ABOUT RFNL
ABOUT US.
Relationships First Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial restorative justice organization housed in Memorial University’s Faculty of Education. We aim to provide support, resources, research, and recommendations for the sustainability of the holistic integration of restorative justice in Newfoundland & Labrador and beyond.
We believe that restorative justice is a way of being and define it as the framework upon which communities nurture the capacity of people to engage with one another and their environment in a manner that supports and respects the inherent dignity and worth of all. We are led by the interconnection of four equally significant intentions:
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Embodying respect, dignity, and mutual concern
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Creating just and equitable environments
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Nurturing healthy relationships
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Repairing harm and transforming conflict
MISSION & HISTORY.
Values & Beliefs
All life is worthy and interconnected. Worth and interconnectedness are nurtured through the embodiment of respect, dignity, and mutual concern.
Mission
RFNL works to cultivate, nurture, and support relational culture where children, youth, and adults alike thrive.
Vision
RFNL envisions communities that live relationally by intentionally honouring the worth and interconnectedness of all.
History
In August 2012, 17 educators in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) embarked on a two-week long institute to explore the possibilities of Relationships First: Restorative Justice in Education. Beginning with an exploration of their own core beliefs and values, the educators dug deep to reflect on the many relationships that make up their school community and began their journey toward creating and sustaining healthy, inclusive relationships in schools.
Since then, many others involved in education in NL have discovered the benefits of restorative justice in schools. In 2014, the Relationships First: Restorative Justice in Education Consortium was formed and engaged a wide variety of education stakeholders within and outside of the traditional schooling systems.
Since that time we have grown into a multidisciplinary research and resource organization that is comprised of researchers and practitioners in holistic restorative justice. We share our insights and experiences on this site in hopes of learning together with others globally.
OUR TEAM.
dr. dorothy vaandering
Director
dorothy vaandering is a professor in MUN’s Faculty of Education and the Director of Relationships First Newfoundland and Labrador (RFNL). She has been researching Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) for 15 years and is passionate about nurturing relational communities where all people are honoured as worthy and interconnected.
Pouch Cove, NL.
Learning to live relationally in all aspects of life is core to who she is. dorothy acknowledges that she is indebted to so many, young and old, who have been patient with her and accepted her for who she is so that she can now draw on life, teaching, and research experience to explore RJE. In 2009, having worked for 20 years as a Primary-Elementary educator in Alberta and Ontario, she started work at Memorial University NL where she is a professor at the Faculty of Education. dorothy focuses on designing and implementing innovative, transformative professional learning approaches for the sustainable implementation of RJE. Engaging in making reconciliation real as a settler-Canadian has become a priority in her work. She is the author and co-author of a variety of academic and professional publications including “The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education.” She is honoured to serve as Director of RFNL.
Traditional Chief Mi'sel Joe
Cultural Advisor
Chief Mi’sel Joe was born in Miawpukek Mi’kamawey Mawi’omi First Nation, NL into a strong Mi'kmaq family who educated him in all the Mi’kmaq ways and traditions. Both his grandfather d uncle have held the office of hereditary Saqamaw. After a time away, Chief Mi’sel Joe returned to Miawpukek in 1974. Since then, he has been involved in community leadership and served as Administrative Chief for over three decades. In this role, he has been instrumental in transforming NL’s understanding of Indigenous Leadership and guided Conne River to becoming a successful and thriving community. Since his retirement in 2024, he serves as Traditional Saqamaw with a commitment to preserving the language, culture and traditions of his people. In May 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by Memorial University for his contribution to the economic, social and political development of the Mi'kmaq people of NL.
Miawpukek Mi’kamawey Mawi’omi First Nation, NL
Other awards include the Order of Canada (2018), the Frank McKenna Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Policy by Atlantic Canadians (2024) Turning the Tide Industry Lifetime Achievement Award for Exemplary Leadership (2024) and the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (2024). Chief Joe has been an incredible mentor and guide for RFNL since 2018 when he graciously and generously led a small group of academics as together they planned the innovative and transformative Two-Eared Listening Gathering . Since then, he has supported the work of RFNL as an opportunity to deepen NL’s understanding of justice. Repeatedly, he is showing us that to understand restorative justice we must first hear the stories of injustice. This directive has challenged us all to recognize more fully what it means to honour all people and the creation as worthy and interconnected. With Chief Joe’s guidance we are learning what it is to be an organization committed to decolonizing its thinking and practice.
Sarah McDonald Moores
Education Coordinator
Sarah McDonald Moores is a graduate of Memorial University's Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Education: Educational Leadership Studies Programs. Throughout her learning journey Sarah has taken a keen interest in holistic restorative justice in education.
St. John's, NL
Sarah is currently seconded to Relationships First Newfoundland and Labrador (RFNL) from her position as a music educator. Sarah has worked with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLSchools) in various positions since 2006, and works as a Per-Course Instructor, teaching the graduate course ED 6463: Rethinking Educational Engagement at Memorial University. In her current role as Restorative Justice Education Coordinator with RFNL, Sarah hopes to help those engaged in all levels of education to embrace restorative justice as a way of being. Sarah is a founding member of Lady Cove Women's Choir and Projēkt Chamber Voices. She has been a featured soloist with both of these groups and has traveled all over the world with choral and instrumental groups as a chorister and as a conductor.
Lisa Charlong Norris
Grants and Project Manager
Lisa comes to RF-RJNL with a BA, a BEd and an MEd and over 15 years of experience working in research administration - whether it’s grants facilitation, proposal writing or managing Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Tier I and Tier II projects. She also brings extensive experience in structured data and data management as well as in scholarly communications and humanities computing. Her current interests include demonstrating research (and public engagement) impact and research project management.
Paradise, NL
Outside of MUN hours, Lisa is passionate about working with young women and men who walk a restorative path towards healthy relationships with self, with family, with community and with the Creator. Drug-free and sober. Her favorite place is in the cold, salt water, even in winter months.
OUR ADVISORY
BOARD.
Shelby Arnold
Learning Facilitator, THRIVE
Catherine Fagan
President of the Board of Directors of First Light: St. John’s Friendship Centre
Sara Hawkins
Access to Justice Coordinator (St. John’s)
The Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland & Labrador (PLIAN)
Catherine Kelly
Human Rights-CJC
Crystal Leighton
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Sarah McDonald Moores
Education Coordinator, RFNL, Memorial University
Tom Mugford
Program Development Specialist for Indigenous Education
Department of Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Kevin O’Shea
Executive Director, PLIAN
Dr. Rose Ricciardelli
Research Chair, Safety, Security, and Wellness, Marine Institute
Mitch Rumbolt
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC)
SAO
Faculty of Education
Ed Wade
Independent
dr. dorothy vaandering
Director RFNL and Pofessor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University
Lisa Charlong
Grants Facilitation Officer, RFNL & Faculty of Education, Memorial University
Dr. Sulaimon Abiodun Olawale Giwa
Interim Dean, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs Associate Professor
School of Social Work, Memorial University
Elected College Member, Royal Society of Canada
Dr. Rhonda Joy
Associate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research,
Faculty of Education, Memorial University
Olivia Lynch
Interim Executive Director, Violence Prevention Avalon East
Carey Majid
Q.C. Executive Director, Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission
Dan McGettigan
Director, Turnings
Mike Noseworthy
Assistant Deputy Minister
Courts and Corporate Services
Department of Justice and Public Safety, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Bill Ranson
Coordinator, Turnings
Dr. Sherra Robinson
Assistant Professor, L'nu Education, School of Education & Health
Cape Breton University
Gabe Ryan
Administrative Officer, Programs and Services
Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association (NLTA)
Jessica Webb
Independent
OUR PARTNERS.
RFNL is an organization that has been supported throughout the years with generous funding from a variety of sources. Currently, we are working with our funders to create opportunities for members of a variety of communities to learn about and through restorative justice in project-specific contexts. Most recently, RFNL has received funding from the Kim Cole Memorial Fund, the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Departments of Justice and Education.
