Restorative Works

About Restorative Works

Restorative Works! Hosted by Claire de Mézerville López, Ph.D., M.Ed., M.S., is centered around restorative practices – the study of building relationships and community. With guests from across the globe, we invite you to listen and be inspired by transformational stories from passionate restorative practitioners, community leaders, researchers, and more. Learn practical solutions to addressing harm/traumas and proactively increasing a sense of belonging in your community, schools, and at home. Explore methods to facilitate meaningful conversations that create understanding and positively impact the people around you.

Publisher

IIRP

Category

education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Mar 2023

Latest episode

29 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

190 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Universal Design for Learning and Restorative Practices: Creating the Conditions for Learning

   What happens when Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and restorative practices come together in the classroom? On this episode of Restorative Works!, host Dr. Claire de Mézerville López speaks with Brianne Parker, Dr. Katie Novak, and Jina Poirier, co-authors of UDL Now! Universal Design for Learning in English Language Arts, about creating inclusive learning environments that support belonging, student agency, and meaningful participation. The conversation explores how the authors developed their approach by bringing together UDL, restorative practices, social-emotional learning, and character education rather than treating them as separate initiatives. Drawing from their experiences in alternative education, the guests share how relationships and inclusive instructional design can help students access rigorous academic content while feeling supported and connected. Our guests explore the challenge of balancing academic demands with the time needed to build relationships and create a supportive classroom community. Dr. Novak emphasizes shifting the focus from simply covering content to ensuring that students retain the information, while Brianne shares examples of how understanding students' experiences can create the conditions they need to engage in learning. Founder and CEO of Novak Educational Consulting, Dr. Katie Novak is an accomplished educator with 25 years of experience in education and a bestselling author of seventeen books with more than 350,000 copies sold worldwide, including UDL Now! Universal Design for Learning in English Language Arts. She is an adjunct instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and an internationally sought-after keynote speaker. Dr. Novak is widely recognized as a leading authority on inclusive practice, UDL, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, influencing policy and practice in schools and districts around the world. Brianne Parker, M.Ed., is an experienced English educator with more than 25 years of experience serving secondary, adult, alternative, and online learners. Her expertise includes English Language Development (ELD), curriculum design, online and hybrid instruction, educational technology, and UDL. Currently with the Orange County Department of Education, she provides standards-based instruction and individualized academic support to diverse student populations. She is a co-author of UDL Now! Universal Design for Learning in English Language Arts, and a national presenter on UDL, literacy, culturally responsive teaching, restorative practices, and equitable educational practices. Jina Poirier, M.Ed., is a community school coordinator for ACCESS (Alternative, Community, Correctional Education Schools and Services) at the Orange County Department of Education. With 25 years in education, including 15 in alternative, traditional, and nonprofit classrooms, she champions inclusive learning. Jina holds a bachelor's in human services, a master's in education, and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Her literacy expertise supports older students through targeted, age-respectful instruction. Grounded in UDL and restorative practices, she has designed curriculum, taught graduate students at Sacramento State University, trained school teams, and co-authored UDL Now! Universal Design for Learning in English Language Arts. Tune in to discover practical ideas for utilizing restorative practices in education, including seeing and acknowledging students, celebrating growth rather than achievement alone, creating predictable routines, supporting multiple forms of participation, and asking students for feedback.

2. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Healing Futures: Youth Restorative Justice with Queen-Cheyenne Wade

   What does community-led restorative justice look like when young people are at the center of the process? On this episode of Restorative Works!, host Dr. Claire de Mézerville López speaks with Queen-Cheyenne Wade, program director of Healing Futures, Philadelphia's first pre-charge, pre-trial youth restorative justice diversion program, housed at the Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP). Queen shares how their restorative justice journey began through community, youth organizing, and teachers who emphasized the importance of lineage and relationships in restorative justice. They explain how Healing Futures creates an alternative to court-driven responses by giving young people time to understand the root causes of harm, receive support, engage with the person harmed, and develop a plan for the future. The conversation explores why restorative justice sometimes requires slowing down rather than rushing toward resolution. Queen describes the months-long process, which includes individual preparation, restorative circles, community agreements, and opportunities for young people to repair harm through meaningful action. Examples include creating murals, supporting elders, connecting with community organizations, and participating in educational or career opportunities. As program director, Queen leads restorative justice processes that expunge youth charges, support community-driven solutions to harm, and provide hope to BIPOC teens and families with justice-system contact or exposure to community violence. Queen has organized restorative and transformative justice strategies for survivors of community and family violence for the past eight years and is honored to step into the amazing work of community-led restorative justice in Philadelphia. When Queen isn't handling the duties of a program director, they enjoy making art through collaging, taking hikes, and baking for their friends and family. Tune in to discover practical ways to begin building community-led restorative justice, including proactive conversations, creating shared community agreements, holding circles within your own community, and using pod mapping to understand and strengthen networks of support.

3. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Following the Roads that Unite Us with Adam Mizel

   What does it take to build unity in a deeply divided society? On this episode of Restorative Works!, host Dr. Claire de Mézerville López meets with entrepreneur, investor, and movement builder Adam Mizel about creating meaningful connections across political, social, and cultural divides. After a 30-year business career, Adam turned his attention to what he describes as one of America's most complex challenges: growing division. Through his work with US United and its network of nearly 100 sheriffs, Adam focuses on practical ways people can strengthen relationships, cultivate hope, and create a culture of unity. Sharing lessons from a cross-country road trip where he spoke with thousands of Americans about division, community, and what brings people together, he emphasizes that unity starts with the individual. Asking questions, listening deeply, practicing empathy, and approaching others with respect can create the foundation for stronger relationships, even when people disagree. Adam Mizel is the co-founder of US United, a not-for-profit media collective building unity through storytelling, service, and human connection. Adam and Sheriff Chris Swanson of Flint, Michigan, have grown US United into a movement for unity that is proving that Americans aren't as divided as politicians and media want us to believe. Today, US United has built a network of close to 100 sheriffs committed to bringing unity into their communities and just completed a summer cross-country road trip documenting real stories of unity happening at the grassroots level.  The organization works to prove that Americans share common values and can bridge divides through community engagement. Tune in for an accessible look at how restorative practices, respectful dialogue, storytelling, and human connection can help people move beyond polarization and participate more meaningfully in building stronger communities.

Who has been a guest on Restorative Works

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Margaret Clark
• Natasha Akery
• Juan Martinez
• Katherine Stanley Obando
• Bianca Johnson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

97

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

Contact Restorative Works

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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