Testimonials & Praise
as a conflict process facilitator . . .
We are so grateful to Tatiana for helping our organization navigate a challenging situation. Tatiana guided us throughout the process of restorative justice with care and professionalism. She created a brave space and facilitated the dialogue so everyone can share their truth and listen to others. We felt reassured and comforted knowing we were not alone. Her expertise, compassion and empathy made the process transformational for our community. —Aureen Almario, Artistic Director of Bindlestiff Studio
I'm someone who is hungry for training around navigating conflict but hadn't met the facilitator who weaved in play, embodiment and community. Then comes Tatiana with her Conflict Embodiment workshop that made my whole spirit and body feel so comfortable. It was clear from the beginning just how attuned, present and strong her facilitation was. I could feel her praxis and commitment to collective liberation with every word and action she took. I left the experience with a much brighter, hopeful & expanded heart. It brought me a sense of connection and possibility for a healthier way of relating with each other. Honestly, I can't wait for another workshop series. Sign me up now. —Dominque Cowling, politicized healer
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as a workshop leader & trainer . . .
Working with Tatiana is a joy. She brought our group through
a journey that was fun, deep, energizing, reflective and gentle.
—Naima Shalhoub, Musician and Peacebuilder
I am not a person who enjoys performing in front of others. With that being said, Tatiana created an environment that made me feel supported by my peers which compelled me to put myself out there. —Komoia Johnson, Program Director at Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth
We brought Tatiana in to work with our growing staff in conflict engagement. We looked at other training options, but her approach stood out because it was experiential and embodied — not just theory, but real practice. We wanted something that would help people get out of their heads and actually try things, stretch a bit, and build comfort with discomfort.
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Tatiana's Theater of the Oppressed–based methods made the training highly interactive and grounded in real situations, so staff could explore conflict dynamics instead of just talking about them. She struck a great balance between giving useful frameworks and creating space to practice. Our team walked away with shared language, practical tools, and a solid foundation upon which to build a healthier work environment. People felt both supported and challenged, and they really appreciated Tatiana’s approachable style. —Tiffany McClain, Equity Director at Communities for a Better Environment
Tatiana Chaterji's Beyond HR Reporting workshop provides an incredible amount of deep, human-centered insight coupled with down-to-earth practical guidance on how to handle difficult issues in an impressively compassionate, restorative way that also achieves real justice. You can tell how thoughtfully she has developed these materials through her own lived experience in addition to many years of hard work around transformative and restorative justice. The principles backed up by several real examples of success in achieving RJ, something much of our world still struggles to even imagine as a goal. —Chand John, software engineer
as an educator & youth development/youth engagement specialist . . .
"I’ve been working at Juvenile Hall for 20 years and I have never seen the kids so engaged. I mean, out of their seat, paying attention, being positive." —Jamilah Pierson, Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, Institutional Supervisor (Probation)
Tatiana makes me want to pay attention. It's her energy, body language, tone of voice. That really counts when you're teaching or leading a group. —Diamond, youth leader at Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
I have been most impressed by the way that Ms. Chaterji develops caring relationships with students, families, and staff. Simply put, students are drawn to the affection and love that she demonstrates in all of her interactions. In the five years we worked together, she was without question a beloved staff member on campus, evidenced by the endless steam of students seeking her out before school, at lunch, and for hours after school. She is warm and students can clearly see her regard for them and their well-being. Tatiana is also fearless in her advocacy for students, and always unafraid to step in during tough situations to keep students safe.
Ms. Chaterji did an incredible job of introducing all of our students to restorative practices and developed apipeline for student restorative justice facilitators. By the end of each 12-week elective cycle, new groups of 9th grade students would be leading restorative justice circles in classrooms and student groups across the campus.In this sense Tatiana helped to create an RJ culture on campus that truly touched every student. —Tom Skjervheim, former Co-Principal of Fremont High School, OUSD
in speaking about experience as a survivor of violence . . .
Tremendous gratitude was expressed in my group at Chowchilla State Prison yesterday for your contributions. One woman said she had expected anger from crime survivors and had braced herself for it, and was just amazed by your compassion for everyone in the circle. Several others talked about your compassion as simply inspiring, plus they mentioned your humor in particular. One woman was seriously affected by your talking about brain injury since that was involved in her own crime, and in addition a child of hers has suffered it, and it was revelatory for her and she has been doing her own research since you came. It made a big impact. —David Belden, Circle-Keeper with the Ahimsa Collective
endorsing the book, Everyday Restorative Justice . . .
Drawing on syntheses of research from anthropology, sociology, the developmental sciences, and other fields, the science of learning and development (SoLD) underscores that environments filled with safety and belonging are foundational to student learning and wellbeing. Yet many schools struggle to create these conditions. Everyday Restorative Justice enters this gap as a practice-driven exploration of how restorative approaches can strengthen school culture, deepen moral imagination, and cultivate accountability within contexts shaped by structural inequity and collective trauma.
It moves restorative justice beyond episodic crisis response and toward a sustained, generative practice of community building rooted in fairness and dignity. Written for educators and practitioners, Everyday Restorative Justice offers a rich repository of practical tools and a humanizing vision for schools, positioning restorative practice as a transformative pedagogy capable of reshaping the moral, relational, and cultural fabric of everyday school life. —Sarah Klevan, Senior Researcher at the Learning Policy Institute
As a classroom teacher who has facilitated RJ circles, and as a labor leader who has negotiated restorative justice into contract language, I’ve seen both the promise of RJ and the real harm caused by implementation without supports and necessary conditions for success. Tatiana refuses to sugarcoat these realities, offering generous and incisive critiques grounded in the challenges that educators face, without giving up on what is possible and very much needed in our schools, particularly in this moment.
During a time of political instability, repression and fear, this timely book renews hope in showing how RJ can reach its full potential and presents a path forward so we can find strength and inspiration to continue fighting for our students’ futures and create the safe schools and compassionate communities we all deserve. —Jessica Tang, President, AFT Massachusetts
In Everyday Restorative Justice, Tatiana Chaterji offers educators and youth workers a theoretical introduction to restorative justice alongside classroom-ready curriculum drawn from her many years teaching RJ in schools. Through case studies, lessons, scripts, photos, and somatic activities, Chaterji does what I didn’t think was possible: she made me miss my days in the classroom. This book is a powerful reminder of the joy and freedom dreaming that is possible when we live and teach through a restorative lens.
—Anita Wadhwa, Executive Director of Restorative Houston
Everyday Restorative Justice is based on real world experience practicing and teaching restorative justice in schools. Chaterji offers many examples and stories from her work as an RJ Facilitator in Oakland public schools. She also offers practical tools for actually doing this work; something that is missing in many books about restorative practices in schools. This book is much more than an academic understanding of RJ, it is a deeply usable and practical tool for navigating the complex world of schools in a positive and generative way. —David Yusem, district-wide Restorative Justice Coordinator, Oakland Unified School District
Chaterji’s book is both a gift and a call to action for educators, youth workers, administrators, students, and all those working to build abolitionist possibilities within—and despite—the school–prison nexus. Drawing from a deep lineage of Indigenous people’s traditions as well as her own personal experience navigating harm and healing, her grounded, nuanced, and inspiring approaches to Restorative Justice in Bay Area schools offer us a powerful vision for change. For those of us who believe that prison abolition is truly possible, this book helps readers to imagine concrete steps—both large and small—toward that future in one of our most consequential sites of social reproduction: preK–12 schools. — Farima Pour-Khorshid, Associate Professor and Teacher Supervisor, School of Education, University of San Francisco
Everyday Restorative Justice recounts narratives of circles and of explorations with students not only about empathy and accountability in interpersonal contexts, but also about reparations, abolition of prisons and police, and about using restorative justice to address historical trauma. This book is useful for practitioners, teachers, and students of restorative justice, along with anyone searching for tools to create new futures free of all systems of domination. Everyday Restorative Justice is a spirited embodiment both of Paolo Freire’s truth that there is no such thing as neutral education and of Chaterji’s own keen elaboration that there is no such thing as neutral restorative justice either. —Fania Davis, civil rights attorney, community leader, & founder of RJOY
Everyday Restorative Justice brings restorative justice out of theory and into lived practice. With clarity, humility, and deep care, Chaterji shows us that RJ is not just a response to harm, but a way of being - one that builds belonging, accountability, and collective healing in everyday moments. Rooted in schools, yet resonant far beyond them, this book holds together healing and accountability, structure and relationship, courage and love. —Kazu Haga, author of Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse
Everyday Restorative Justice is the book we have been waiting for! Providing us with roadmaps, examples, and personal narratives about how school communities embrace restorative practices, we bear witness to nurturing, accountable, and humanizing school environments. Chaterji beautifully shows us how restorative justice can be authentically woven into schools and, as a result, work towards transforming our society at large. —Maria Hantzopoulos, Professor of Education at Vassar College
