how to bring a restorative mindset into clinical work, both with patients and colleagues, feels incredibly important towards this end. RJ emphasizes leading with connection and recognizing our interconnection. It pushes us to navigate conflict or relational ruptures not from a punitive place, but from a place of wanting to understand and repair, both with that individual and within the community as a whole.

Beyond skill-building, RJ can also help us think about how to shape learning environments themselves. Medical training can be a really intimidating place, where the focus has historically been less on community-building and more on individual performance.

RJ helps us shift that dynamic—bringing connection and collaboration to the forefront, whether in classroom learning or on clinical teams. This can help ensure spaces feel more psychologically safe for learners. The more supportive and nurturing we make our learning environments, the more this will reflect in clinical practice as learners work with patients. I’m excited to be part of this shift toward a more trauma-informed approach to medical education.”