Biographies Working Group on Restorative Cities

Jolan Van den Broeck is a policy advisor at Halt, the primary Dutch juvenile diversion service, where he focuses on fundraising, international collaboration, and restorative justice. He previously served as a project officer at Stichting Restorative Justice Nederland. Jolan’s commitment to justice was sparked during his volunteer work at a juvenile detention centre in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after which he moved to Utrecht for his studies.

Sarah is the Network Coordinator of Leuven Restorative City. She has a background in social, health and intercultural psychology and holds master’s degrees from Maastricht University and Université Libre de Bruxelles.

In 2012 Bruna co-founded L'Innominato, the Lecco Working Group for restorative justice, which has been operating adopting a community based restorative justice perspective and  involving citizens in dissemination and practices.

She is the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Restorative Justice Office “Incontra” in Bergamo. She trains mediators and trainers, and also works as a mediator herself. She serves as the guarantor (ombudsman) for the rights of detainees. She is actively involved in designing initiatives aimed at social inclusion and community cohesion, promoting a restorative culture within civic, community, and professional settings. In the academic field, she is an adjunct lecturer in community mediation, restorative practices, and interreligious dialogue. She holds a PhD in Philosophy of Law, a Master’s degree in Criminology, and is a qualified jurist.

Trained as an architect, she holds a PhD in spatial justice and works as a researcher at DINÂMIA'CET – IUL, the Centre for the Study of Socioeconomic Change and the Territory at the University Institute of Lisbon. Her research focuses on action-based projects that promote housing rights for marginalised communities. In recent years, she has broadened her work to explore issues of justice, restorative practices, and prison abolition. Alongside her academic work, she volunteers at a prison near Lisbon with Reshape, an organisation committed to supporting the social reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals. She is also a co-founder of Mulheres na Arquitectura [Women in Architecture], an NGO dedicated to addressing gender equality and spatial inequalities.

Federica's Ph.D. research at the University of Sassari focuses on restorative cities, starting from the example of Tempio Pausania (Sardinia, Italy). Recently graduated in Law in Rome, she's also interested in the topic of prisons, where she's been volunteering for some years.

Trained as a social psychologist and criminologist, she is a certified mediator and independent consultant based in Geneva. She provides advisory services, practice and needs assessments, and training on issues related to social cohesion, interpersonal conflict, and justice, both within Switzerland and in international contexts. Her work seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice, with the aim of fostering social cohesion through active citizenship, mutual accountability, and dialogue, particularly in response to polarisation and tensions in social relationships. As a board member of the Swiss Restorative Justice Forum, she contributes to the promotion of restorative justice in Switzerland by actively engaging in knowledge exchange, outreach, advocacy, and the development, implementation, and evaluation of restorative practices.

Dr. Mara Schiff is Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, former Vice-President of the National Association for Community and Restorative Justice, and formerly elected school board member in Indian River County, Florida. Dr. Schiff recently served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Belgium examining restorative approaches to education, justice and citizen engagement. She publishes, teaches and lectures on systemic structural injustice, specifically related to restorative theory and practice in criminal-legal and educational settings. She has received multiple academic fellowships, teaching and leadership awards, and speaks and trains nationally and internationally on restorative justice. Among various academic journals and book publications, she is currently co-editor of the North American volume of the International Encyclopaedia of Restorative Justice.

Cristina Vasilescu is a consultant in project design, monitoring, and evaluation for Associazione Comunità il Gabbiano, and a freelance specialist in public policy, research, evaluation and project design. She is also an Erasmus+ Ambassador for Adult Education in the Lombardy Region. A past chair of the Working Group on Restorative Cities of the European Forum for Restorative Justice, she has been involved in several restorative justice projects as a project evaluator or monitoring consultant. Within the Working Group, she represents Como Restorative City. She has followed the initiative since its inception as a project evaluator and has continued to accompany it ever since.

Dr Jacek Wałdoch is a mediator since 2013, assistant professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk, director of the Mediation Center of the University of Gdańsk.

Emma’s role is to provide a relational framework that can support a wide range of organisations and sectors, including schools, early years and afterschool services, youth services, corporate organisations, communities and families. Emma provides learning and development in restorative practice, for young people, adults and organisations — alongside support and mentorship — to help citizens build strong, happy, restorative communities.

Dr. Evelyn Zellerer is the founding director of "Peace of the Circle", based in Vancouver, Canada. Evelyn works locally as well as internationally with governments, Indigenous nations, justice agencies, workplaces, schools and communities. She is a facilitator, trainer, author and speaker with 30 years of experience, specialising in communication, peace circles and restorative justice. Peace of the Circle, with Evelyn’s leadership, launched and hosts the initiative for Vancouver becoming a Restorative City, the first in Canada. Over 30 organisations are participating. She earned her Ph.D. in criminology (1996), has backpacked around the world as a single woman, is a proud mom, has led projects in diverse contexts in many countries, is a published author and has presented at many forums including the United Nations. More information: peaceofthecircle.com