Julie Shackford-Bradley
Julie Shackford-Bradley recently joined SEEDS after co-founding and serving as Director of the Restorative Justice Center at the University of California at Berkeley since 2012. She's been a practicing mediator since 2003, and embraced RJ as a facilitator and trainer in 2011, all while volunteering with SEEDS. Julie has been teaching at the college level since 2000 in the fields of Peace and Conflict Studies and Global Studies, and currently teaches courses in RJ, and Truth, Justice and Reconciliation in the Legal Studies Program at UC Berkeley.
Background
As Director of the RJ Center at Berkeley, I was privileged to bring together a team of students (RJ Student Leaders) and RJ facilitators from the Bay Area who provided direct services, workshops and trainings for staff, students and faculty across the campus, and partnered with various campus organizations, including PATH to Care, the Graduate Division, and People and Culture. I embraced the work of designing workshops, slides and manuals for RJ / Mediation for students and for workplaces and organizations over these years, and am excited to bring these materials and workshop designs to SEEDS.
During this time, I also co-founded Circles for Social Change (CSC) with Jonathan Bradley and Kat Culberg. CSC offers services and trainings in Mediation and Restorative Justice for Higher Ed, Families, and Workplaces/Organizations.
Through years of providing services and trainings, I've developed an understanding of the principles and practices of Restorative Leadership, which for me includes consensus-based decision-making, practicing equity that involves strengths- and needs-based approaches, and taking time to build inclusive communities with shared values and a culture of supportive accountability. I am excited to test these concepts everyday in my new role at SEEDS.
My true passions are teaching and writing, and since 2000, I have also taught in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies and Restorative Justice. I am currently teaching courses in Berkeley’s Legal Studies program on RJ, Mediation and Truth, Justice and Reconciliation at UC Berkeley. In my teaching, I take time to create restorative learning environments through circle practice, where students can engage in honest and respectful dialog about historical harms and their current legacies, and together envision ways of coming together to acknowledge, repair and transform.
Outside of work, I enjoy beach walks, working with textiles, and my two pups, Coco and Chiquis, aka Frank.
