Antoine, Nora, M.A., is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate and works as an
Instructor at Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Nora has worked
with Indigenous peacemaking collaborators throughout the US and with various educational systems,
Tribal Courts and businesses interested in advancing, integrating and promoting mediation and/or
peacemaking into their systems. She is currently making application for doctoral studies where she
hopes to advance her understanding of conflict management and the role of cultural values in addressing/promoting
Wowahwala Wiconi (working towards living a peaceful existence).
Bergseth, Kathleen, Ph.D (abd) is a Doctoral Candidate and Dissertation Fellow
in the Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science at North Dakota State University.
She has participated in program evaluations and produced numerous technical reports on the topics
of restorative justice and youth aftercare. Her work has been published in the Journal of Criminal
Justice and Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. Other interests include juvenile delinquency, adult
and juvenile reentry, female criminality, the impact of criminal justice processing on the lives of
women, and the unique features of rural justice.
Black Elk, Wesley, BS
Religious Coordinator, MCF-Rush City, MN. He is a younger elder of the
Lakota tribes. He lives in central Minnesota and works at the Minnesota Department of Corrections and assisted with workplace dispute resolution project in the prison. He has had formal training in both restorative justice and transformative practices and filters both of these sets of ideas through his powerful tribal lens.
Carlson, Deb, M. A.
Director of Juvenile Services, Grand Forks County, has been with
Juvenile Court for 30 years. Eleven years as a probation officer, seventeen years as a Juvenile Court Supervisor/ Court Officer III, and two years as the Director of Juvenile Court for Administrative Unit One (which is for 13 counties in Northeast North Dakota). She has a Bachelor of Science in Education, and a Master's Degree, both from the University of North Dakota. Her career area of special interest and study has been in adolescent alcohol and drug problems. She has been actively involved in programs for the Juvenile Court, including Drug Court, Restorative Justice, and Cognitive Restructuring.
Cuzzo, Maria, J.D., Ph.D, is a Professor of Legal Studies and Academic Advisor to the
Mediation/Conflict Resolution program at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. A Certified Transformative Mediator, Cuzzo is experienced in workplace dispute resolution projects and was a key designer of the Conflict Resolution Initiative (CRI) based in the Minnesota Department of Corrections. She is also an attorney, a mediator, a trainer/ educator and an organizational change consultant. Maria has studied, written and presented many works on restorative justice, mediation, and on comparisons of multiple processes. She also serves as a member of the State of Minnesota ADR Ethics Board which regulates and oversees all court annexed ADR practice in Minnesota.
DePerry, Tony
is a First Nations Wellness Practitioner and Ojibwa Indian from Ontario, Canada
and Tribal elder, and has worked with the American Indian Studies Program. Tony DePerry is of the Northwestern Ontario Ojibwe. He is an elder, a storyteller, and a historian. He addresses Ojibwe spirituality, wisdom, and life principles.
Gehm, John, Ph.D., is Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Sioux Falls.
He has provided research, training and publication in the area of Restorative Justice and Victim-Offender Mediation across the country, and was Executive Director of Prisoner & Community Together (PACT), a private non-profit community corrections agency in Indiana. He is also a consultant and trainer with the National Institute of Corrections and the US Dept. of Justice.
Hines, David was a police officer for Woodbury (MN) Public Safety for 29 years, retiring in
May 2006. He worked in patrol, crime prevention, training and investigations, and was assigned to investigations for 23 years, eighteen as a senior investigator. The last twelve years he was Juvenile Coordinator for the Police Department, and Community Justice Coordinator for the City of Woodbury. He headed a Community Restorative Justice Program within the police department that became recognized internationally as an example of how police could incorporate restorative justice into their daily work. David has conducted over 600 restorative conferences and circles, written several articles on restorative justice, and has presented on various restorative justice topics for local, state and national organizations in the US and Canada.
Kleven, Judge Debbie Gordon - Northeast Central Judicial
District. Debbie graduated from the UND School of Law and practiced law with the Grand Forks County States' Attorneys
Office for several years before running successful for Grand Forks County Judge. She has served as a District Court
Judges for many years, with an interest in alternative courts such as the Drug Court, Juvenile Diversion, and Family Court.
Meier, Lorrie, M. Ed., LPCC -
began working with families in 1990 as in in-home counselor. In
2000 she was trained to coordinate and facilitate Family Group Decision Making conferences and became the FGDM program coordinator for her agency. Lorrie was actively involved in the utilization and expansion of FGDM throughout her region and the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Child Welfare Training System hired Lorrie to provide the FGDM Orientation and Facilitator/Coordinator training throughout the state of Minnesota. Lorrie has collaboratively written and revised curriculum for the FGDM trainings. Currently, Lorrie is the FGDM program services supervisor for the Village Family Service Center in North Dakota. Her role is to coordinate the program throughout the state of ND and provide FGDM case supervision for staff. Lorrie's home base is at the Fargo Village office.
Powell, Jeffery, Ph.D.,
works in the Dean of Students Office at the University of North Dakota.
This office supports judicial services, crisis management, student advocacy, and educational programs that contribute to overall campus safety, civility, and community-building. Restorative Justice concepts are a large role of this work. Jeffrey is an active member of the Association of Student Conduct Administration and is familiar with national practices related to Restorative Justice in Student Conduct. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University in the College of Education and Human Development
Redekop, Paul, Ph.D.,
is a senior member of the Conflict
Resolution Studies Faculty at Menno Simons College. He teaches many courses in conflict resolution and
transformation, restorative justice, violence and non-violence, culture, mediation practice, and more.
He has published a book in 2007 entitled "Changing Paradigms: Punishment and Restorative Discipline."
He participants in "Globus: Social Justice and Human Rights Student Exchange Program" with partners in
Canada and the European Union.
Regimbal, Janell, M.A., LPCC, is the Sr. Vice
President of Children and Family Services for Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota,
a multi-service statewide faith based organization, providing twenty different program
offerings to those in need. Janell's career has primarily been devoted to the advocacy of children
and specifically to designing and implementing services to the at risk youth population. She has
statewide responsibilities and is based out of the Grand Forks office. As Sr. Vice President she
has organizational responsibilities for the following program divisions: Restorative Justice,
Healthy Families, Family Based Services, DIVERT, Youth Advocacy & Reintegration Services, Child
Care Resource & Referral, Gamblers Choice and the Adoption Option. She has provided technical
assistance training through the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) and Community
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).
Skalsky, Cindy, B.S., is the Diversity Coordinator
in Fergus Falls, MN, and assists the MN Dept. of Education in monitoring Schools in state to meet Safe &
Drug Free School requirements. She is the past President/Program Coordinator of Peaceful Solutions, a
conflict resolution center. She has served as the Drug and Violence Prevention Coordinator for schools in
MN Region IV, and has worked in Restorative Justice for many years in schools working toward prevention and
solutions to violence and in support of youth resiliency.
Stacey, Susan, J.D. has coordinated the Minnesota Department of Corrections' Integrated
Conflict Management System since January, 2007. She served as Planner for Evidence-Based Practices from
2003 to 2008 and as Restorative Justice Associate Planner from 1995 until 2003. Sue has been a mediator
and restorative justice practitioner since 1991 and has facilitated dozens of mediations and restorative
processes in situations ranging from workplace disputes on the lower end, to crimes of severe violence on
the higher end of the range. She has provided restorative justice education, skills training, and technical
assistance to communities and criminal justice system agencies across Minnesota, in other states, and for
regional, federal and International concerns. Sue co-authored the article, "Family Group Conferencing
Comes to the U.S.: A Comparison with Victim-Offender Mediation" with Mark Umbreit, Ph.D., published in
the Juvenile and Family Court Journal (Vol. 47, No. 2). She was Project Director for the "Youth Level
of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI)" curriculum and also for the "Training for YLS/CMI Trainers"
curriculum developed with the YLS/CMI Master Trainers in Minnesota. She was also Project Director for the
"Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences" curriculum developed by the Minnesota Department of
Corrections with assistance from the National Institute of Corrections.
Wenger, Jill, B.S. is the Restorative Justice
Program Coordinator with the Clay County Sheriff's Office in Moorhead, MN. Last year the program served
132 juvenile offenders and 92 victims as well as many other offender supporters, victim supporters,
community volunteers, and agency representatives. Jill has 13 years of experience facilitating
restorative processes such Victim/Offender Conferencing and Community Conferencing. She also has
experience facilitating Talking Circles and Circles of Support. She is a certified "Train the Trainer for
Facilitating Restorative Group Conferences" and has co-trained over 100 individuals as facilitators.
Jill currently serves as the Co-chair for the Minnesota Restorative Services Coalition (MRSC). She has a
Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Bemidji State University.
Watermark used with permission from UND Native American Law Student Association
