Chandra

Chandra M. Banks, Ed.M.

My story includes a curiosity about people, human behavior and culture. I have a great respect for my ancestors and the aspects of culture that endure and provide protection and nurturing to human life around the world. My interest in people and reading their stories manifested in a degree in English Language and Literature with a minor in Education. It was in my courses on English that I was able to explore the link between language and culture. In Education I became exposed to the field of mental health and human behavior. 

I followed the path to my first job as a Behavior Specialist and later a school disciplinarian. Having success in that area, I still saw that there were a consistent group of individuals, maybe 20 - 25%  of adults and children who never seemed to take on the behaviors that allowed them to be productive in a traditional sense, or allowed their community members to feel safe around them. Rather than that, bystanders experienced fear of, and/or for them. Traditional methods of punishment and rewards did not have the desired impact on them and they were carried down what we now know as the School to Prison Pipeline, possibly for their entire lives.

For me, years of training, hands on experience and academic study in the field of human behavior, institutional climate and conflict management, culminated in a graduate degree in Risk Prevention & Counseling.  Yet it was still unclear to me what the solution might be for those who persisted in anti - social behavior, negatively impacting themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Then I was invited to attend a Circle Keeper Training and I accepted the invitation.  I realized that there was more to learn about this practice than I could gain from a professional development workshop designed to introduce participants to a style of communication that was known to reduce violent acts between young people. 

I proceeded to apprentice myself to Circle Keepers and Restorative Practitioners where and whenever I could. While continuing to study and practice in the field of Mediation and Conflict Management, I learned that Circle Keeping is one way practitioners use to create opportunities for people to come together in a good way to do many things. After five years of apprenticeship, I began my own practice and nine years later I began to offer training to my peers: caregivers, educators, law enforcement, mental health providers, youth workers and more.

I began to let restorative values inform every aspect of my life, particularly in my parenting. Collaborating with professionals from all over the United States in the fields of conflict management, mental health/wellness, surviving homicide, veterans affairs, law enforcement, athletics, re-entry, housing, business management and education has provided a grand perspective for me of how the theory underlying Restorative Practices can be practiced anywhere. 

I am grateful to say that I have had the opportunity to be employed to work in many helping roles over the past 30 years; school K-12, recreation, social services, higher education, prevention (substance abuse & violence) and institutional wellness. I am now very happy to help others by supporting their implementation of these values and practices into their institutions, families and their individual lives. I also continue to enjoy teaching and sharing systems of conflict management such as Mediation. I would not have the skill and wisdom to share if it were not for my awesome TEACHERS.

Some of my teachers are my Grandparents, my Parents, Aunts and Uncles (blood and otherwise) and my children. My ancestors in Africa and the Southern United States, my professors such as Christine King-Farris and Dr. Steven Brion-Meisels.  And there have been people who have whispered Restorative wisdom in my ear more recently in my journey, such as Activist Janet Connors,  Judge Abby Abinanti of the Yurok Tribe and the court staff there. Finally, I must acknowledge the Peer Mediators of the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (2007-2023), including my own two daughters who have always blown my mind with their talent and commitment to providing top notch Mediation services to their peers. They have left me with big shoes to fill!