What does it truly mean for restorative justice to be community-centered and held?

In this powerful conversation, Molly Rowan Leach is joined by Lindsey Frischer (Southwest Community Justice Coalition), Cristina Cabeza (Colorado Coalition for Restorative Justice Practices), and Ames Stenson (Restorative Rainbow Alliance) & Englewood Municipal Court RJ Program) for a deep dive into coalition-building, relational accountability, and the living practice of restorative justice across Colorado.

This is not a theoretical discussion.

It is a grounded, hard-earned exploration of what it takes to build restorative infrastructure — inside systems, beyond systems, and sometimes in partnership with them.

Together, they unpack:

• What “community-held restorative justice” actually looks like in practice

• Building coalitions across municipalities, courts, and grassroots spaces

• Asset mapping and capacity-building as alternatives to over-reliance on punishment

• Moving “at the speed of trust”

• Why restorative justice must actively dismantle harm — not replicate it

• The creation and impact of Colorado’s updated RJ Practitioner Guidelines

• The groundbreaking work of the Restorative Rainbow Alliance and LGBTQ+ inclusion in restorative practice

As Cristina reminds us, community is not idyllic or abstract:

“Community holds all of it.”

From statewide policy work to small-town circle practice, this episode reveals how justice becomes sustainable when it is relational, intentional, and collectively stewarded.

You’ll hear how community agreements, harm processes, and values-based organizing create real alternatives to punitive systems — and how restorative justice expands when it embraces transformative justice, equity, and shared power.

This conversation is a masterclass in what it means to build justice together.

If this episode moves you, please share it widely.
Grassroots led stories shift culture.

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Host: Founder & Executive Producer Molly Rowan Leach (she/her), and Post Production Credits to our Social Media and Marketing Manager Logan Ward (he/him), who is also an accomplished Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker (Remarkable, 2024)

About: https://restorativejusticeontherise.org

LIFER: One Man. One Dog. Transformed.

With Director Raul Perez & Brian Michael James. [Proof Video]

In this extraordinary episode of Restorative Justice on The Rise, Molly Rowan Leach sits down with Brian Michael James, who served 29 years and two months in prison beginning at age 16, and Raul Perez, director of the upcoming film LIFER.

Brian opens the conversation with stark clarity:

“Today is 1,154 days free after I served 29 years and two months from the ages of 16 to 45.”

What unfolds is not simply a story of incarceration — it is a story of belonging, trauma, accountability, radical forgiveness, and transformation.

Brian shares the childhood wounds that shaped his early path, the split-second decision that took a life, and the decades that followed. He describes the night that changed everything:

“That decision right there took me a total of three seconds to make… That man died that night.”

He speaks candidly about prison violence, addiction, solitary confinement, and the death of his beloved grandmother — the moment that forced him to choose whether to live or die:

“I decided that I’m going to live a life that would honor my grandmother… She planted good seeds in me. They just hadn’t sprouted yet.”

Years later, a poster on a prison wall changed the trajectory of his life: a dog rescue program.

After 25 years incarcerated, Brian knelt down and touched a dog for the first time:

“It was nothing less than a spiritual experience.”

The rescue dog, Flynn — who had been scheduled for euthanasia — became part of Brian’s healing. Through the program, he discovered purpose, responsibility, and connection:

“In the three months of this program, I discovered literally who I wanted to be and who I was as a man.”

In a powerful restorative arc, Brian also shares his participation in Healing Dialogue & Action (HDA), where he sat with mothers of murder victims. In one unforgettable moment, after asking how he could ever live with what he had done, one mother stood and said:

“How about we forgive you for that?”

Brian describes that experience as life-altering — a release that allowed him to move forward with accountability rather than self-annihilation.

When he finally appeared before the parole board decades later, he told them:

“Whether they let me home or not was not going to alter anything. This is who I am today.”

He was granted parole in 2022.

Today, Brian works to give back, speaking to incarcerated individuals and communities about hope, transformation, and responsibility:

“You are really, really needed in the world right now.”

Director Raul Perez shares why telling stories like this matters:

“We want to inspire change and hope… even if we change one person’s mind watching this… then we did our job.”

LIFER is more than a film about prison.
It is about radical forgiveness.
It is about the power of dogs to restore dignity.
It is about the possibility that no human being is beyond transformation.

About Our Guests

Brian Michael James served 29 years in California state prison and now dedicates his life to restorative work, advocacy, and speaking about transformation and accountability.

Raul Perez is the director of LIFER, a film inspired by Brian’s journey and the life-changing impact of prison dog programs.

If this episode moves you, please share it widely.
Stories like this shift culture.

.

Host: Founder & Executive Producer Molly Rowan Leach (she/her), and Post Production Credits to our Social Media and Marketing Manager Logan Ward (he/him), who is also an accomplished Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker (Remarkable, 2024)

About: https://restorativejusticeontherise.org

In this episode: Mika Dashman, Founding Director of Restorative Justice Initiative, in its tenth anniversary year celebration whose mission is to build a community of New Yorkers who reflect the diversity of our city to expand healing and non-punitive responses to harm at the personal, neighborhood and systemic levels.

Arguably RJI's reach is MUCH beyond New York, with deep international ties creating essential connections between communities and trusted practitioners, and providing essential resources and programs that inspire, inform, and connect. Thus, the topic of this session: the unseen--and arguably under-rated, impacts of networks like RJI. What is their place in the field, and why is it critical to support networking organizations? We discuss this and much more, with host Molly Rowan Leach.

Who is RJI?

At the core of our vision for social change through restorative approaches is the centrality of relationships. RJI helps to lay the groundwork for a cultural shift from punishment and retribution to healing in New York City’s neighborhoods and systems by nurturing relationships among practitioners and advocates.  We also distribute resources to strengthen practice and promote ongoing learning, and facilitate strategic planning.

Although restorative justice is often placed in a “criminal justice reform” or “school climate” box, its philosophy—which is based on indigenous spiritual beliefs and practices—goes to the heart of how we live and work together in community, building trust and understanding. Restorative justice processes give voice to those directly impacted by harm, and encourage deep listening across differences; these restorative processes encourage storytelling that illustrates the complex, and sometimes contradictory realities of our lives.

Our Operating Principles: 

1. All life is interconnected.
2. We value and center relationships.
3. We value and center authentic self-reflection.
4. We treat all people as capable of healing and transformation.
5. We believe that harm occurs on both interpersonal and systemic levels and must be addressed on both.
6. We center and champion conditions that invite people to take accountability for harm.
7. We see restorative justice as part of a larger movement toward a healthier, safer city.

Who We Work With

RJI works with people interested in Restorative Justice across NYC’s 5 boroughs, including:

Significant Achievements:

• In spring 2021, the NYC Commission on Human Rights tapped RJI to join an advisory group to guide the incorporation of restorative justice principles and practices into the Commission’s litigation, policy, and community-based work.
• RJI provided thought leadership to help develop a model of robust accountability for those that have caused or contributed to sexual harm that is both survivor-centered and based on powerful inclusivity, rather than based on “othering” and public shaming.
• Since 2018 we have partnered with The Center for Creative Conflict Resolution at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) to host a series of Citywide Roundtables on Restorative Approaches, where we convened diverse stakeholders to begin developing a vision for a restorative city.
• Trinity Church Wall Street has called on us more than once to help design and facilitate retreats and events related to restorative justice.
• In February 2023, we held the 5th Citywide Roundtable on Restorative Approaches, marking the first Citywide Roundtable held in-person since January 2020, and the first Citywide Roundtable held in Queens.
• In March 2023, we launched our Storytelling for Collective Healing program, which paired artists and storytellers to amplify reconciliation, transformation, and healing stories.
• We created the Practitioner Spotlight, a digital interview series that shines a light on novel approaches to restorative justice from across our network.
• In 2022, we established our inaugural Youth Advocacy Council that ran for the 2022-23 academic year. The Council designed personal community projects, including facilitating conversations on restorative justice at their previously attended middle schools, current high schools, and community bookstores, and preparing to facilitate community circles with their mentors.
• We curated and hosted a series of circles on the topic of grief and grieving, that allowed for participants to be seen as they move through the many challenges of the current moment.
• Also in 2023, we began hosting online gatherings for RJ Consultants and Independent Contractors, forming a community of practice to combat isolation and share resources and support.

HOSTED BY: Founder & Executive Producer Molly Rowan Leach (she/her), and Post Production Credits to our Social Media and Marketing Manager Logan Ward (he/him), who is also an accomplished Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker (Remarkable, 2024)

ABOUT MOLLY: https://restorativejusticeontherise.org/about-us/host-executive-producer/

Molly’s writing: https://medium.com/@mollyleach

ABOUT LOGAN: https://www.loganward.net/about

Logan’s portfolio: https://www.loganward.net/