Bridge Builders | Season 3

Welcome to Season 3 of Bridge Builders, where we explore how restorative justice in schools can serve antiracist ends — and what it takes to build the coalitions that make that vision real.

In this season premiere, co-hosts Alex Parker and Mercedes Alicea sit down with Dr. Annmary Abdou and Dr. Barbara Katic, two of the authors behind a new article in School Psychology Review: “Cultivating a Restorative Lens: Integrating Restorative Justice into School Psychology Practice.” The article — co-authored with Kyna Hernando and published in June 2025 — makes the case that school psychologists are uniquely positioned to advance anti-racist restorative justice across their institutions, and offers a concrete framework for doing so.

At its core, the article argues that restorative justice isn’t just a discipline strategy — it’s a relational, healing-centered philosophy rooted in Indigenous wisdom that can address systemic inequity at every level of school life. The authors introduce a set of reflective questions to help school psychologists develop what they call a “restorative lens,” and map out how RJ-aligned practices can be applied across all ten domains of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) practice framework. The result is a roadmap — not just for school psychologists, but for anyone working to build more equitable school communities.

In this episode, Alex and Mercedes bring that research to life, exploring what it looks like in practice for educators, community organizers, and advocates to partner with school psychologists in this work. Whether you’re new to restorative justice or looking to deepen your existing practice, this conversation offers both the conceptual grounding and the practical entry points to move forward.

In solidarity, Alex Parker, MEd & Mercedes Alicea, EdD (co-hosts) Olivia Marcucci, PhD (faculty editor)