Restorative Media serves as the fiscal sponsor for Restorative Justice on The Rise and has been a steadfast and visionary partner in our shared mission to advance restorative practices across the US and Globally. This partnership is rooted in a deep alignment of values — a mutual commitment to healing-centered media, equity-driven storytelling, and the amplification of justice-centered voices.
Both Restorative Media and Restorative Justice on The Rise were the very first public media platforms in the world to initiate and sustain programming dedicated specifically to restorative justice, healing justice, and narrative equity. Through podcasts, live forums, and multimedia storytelling, we have collaborated to create a powerful space where authentic stories can surface and where the lived experiences of those most impacted by systemic harm — including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, formerly and currently incarcerated individuals, and other marginalized communities — are honored and elevated.
Together, we have reached and engaged hundreds of thousands of global citizens. This includes direct engagement with communities inside and outside of carceral systems, uplifting voices that are too often silenced and catalyzing dialogue and transformation across diverse sectors.
This is not merely a sponsorship — it is a strategic and deeply synergistic collaboration that exemplifies what is possible when media is used as a tool for justice, healing, and global solidarity.
Troy Williams is the Founder and Executive Director of Restorative Media, a healing-centered media organization and the fiscal sponsor of Restorative Justice on The Rise. His leadership, media vision, and lived expertise have made him a vital collaborator in our work over many years.
Williams served 25 years in juvenile and adult prison facilities. During that time, he became a certified paralegal, and founded San Quentin State Prison’s first award-winning radio and podcast program, paving the way for storytelling and narrative change from inside the walls. He also launched a video production program that built technical skills and self-expression among incarcerated peers.
Following his release, Troy has served as a Youth Program Development Specialist, Restorative Justice Facilitator, Program Coordinator, Motivational Speaker, Editor-in-Chief, Columnist, Cinematographer, Filmmaker, and Multimedia Producer.
As a Soros Justice Fellow, Williams created a national multimedia platform for formerly incarcerated and system-impacted individuals to document their experiences and reclaim their stories through film, writing, and public discourse.
Founder of the Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series — a groundbreaking platform featured widely on KQED and other public media outlets, highlighting the voices and insights of directly impacted leaders.
Producer of The Prison Within — a powerful documentary collaboration exploring restorative justice and trauma, available on streaming platforms and used in educational settings nationwide.
🔗 Watch The Prison Within
Participant in the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, as one of only 20 global media entrepreneurs selected from over 50 countries.
Media That Matters:
Public Dialogue On Justice
Restorative Justice on the Rise is an international live dialogue via Webcast and Telecouncil platform that reaches an international constituency of invididuals, organizations, professionals, academics, practitioners, and more. The mission is to provide connection, advocacy, education and inspired action as a public service to individuals and communities seeking to proactively improve relationships and structures within their spheres and our world.