What Is Your Role At RJP Maine?

As a Restorative Justice Manager, I work with RJP’s volunteer facilitators and mentors to lead restorative harm repair processes with youth and adults referred to our program. I also serve as the Referral Stream Lead, strengthening partnerships with various referral sources and community service organizations.

What Are You Most Passionate About In This Work?

I strongly believe that we need alternative responses to wrongdoing than those our current criminal legal system offers, which disproportionately target people of color, fail to reduce crime or promote safety, and cause further pain to both those who caused harm and those who were harmed. Restorative processes have the power to achieve true accountability and healing in response to conflict and pain. This work gives me hope for a future built upon empathy and interconnection, and guided by community well being.

What Do You Bring To This Work?

I have a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago with a concentration in social administration and transforming justice policies and practices. I also bring experience in legislative advocacy, including as part of the successful Illinois campaign to abolish sentences of life without the possibility of parole for people under the age of 21.

What Restores You?

Running, naps, brunch, laughter, and snuggles with my cat, Winter.

What Is Your Role At RJP Maine?

I help facilitate and organize restorative processes for adults and youth referred to our Harm Repair Program. Additionally, I bring restorative practices to the Maine Coast Regional Reentry Center as the Reentry Center Lead.

What Brought You To This Work?

Working with people who are incarcerated in CA introduced me to the many ways America’s criminal legal system is not only inefficient, but significantly traumatizing. Dedicated to understanding different ways of resolving harm and healing trauma led me to study restorative and transformative justice.

What Are You Most Passionate About In This Work?

Restorative practices welcome people to be seen as they are, oftentimes initiating deep connection to one-another in powerful or transformational ways. I am passionate about continuing to learn and lean into this beautiful way of being in relationship to those around us, in hopes to alleviate pain and suffering.

What Restores You?

Spending time in or on water, with close friends and family, with a book, on my bike, in the woods, with paints and pencils, in the kitchen, or on the dance-floor are all ways that fuel me up and settle me down!

What Is Your Role At RJP Maine?

As part of the Training and Capacity Building team, I co-host training sessions, support training outreach, and communicate with volunteers and community members about training. I also help develop and refine our training curriculum as needed and work to respond to new training needs as they arise.

What Are You Most Passionate About In This Work?

I feel passionate about the way that restorative practices can be used in every area of life. This can allow the full range of our humanity to be expressed and can mean that all our relationships, including those with more-than-human beings, involve mutual respect and care.

What Is One Thing You Want Folks To Know About You?

I will soon become a mom for the first time! My husband and I are so very excited.

What Restores You?

As an introvert, my restorative activities are mostly solo or with one other person. I love being near water, especially swimming or canoeing. I also delight in baking sweet treats, gardening, practicing the banjo, and various crafts—needle-felting is my current favorite.

What Is Your Role At RJP Maine?

Since February 2020, I have had the pleasure to serve as the Executive Director working directly with all staff and members of the board of directors in furthering the mission of RJP Maine

What Brought You To This Work?

I learned about restorative justice when I was the Executive Director of the YWCA Central Maine in Lewiston. Our afterschool program staff were trained in restorative practices and I saw firsthand how well it helped to resolve conflict when children were asked to reflect on their behavior using restorative questions. What happened? What were you thinking at the time? What have you thought about since? Who has been affected by what you have done? In what way? What do you think you need to do to make things right?

What Are You Most Passionate About This Work?

I’m most passionate about changing the criminal legal system. The current response to crime and wrongdoing through punishment and isolation (jails and prisons) only leads to further harm and trauma. Restorative practices offer an alternative approach where accountability and healing coexists.

What Is One Thing You Want Folks To Know About You?

I’m a lifelong Mainer having never lived outside the state of Maine. While I love to travel, I am always happy to return to my home state.

What Restores You?

Spending time with my family – my life partner, my adult daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and of course, my dog, Casco and anything that involves water – sailing on our wooden friendship sloop, swimming, walking along the beach, and bodysurfing!

What is your role at RJP Maine?

As a Restorative Justice Manager, my role is to collaborate with stakeholders to enable harm repair and restoration for communities we serve. This includes supporting focus areas of communications and volunteer engagement.

What brought you to this work?

Becoming system-impacted and witnessing barriers that not only prevented healing but compounded harm. I first learned of restorative justice while trying to reconcile the complexities of my own experience. I deepened my learnings first-hand by serving as a community member for restorative conferences, and ultimately through a Masters in Restorative Justice.

What do you bring to this work?

I have 20 years of professional experience identifying and supporting people’s needs, which I bring with me in the transition from one “HR” to another – human resources to harm repair.

What restores you?

Spending time with loved ones, the ocean, long drives, and meditation.

What brought you to this work? 

What are you most passionate about in this work? 

What do you bring to this work?

What is one thing you want folks to know about you?

What restores you?

What Is Your Role At RJP Maine?

To keep track of finances – pay the bills and help keep us moving forward.

What Brought You To This Work?

The idea of restorative justice. This is a better way to deal with the criminal system and other harms in our society.

What Restores You?

Music – especially music of the 60’s and 70’s. And my faith in humanity and my religion!

Abdi “Lalee” Awad immigrated from Somalia to Maine with his family and attended Portland High School. He is currently incarcerated at Maine State Prison. Lalee refused to let his current circumstances define who he is. While incarcerated, he earned his AA, BA (from the University of Maine at Augusta), and MS in Adult and Higher Education (from the University of Southern Maine). He is currently looking to apply for his PhD program. He is a Nationally Certified Yoga Instructor in Traditional Vinyasa and Holistic Yoga Flow, Two times Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Fellow (2021-2022 &2022 to 2023), Senior Justice Scholar with Opportunity Scholars, 2023 UCLA Dream Fellow, Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Volunteer, Culturally Responsive Restorative Justice Practitioner Consultant and Youth Mentor. Social/Immigrant Justice Advocate, Presenter, Currently a Consultant with Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine: a firm believer that education is the greatest equalizer in our society. His current work includes uplifting the voice of underserved community members (justice system-impacted and immigrant communities). His favorite pastimes include listening to music and watching documentaries.

Chris LeGore graduated with a BA in Physics and an MS in Science Education from Cornell University. She was a high school math and science teacher for 7 years, the last four at Mt. View H.S. in Thorndike, Maine. For the past 39 years she has been a UMA employee: teaching developmental math for 8 years, then overseeing the university’s off-campus centers, and finally serving as director of University College – the system’s distance education network. She retired from administration in 2010 and continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member at University College in Rockland and at Maine State Prison. An active member of the UU Church of Belfast, she has been involved with RJP Maine since its inception. Her favorite activities are sailing, mentoring, playing her flute, playing with her grandchildren, and having lunch with friends.

Born and raised in Knox County, Connie retired in February 2024 after dedicating 25 years to community health promotion as the Director of Penobscot Bay Community Health Partnerships. In 1997, she took the lead in establishing Knox County’s inaugural community health coalition, laying the groundwork for collaborative efforts to address health challenges. She secured Maine’s pioneering grants for tobacco and substance use prevention in 2001 and 2002, significantly improving the health outcomes of the county’s residents. During her tenure, she served on several statewide councils and advisory boards, including the Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Advisory Board, the Maine State Legislature’s Statewide Coordinating Council, and the Maine Network of Healthy Communities. Connie remains committed to improving lives and fostering healthier communities, serving on the Boards of Directors for Penquis and the Coastal Recovery Community Center. Connie also finds joy in her personal life, cherishing her relationship with her grown daughter who resides in Valencia, Spain.

Janine Gates joined the Board of the Restorative Justice Project Maine in 2019. She brings to that role a solid grounding in the substance use disorders and mental health field. She worked for several years as a therapist and program manager in a hospital-based treatment program, and then as a policy analyst for the Addictions and Mental Health Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health. After founding her own consulting practice, Janine worked with worked with not-for-profit organizations, service provider coalitions, and government to provide program development, system design, strategic planning, and development of/training in best-practices guidelines. She graduated the University of Toronto in 1996. Janine retired and moved to Belfast in 2015.

Jim graduated from Husson College with a degree in Finance. He has been the President and General Manager of WoodenBoat Publication Inc. for over 30 years. Jim has been a board member of Eastern Maine United Way and is a long-time member of the board of the Belfast Coop and is on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters. He is also the co-chair of the Waldo County YMCA.

Karen joined the RJP Maine board in January 2021 following a career in education including teaching, administration and research. She earned a B.A. from Elmira College and an M.S.Ed. from Wheelock College. Her work experience includes preschool, elementary, secondary and higher education and includes projects pertaining to educational access for homeless children and parenting education for incarcerated parents. Her interest in restorative justice was inspired by experience with discipline systems in schools and colleges, tutoring students in correctional settings and attending Brunswick Friends Meeting. She volunteers with new Mainers, Merrymeeting Gleaners, groups in Bowdoinham and serves on the board of the Brunswick Area Student Aid Fund. Other interests include reading groups, music time outdoors kayaking, cross-country skiing and enjoying walks with friends and dogs. She has one daughter.

Lael had a first career in medieval and early modern European history at Cal State University (Los Angeles) and while she lived there continued a long practice of involvement in social justice work, especially involving immigrants and LGBTQ causes. She moved to Maine in 2002 and entered a process of discernment with the Episcopal Church that led to seminary and a change of career. She has served as an Episcopal priest in Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, and since 2015 has been the rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Rockland, Maine. She joined the board of RJP Maine in 2023.​

Laura Renée Chandler, PhD, currently serves as the Associate Provost and Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Colby College. She moved to Maine in August 2023 from Atlanta, GA. Before transitioning to higher education leadership, she was a history professor specializing in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century African American history and US women’s history. Throughout her career, she has been deeply involved in social justice initiatives, including anti-racist community work and women’s reproductive justice. Laura Renée also served as Director of the South Dakota African American History Museum in Sioux Falls, where she led efforts to increase community engagement with Black history across the state of South Dakota. She holds an MA and PhD in history from Rice University and a BA in political science from Macalester College. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and can often be found on a road trip with her Dachshund mix, Frankie.

Hailing from northeastern Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountain foothills, Melissa is a retired public defender from Kentucky and a nonprofit professional. Melissa is the current COO and in-house counsel at the Capital District YMCA in Albany, New York, and a past CEO of the Penobscot Bay YMCA in Rockport. Melissa holds a law degree from the University of Kentucky and a B.A. in English and Spanish from Eastern Kentucky University and is a current student at Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York City studying social justice and religion. Melissa is a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Rockland. Melissa and her wife, Lori, spend many weeks of the year in Midcoast Maine, enjoying anything outside and near water with dogs and friends.

Misa first moved to Maine in 2018 to attend Colby College in Waterville. As a first-generation-to-college, low income student of color, Misa became involved in Colby’s efforts to support the inclusion and success of underrepresented students and joined Colby’s Restorative Practice Leadership Team in 2021. After completing his BA in Latin American Studies and Educational Studies in 2022, Misa took a full-time role with Colby’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Apart from his position at Colby, he has remained actively involved in educational equity work by attending trainings, facilitating workshops, mentoring students, and rooting himself in Restorative Practices. In 2024, Misa enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Online Master’s in Educational Leadership. His favorite pastimes are photography, spending time outdoors, and social dancing.

​Tim Hughes grew up in Ohio and moved with his wife to Belfast in 1982. He graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, CWRU School of Medicine in Ohio, and UCSF rural family medicine program in Fresno, California. He has worked for Seaport since 1982 and now principally works helping people recover from addictions. He also currently serves on the Waldo County Recovery Committee. Tim has one daughter and enjoys reading, listening to people, being in, on or under water, and riding bicycles.

Bill began his career as a broadcast journalist in the Midwest, holding a degree in Science Journalism from Iowa State University. For 21 years, Bill was an executive of a number of leading nonprofit organizations. In 1991, he founded Development Communications Associates (DCABoston.com). As DCA president, he led the formulation of the Cause Development® methodology. Bill has directed projects dedicated to eliminating river blindness and neonatal tetanus, controlling tuberculosis, and expanding what has become the world’s largest program to train clinicians in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients based in South Africa. He has sailed the coast of Maine and beyond for 21 years and now spends nearly half the year in Midcoast Maine. He is an avid kayaker and a sometime boatbuilder and woodworker. He and his wife, Marlene, have three children and eight grandchildren.