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From Conflict to Community: Intentional Connection in Academic Environments
In this episode of Restorative Works!, host Claire de Mezerville Lopez welcomes guest Melkam Tesfaye for a grounded conversation on restorative practices in higher education and student affairs. Tesfaye draws on her background in law, mediation, and conflict resolution to explore how approaches that are rooted in restorative practices take shape inside complex university systems, particularly within the context of Gonzaga University.  Tesfaye emphasizes that restorative practices is more than just an initiative, it is culture-building, relational leadership, and sustained engagement. She highlights a common challenge across both K–12 and higher education settings: not resistance to restorative practices, but the ongoing difficulty of finding time to implement and sustain them. From onboarding conversations to cohort-based training models, she illustrates how institutions can move beyond one-off workshops toward long-term relational learning.  Melkam is the assistant director of student conduct and conflict at Gonzaga University, where she works with resident directors on student conduct cases and manages conflict resolution services, such as educational conversations, mediation, and restorative justice conferencing. She is a trained restorative practices facilitator and serves on a divisional task force implementing restorative practices within Student Affairs. With a background in law, Melkam brings extensive expertise in mediation, adaptable dispute resolution, and restorative practices, along with a multidisciplinary perspective to conflict resolution. Melkam is a member of the Restorative Justice Network of Catholic Campuses (RJNCC) national planning team. She has led trainings on de-escalation and restorative practices in the workplace and is an active community mediator.  Tune in for stories and examples of everyday practices that are foundational to building trust, compassion, and shared accountability in academic environments. 
Restorative Works!
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