Jon Russell, Research Fellow in Clinical Psychology and Conflict Resolution, has a Ph.D. in psychology and a post doctorate in psychiatry. He served on the faculty of Behavioural Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia for twenty-three years; Russell was responsible for establishing and coordinating a post-graduate diploma in neurosciences. He taught undergraduates and post graduates in research design, methodology, and statistics as well as in clinical areas of counseling, neuropsychology and rehabilitation. His research interests include psychobiology and research into causal factors affecting stress in the workplace.  Russell has a unique background in consulting, teaching, and research in psychology and psychiatry. The application of his experience assists individuals, organizations, and communities to assess their needs and create desired outcomes. By using well-established techniques in research design, methodology, and statistics, he is able to assist individuals, organizations, and communities to understand underlying factors that contribute to and account for both desirable and undesirable cognitive and behavioral processes. Following intervention, he provides feedback on the effectiveness of intervention strategies and offers further recommendations where appropriate.  Russell’s background in clinical psychology and neuropsychology provides a base for understanding underlying personal and interpersonal dynamics that furthers his value as an agent of personal and institutional change. Trained in conflict resolution, mediation, and workplace conferencing following a restorative justice model, Russell assists organizations and communities to find solutions to identified needs.

            James Dumesnil, Research Fellow in Forensic Psychology and Family Systems, holds a B.A. in Psychology from Louisiana State University and a M.S. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of New Orleans. His teaching and publications focus on Lakota traditions of restorative justice and developmental psychology. This research resulted in a co-authored article (with Barbara Mendenhall of the Center for Crime Policy and Juvenile Justice) entitled "Exploring Traditional Cultural Mechanism of Conflict Resolution in American Indian Communities" (in Juvenile Law Violators, Human Rights, and the Development of New Juvenile Justice Systems, ed. Eric L. Jensen and Jorgen Jepsen; Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2000).  Holding licenses and certifications from a number of boards of forensic and counseling organizations, Dumesnil brings extensive professional experience in working with families, individuals, and professionals in crisis to bear on developing contemplative practices.  Dumesnil focuses on transforming trauma, crises, and crimes into opportunities for restoration and wholeness for the offender and relational network.  He employs cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, depth psychology, Taoism, and decades of study of Lakota spirituality in his work with children and adults from different cultures.  He is the author (with B. Dorval) of "Developmental Trends in the Contextualization of Perspective-Related Talk" [Journal of Discourse Processes 12 (1989), 193-225] as well as other articles.