SchoolTalk’s RestorativeDC is supported by a diverse collective of local restorative justice practitioners who provide direct technical assistance to D.C. schools. Our team has a deep knowledge base representing multiple restorative justice models and practices, as well as complementary expertise in social work, drama therapy, nonviolent communication, positive discipline, coaching, trauma-informed practices, special education, and more.
Experts, Trainers & Partners
Gabriel “Asheru” Benn, M.Ed.
School Technical Assistance Lead | Trainer | Youth Engagement Expert
Gabriel “Asheru” Benn, M.Ed. has partnered with SchoolTalk since 2017. His work supports SchoolTalk’s restorative justice and inclusive education initiatives. As a RestorativeDC school technical lead, trainer, and youth engagement expert, Asheru coaches schools in the implementation restorative practices.
Asheru is a Peabody Award-winning hip hop artist, veteran educator, and social entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. His career includes nearly 20 years as a teacher and administrator in D.C. schools. Asheru is internationally recognized as a cultural ambassador and pioneer of the hip hop education movement. He is also founding director of Guerilla Arts Ink, a full-service media, arts, and education consulting agency.
Asheru is a faculty member for the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, providing training and curriculum development for school districts across the country, with a focus on social-emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and arts, cultural, and technology integration.
Asheru earned his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Virginia in 1996, a master’s in Education from National-Louis University in 2004, and an Executive Certificate in Arts & Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. His company, Guerilla Arts Ink, LLC, is a D.C. Certified Business Enterprise.
Makini Niliwaambieni
School Technical Assistance Lead | Trainer | Coach
Makini Niliwaambieni, or Mama Makini, as she is affectionately called, began working with SchoolTalk’s RestorativeDC as a trainer and school technical assistance lead in 2017.
Originally from Trenton, New Jersey, Makini was a co-founding member of the African People’s Action School, a private pre-primary and elementary school. She relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1989 and worked as a primary teacher at Sankofa Fie’s Watoto School. In 1999, she was the founding principal of a private school for boys with special needs, where her work focused on social-emotional and academic development using restorative processes to connect with families and students.
In 1994, Makini founded Amankwa Enterprises, an educational consulting company that provides training to teachers, parents, and trainers of rites programs. She conducted the Ankobea Society’s adolescent rite of passage program for girls for over 25 years. In 2011, she developed Sankofa Emma, a rite of passage program for adult women. From 2012 to 2017, Makini conducted training for the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Fund’s Care Coordination Department and delivered a curriculum focused on cultural competence, sensitivity, and humility to professional and para-professional healthcare workers.
Makini brings decades of experience as an educator and school leader to her work helping staff, families, and students incorporate restorative practices in the classroom and the community. A student and teacher of African American history, Makini helps illuminate the impact of racism in our communities. In her work, she connects race, equity, inclusion, and diversity with restorative justice practices. She has conducted training with leadership teams, behavior teams, and facilitated circles with students from middle school through high school.
Makini holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Catholic University. She was formally trained in Balanced and Restorative Justice in Education by Youth and Families in Crisis. Makini is a mother of five, grandmother of 17, and great grandmother of two.
Mali Parke
Consultant | Trainer | In-School Technical Member
R.I.S.E Culture Coaching (Core to Coeur LLC)
Mali Guitteny Parke (she/her) has partnered with SchoolTalk since 2015 and is a founding member of the RestorativeDC initiative. As a trainer and school technical assistance lead, Mali helps guide whole school restorative justice implementation in multiple K-12 DCPS and public charter schools, specializing in early education.
Mali works with RestorativeDC through her RISE Culture Coaching practice. She is passionate about supporting whole schools, organizations, and community members to forge equitable, inclusive, and open cultures. She works with individuals, teams, and systems to understand and design optimal, mission-supporting environments.
Mali integrates concepts from systemic awareness, brain development, attachment- and trauma-aware healing-centered practices, nonviolent and collaborative communication, transformative restorative justice, positive discipline, empowerment and leadership, collaborative decision-making, and cultural and ecological humility practices.
Mali is a Certified Professional Coach with the International Coach Federation, a Certified Positive Discipline Classroom Educator (and Parent Educator), and a Family Systems Constellation facilitator. She is currently completing her Trauma Somatic Therapy Certification with top experts in the trauma field. She has studied restorative justice with renowned experts Kay Pranis and Dominic Barter and at the International Institute for Restorative Practices. She co-created intentional community through a 10-year annual multi-generational summer camp focused on nonviolent communication. Mali earned a master’s degree with honors in English, Economics, and Management from Sorbonne University. Mali is a founding and active board member for a public charter school in D.C.
A D.C. resident since the late 1990s and native of France, Mali acknowledges living on the land of the Nacotchtank, Anacostan, and Piscataway people and (re)learning relational culture from indigenous wisdom.
Mali ‘s heart is oriented towards widening cultural understanding and connection to diverse viewpoints, cultures, languages, rhythms, and relational practices in her everyday life and, in particular, with her two school-aged children, her best life teachers.
Dr. Lennie Smith
School Technical Assistance Lead | Trainer | Coach
Dramatic Solutions Inc.
Lennie Smith has worked with SchoolTalk since 2016 to bring restorative practices into school communities in Washington, DC. He trained in restorative justice at the International Institute for Restorative Practices. As a school technical assistance lead and trainer, Lennie makes restorative practices and principles come alive for school staff, students, and families. He strongly believes in the power of drama to educate, empower, and enlighten.
Lennie has a deep understanding of the D.C. community and connection to the arts. He is a seasoned educator, drama therapy specialist, trainer, university professor, author, and entrepreneur, with over 20 years of experience in public school systems, alternative education programming, and corporate and nonprofit organizations. He is the co-founder of Dramatic Solutions and is a strong advocate for active and collaborative learning in the classroom for disengaged learners. Dramatic Solutions has expertise in working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
Lennie earned his EdD degree in Educational Leadership from Morgan State University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Educational Drama and a Master of Arts in Speech and Intercultural Communication from New York University. He is a board-certified trainer and registered drama therapist with the North American Drama Therapy Association. Lennie also has credentials in Process Communication Model Training® and Quality Matters Online teaching. Lennie is currently a doctoral student at Morgan State University.
Lennie is the co-author of two books, Dramatic Engagers and 50 Dramatic Engagers for Learning and Performance. In his free time, he finds joy spending time with his family, going to the movies, and reading. Dramatic Solutions is a D.C. Certified Business Enterprise.
Dr. Carmen White
Consultant | Trainer | In-School Technical Member
Dramatic Solutions Inc.
Dr. Carmen White has worked with SchoolTalk since 2016. As a school technical assistance lead and trainer, Carmen is driven by her love for peace and her passion for community. She is a professional speaker, trainer, and consultant with over 20 years of experience in personal and professional development, leadership, restorative practices, and communication training for schools and community organizations.
Carmen is co-founder of Dramatic Solutions, a comprehensive drama-based company and clinical practice. A D.C. Certified Business Enterprise, Dramatic Solutions uses restorative practices and trauma-informed strategies to support learning, improve behavior, enhance social-emotional development, and promote a positive school climate.
Carmen earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Human Development from the University of Maryland College Park. She has an M.A. in Educational Leadership and a B.A. in Educational Drama from New York University. Carmen is a Board-Certified Drama Therapist and educator and a certified Process Communication Model® Trainer.
Carmen is the co-author of two books, Dramatic Engagers and 50 Dramatic Engagers for Learning and Performance. She has served as an artist-in-residence for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 2008. In her free time, Carmen finds joy in playing tennis with her family, traveling, shopping, and going to a good Broadway show.
SchoolTalk’s RestorativeDC Staff
Lisa Shaw
Special Projects Program Manager
Lisa Shaw joined SchoolTalk in 2019. As special projects program manager, she applies over 25 years of expertise in experiential education and working with community partners. She specializes in training and development of conflict resolution skills in post-conflict and community-based settings, curriculum development and facilitation for experiential education programs, and environmental stewardship.
Prior to SchoolTalk, Lisa worked in a variety of education and public sectors.
She was an inaugural member of Americorps-NCC, creating curricula for the Chattahoochee Nature Center, teaching for High Touch High Tech, a hands-on learning program focused on strengthening national science standards, and directing primary and secondary afterschool and summer programs for the City of Decatur (Georgia) Recreation Department. As an administrative faculty member with George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution she co-developed and co-facilitated field courses that included post-conflict peacebuilding in Liberia, transitional justice in Colombia, and integration of migrant populations in Malta.
Lisa earned a Master of Science degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University’s Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in 2011 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Philosophy, and Environmental Science at Regis University in 1994. She also volunteers as a keeper-aide with the Smithsonian National Zoo and as non-medical support with the Virginia/Fairfax Medical Reserve Corps.