The Restorative Justice Leadership Summit is an invitation‑only gathering of leaders from across the Bay Area. The Summit brings together:
- Parole and probation agencies
- Law enforcement and public safety partners
- School and district leaders
- Youth‑serving and community‑based organizations
- Nonprofit executives
- Practitioners in violence prevention, reentry, and restorative justice
The purpose of the 2026 convening is to strengthen collaboration and elevate restorative, trauma‑informed approaches that support youth, families, and community safety.
Restorative Justice Leadership Summit 2026
Survival, Healing & Redemption: Collaboration for Youth and Community Safety
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
St. Mary’s Cathedral • Event Center
1111 Gough Street, San Francisco 94109
Program Schedule
7:45 AM – Doors Open and Registration
8:45 AM — Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:00 AM — Panel 1: Social Media, Youth Safety, & Violence Prevention
This session explores how online behavior influences school climate, youth wellbeing, conflict escalation, and community safety.
7:30 AM – Doors Open and Registration
8:45 AM — Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:00 AM — Panel 1: Social Media, Youth Safety, & Violence Prevention
Panel Deatils:
This session explores how online behavior influences school climate, youth wellbeing, conflict escalation, and community safety.
Moderator: Barbara Lopez, Deputy Director, Mayor's Office for Victims' Rights
Barbara Lopez
Bobbi Lopez has dedicated her career to social justice and community empowerment in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her advocacy at La Raza Centro Legal, supporting children with disabilities, representing youth in disciplinary hearings, and assisting with VAWA claims. She later became a tenant organizer with the Central City SRO Collaborative and founded La Voz Latina, a vital program for Latino families in the Tenderloin. La Voz provided parent education, youth support, and housing assistance, and from it emerged the Tenderloin Safe Passage program, ensuring safer streets for youth and elders. Lopez also worked as a union representative for SEIU 1021, advocating for public employees across the Bay Area, and briefly with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, defending civil liberties. She later served as a legislative aide, director, and chief of staff to multiple elected officials, successfully shaping policies to expand affordable housing and shelter availability, strengthening civilian oversight of police departments, advocating in budgetary investments into violence prevention and restorative justice programs, and create a public health response for behavioral and mental health non-emergency 911 calls. In 2023 and 2024, she worked in a joint role with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office and the Department of Public Health, contributing to public safety initiatives, including the Street Violence Response Team. She now serves as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office for Victims’ Rights, a department created by ballot measure to advocate for victims and enhance services addressing gender-based violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and hate crimes.
Panelist: Marc Berkman, CEO of Organization for Social Media and Safety
Marc Berkman
Marc serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety which he has grown into a prominent national consumer protection organization that has taught social media safety skills to thousands of students, parents, and educators across the country and developed essential social media safety legislation like Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first law to deter social media-motivated violence. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of Congress and the California State Assembly. During his time as a legislative aide, he developed and helped pass into law numerous legislative initiatives to protect vulnerable children and families. Marc received his JD from Columbia Law School and his BA from UC Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.
Panelist: Tony Payne, Assistant Superintend of San Francisco Unified School District
Tony Payne
Tony Payne is the Assistant Superintendent of the Student and Family Services Division at the San Francisco Unified School District. His role involves overseeing the student and family services programs within the district. For more detailed information about his professional background and responsibilities, you can view his profile on LinkedIn or contact him directly through the provided email addresses.
Panelist: Jasmine Dawson, Director of City and Community Partnerships, SF Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
Panelist: Allison Adle, Youth Services Officer & Therapy K9 Handler, San Mateo County Police Department
Officer Allison Adle
Officer Allison Adle serves as San Mateo PAL’s Youth Services Officer and the department’s first-ever Therapy K9 Handler, overseeing all public schools within the City of San Mateo. She also plays a key leadership role as a Lead Explorer Advisor, helping guide and mentor future community leaders. A U.S. Army veteran with a background in HR across federal and private sectors, Allison joined the San Mateo Police Department in 2016 and has since served on patrol, the recruitment team, peer support team, and wellness team. A graduate of Notre Dame de Namur University with a degree in Communications, Allison enjoys summers in Tahoe, cheering on her daughters at softball games, and beach adventures with her dog, Rookie. What she values most about her role is building meaningful relationships with students and serving as a trusted mentor, creating a safe, empowering space that strengthens the bond between youth and law enforcement.
Interactive Format:
Following the panel, participants will take part in a 15‑minute table dialogue, reflecting on the themes just presented. Afterward, one representative from each table will pose a question during a structured Q&A, and the panelists will return to the stage to respond.
10:30 AM — Break
10:45 AM — Panel 2: Root Causes of Violence: Trauma, Poverty, & Family Disconnection
Panel Details:
This conversation examines deeper systemic drivers of harm and the opportunities for more coordinated, healing‑centered responses.
Moderator: To be announed
Panel Deatils:
Officer Allison Adle
Officer Allison Adle serves as San Mateo PAL’s Youth Services Officer and the department’s first-ever Therapy K9 Handler, overseeing all public schools within the City of San Mateo. She also plays a key leadership role as a Lead Explorer Advisor, helping guide and mentor future community leaders. A U.S. Army veteran with a background in HR across federal and private sectors, Allison joined the San Mateo Police Department in 2016 and has since served on patrol, the recruitment team, peer support team, and wellness team. A graduate of Notre Dame de Namur University with a degree in Communications, Allison enjoys summers in Tahoe, cheering on her daughters at softball games, and beach adventures with her dog, Rookie. What she values most about her role is building meaningful relationships with students and serving as a trusted mentor, creating a safe, empowering space that strengthens the bond between youth and law enforcement.
Moderator: Barbara Lopez, Deputy Director, Mayor's Office for Victims' Rights
Barbara Lopez
Bobbi Lopez has dedicated her career to social justice and community empowerment in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her advocacy at La Raza Centro Legal, supporting children with disabilities, representing youth in disciplinary hearings, and assisting with VAWA claims. She later became a tenant organizer with the Central City SRO Collaborative and founded La Voz Latina, a vital program for Latino families in the Tenderloin. La Voz provided parent education, youth support, and housing assistance, and from it emerged the Tenderloin Safe Passage program, ensuring safer streets for youth and elders. Lopez also worked as a union representative for SEIU 1021, advocating for public employees across the Bay Area, and briefly with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, defending civil liberties. She later served as a legislative aide, director, and chief of staff to multiple elected officials, successfully shaping policies to expand affordable housing and shelter availability, strengthening civilian oversight of police departments, advocating in budgetary investments into violence prevention and restorative justice programs, and create a public health response for behavioral and mental health non-emergency 911 calls. In 2023 and 2024, she worked in a joint role with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office and the Department of Public Health, contributing to public safety initiatives, including the Street Violence Response Team. She now serves as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office for Victims’ Rights, a department created by ballot measure to advocate for victims and enhance services addressing gender-based violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and hate crimes.
Panelist: Marc Berkman, CEO of Organization for Social Media and Safety
Marc Berkman
Marc serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety which he has grown into a prominent national consumer protection organization that has taught social media safety skills to thousands of students, parents, and educators across the country and developed essential social media safety legislation like Jordan’s Law, the nation’s first law to deter social media-motivated violence. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of Congress and the California State Assembly. During his time as a legislative aide, he developed and helped pass into law numerous legislative initiatives to protect vulnerable children and families. Marc received his JD from Columbia Law School and his BA from UC Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.
Panelist: Tony Payne, Assistant Superintend of San Francisco Unified School District
Tony Payne
Tony Payne is the Assistant Superintendent of the Student and Family Services Division at the San Francisco Unified School District. His role involves overseeing the student and family services programs within the district. For more detailed information about his professional background and responsibilities, you can view his profile on LinkedIn or contact him directly through the provided email addresses.
Panelist: Jasmine Dawson, Director of City and Community Partnerships, SF Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
Panelist: Allison Adle, Youth Services Officer & Therapy K9 Handler, San Mateo County Police Department
Officer Allison Adle
Officer Allison Adle serves as San Mateo PAL’s Youth Services Officer and the department’s first-ever Therapy K9 Handler, overseeing all public schools within the City of San Mateo. She also plays a key leadership role as a Lead Explorer Advisor, helping guide and mentor future community leaders. A U.S. Army veteran with a background in HR across federal and private sectors, Allison joined the San Mateo Police Department in 2016 and has since served on patrol, the recruitment team, peer support team, and wellness team. A graduate of Notre Dame de Namur University with a degree in Communications, Allison enjoys summers in Tahoe, cheering on her daughters at softball games, and beach adventures with her dog, Rookie. What she values most about her role is building meaningful relationships with students and serving as a trusted mentor, creating a safe, empowering space that strengthens the bond between youth and law enforcement.
Panelist: William McCoy, Bay Area Initiatives Coordinator for the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR)
William McCoy
William McCoy has spent the last two decades working to improve the lives of system-involved youth and families, but his real education didn’t start in a classroom or a boardroom. It started as a participant in a re-entry program called Project Choice in Oakland, CA where he first discovered that personal transformation isn't just a goal—it’s a lifeline. Today, as the Bay Area Initiatives Coordinator for the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR), Mr. McCoy bridges the gap between high-level safety strategies and heart-centered intervention and prevention services. Whether he is navigating the complexities of the juvenile justice system or implementing trauma-informed, culturally relevant, restorative justice practices in schools and in the community, his work is fueled by the belief that no one should be defined by their worst day. As a practitioner of conflict resolution and violence intervention and prevention, McCoy is still a student of the simple but complex things—like building healthy and trusting relationships, finding the perfect balance of personal development and addressing the mindset that gives rise to destructive behavior, improving outcomes and saving lives. Mr. McCoy believes in second chances and the power of a community that refuses to give up on its people.
Panelist: Chris Zelaya, Chief Growth Officer, Flourish Agenda Inc.
Officer Allison Adle
Chris Nguon is a proud West Oakland native and UC Berkeley graduate. A deeply rooted community advocate, Chris has dedicated his career to advancing wellness and healing across schools, affordable housing, recreation centers, and family resource hubs. At Flourish Agenda, Chris has risen through nearly every level of leadership, from trainer to project manager to vice president of programs to executive director. A dynamic keynote speaker, Chris shares a deeply personal healing journey, highlighting how restoration, resilience, and purpose shape his leadership today. Under his leadership, Flourish Agenda continues advancing healing-centered systems change as a national-facing organization.
Panelist: Don Carney, Executive Director of Youth Transforming Justice
Don Carney
Don is a veteran youth development practitioner. He is the founder and Executive Director of Youth Transforming Justice (YTJ), a youth driven social justice program transforming punitive school discipline and juvenile justice systems into restorative trauma-informed, peer-driven solutions. In the past 20 years YTJ has diverted 2,300 and provided suspension alternatives for thousands of students. He chairs Marin’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission and is a member of the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Don trains schools and probation departments on replicating YTJ’s successful restorative and trauma-responsive alternatives to school suspensions and juvenile justice involvement.
Panelist: Andrea Gil, Program Manager of HOPE Coalition – San Mateo County
Andrea Gil
Andrea is a Program Manager for Healthy Online Platform for Everyone (H.O.P.E.) Coalition, organizing to hold social media accountable for the messages we receive online. Andrea has supported over 60 HOPE youth leaders to advance health policy, including speaking in front of the California State Assembly and the White House Task Force on Protecting Kids Online. Andrea graduated from San Francisco State University, receiving a bachelor's in Latino/a Studies and Race and Resistance under the Ethnic Studies Department. She hopes to create a healthy community space filled with history and resources to assist the activists of today.
Interactive Format:
As with Panel 1, the presentation will be followed by a 15‑minute table dialogue, with one designated representative from each table participating in a focused Q&A with the panelists.
12:30 PM — Closing Reflections
1:00 PM — Networking
Exhibitors
This event will not host an exhibitor’s resources fair.
Registration
This is an invitation‑only event. Registration is available exclusively to invited participants. A public registration link will not be displayed.
Reentry Support Overview
The Reentry Support initiatives of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Restorative Justice Ministry are rooted in dignity, accompaniment, and hope. We walk alongside people returning home from incarceration, their families, and communities impacted by violence—offering practical resources, spiritual grounding, and opportunities for connection and leadership.
Our work recognizes that successful reentry is not a single moment, but a journey that requires community collaboration, access to resources, healing spaces, and pathways to belonging. Through education, advocacy, convening, and direct support, we seek to remove barriers, strengthen resilience, and affirm the inherent worth of every person impacted by harm.
Together, these platforms advance restorative justice by elevating lived experience, highlighting community‑based solutions, and strengthening cross‑sector partnerships that support people on their reentry journey.
Mission Statement
Through accompaniment, resources, and community collaboration, we advance restorative justice by supporting people returning from incarceration and those impacted by harm.
Restorative Justice Leadership Summit
The Reentry Leadership Summit brings together formerly incarcerated leaders, community organizations, faith leaders, advocates, and public partners. The Summit creates space for dialogue, shared learning, and collaboration around best practices in reentry, restorative justice, and community safety.
Reentry Conference and Expo
The Reentry Conference and Expo is an in‑person gathering that offers workshops, panel discussions, and a resource fair designed to support people returning from incarceration and those who serve them. Participants connect directly with service providers offering employment support, housing assistance, education pathways, legal help, health services, and faith‑based accompaniment.
This event centers community voices and fosters collaboration among agencies working on the frontlines of reentry.
Reentry Webinar Series
The Reentry Webinar Series expands access to reentry knowledge and conversation through virtual learning. Webinars feature speakers with lived experience, practitioners, advocates, and system partners addressing key reentry topics such as healing, employment, family reunification, trauma, restoration, and leadership development. These sessions are open to a broad audience and are designed to educate, inspire, and build understanding across communities.
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center Resource Fair
Hosted at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, the Reentry Resource Fair connects incarcerated individuals preparing for release with trusted community organizations. The fair provides direct access to services and information that can support a successful transition, including housing, employment, education, health care, faith communities, and mentorship. This initiative strengthens continuity of care and helps bridge the gap between incarceration and community life.
Reentry Scholarship Fund (Excell Network)
Through the Excell Network Reentry Scholarship Fund, we provide financial support for justice‑impacted individuals pursuing education, workforce training, and leadership development after incarceration. Scholarships are paired with mentorship and community support, recognizing education as a powerful pathway to restoration, opportunity, and long‑term stability.
Life Together After Prison Retreat
The Life Together After Prison Retreat is an annual day of reflection, healing, and renewal created specifically for people who have experienced incarceration, as well as families with loved ones currently inside. This retreat offers: - Space for spiritual renewal and personal reflection Opportunities to connect with others who share similar experiences - Tools for healing, courage, and resilience - A supportive environment grounded in faith, dignity, and grace Participants leave renewed, accompanied, and equipped to face life’s challenges with hope.
Restorative Justice Online Resource Directory (Coming Summer 2026)
Our Restorative Justice Online Directory will provide access to more than 100 vetted resources, available to: - Formerly incarcerated individuals - Families of incarcerated people - Survivors of violent crime - Families of homicide victims The directory will include services across housing, employment, legal support, counseling, spiritual care, victim services, and community organizations—helping individuals locate support and connection when it is most needed.
Venue
St. Mary’s Cathedral Event Center
1111 Gough Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
For questions contact Julio Escobar
at (415) 614-5572 or escobarj@sfarch.org