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Restorative Justice for Youth
Staff
Our staff have different areas of expertise and professional backgrounds — juvenile justice, child welfare, social work, and legal and human rights — allowing the team to provide high quality and culturally appropriate technical assistance, trainings and consultation. All staff are trained as coordinators, facilitators and trainers, and have extensive experience providing services at national and international levels.
Staff Members
Anita Horner
Fathi Zabaar
Lisa Merkel-Holguin
Michelle Howard
Molly Jenkins
Anita Horner is the manager of practice advancements within the Children’s Division and the National Center on Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) of the American Humane Association. Her primary responsibilities include community consultation, mentoring, curricula development, technical assistance and facilitation of trainings to child welfare professionals, agencies and communities on various FGDM and child welfare topics, including domestic violence; mental health and substance abuse issues; sexual abuse; transforming conflict into partnership with clients; and achieving permanence for children/youth in the child welfare system. Horner has presented nationally and internationally on the use of family group conferences as the primary process for working with at-risk families and families involved in the child welfare system. Prior to her employment at American Humane, Horner held the position of child welfare supervisor at the Arapahoe County, Colo., Department of Human Services.
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Fathi Zabaar, M.A., is the manager of restorative justice and family group decision making in American Humane’s Children’s Division. He has worked with U.S. restorative justice programs for the past six years as an experienced restorative conference facilitator, assisting both government and community agencies within adult and juvenile justice systems. He has worked internationally, providing transitional justice services and technical assistance to civic organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, notably Algeria in regards to its National Reconciliation process.
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Lisa Merkel-Holguin, M.S.W., is the director of practice and system advancements in child welfare for American Humane. She has over 15 years of experience working in and with child welfare systems. In her position, she is responsible for leading American Humane’s initiatives that advance systems and practices to improve outcomes for children and their families. She has led American Humane’s FGDM initiative since 1997, providing training, technical assistance and consultation. On behalf of American Humane, Lisa has presented on FGDM to over 50 national and international audiences. In addition, she has authored or edited nearly 20 publications on this topic. Before joining American Humane, Merkel-Holguin was a program manager at the Child Welfare League of America.
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Michelle Howard M.S., LPC, is a child welfare training and technical assistance specialist within American Humane’s Children’s Division. She was the principal trainer, mentor and facilitator for family group conference services for Adams County Social Services in Colorado. She developed training modules and provided education and training to county staff, court staff and community service providers to increase understanding of FGDM principles and practice. Howard also oversaw and coordinated the Early Crisis Intervention Program, which was developed to engage families up front in the decision-making process of service plan development and placement. Howard was a member of the Colorado FGDM Forum convened to provide training, resources and support to area facilitators and coordinators. She is a strong advocate for ensuring that professional expertise is joined with the experiential expertise of those served in a culturally responsive manner. Her mission is to support and impact holistic changes in the key areas that promote positive emotional and physical well-being and protection and permanency for all children, while ensuring that families and children have a voice.
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Molly Jenkins, M.S.W., is a program assistant within American Humane’s Children’s Division and has been with the organization since January 2009. She has experience working in both the child welfare system and the violence prevention field. Her violence prevention work has primarily focused on conflict resolution, anger management, classroom management, playground conflict management, critical decision making, parenting skills, bullying prevention, peacemaking and restorative justice approaches. In addition, Molly has experience with issues of oppression and privilege, and believes restorative processes help provide justice to marginalized communities. Since January, Molly has worked with American Humane’s Restorative Justice Initiative, Family Group Decision Making Initiative, and Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response. Recently, she joined American Humane’s Disparities Resource Center, which will, in part, address the disproportionality of children and families of color in the child welfare system.
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