Restorative Practices at Bellevue College

Michelle Strange serves as Director of Bellevue College Restorative Practices. Under her leadership, the program does two things well: it proactively builds community before harm occurs, and it responds thoughtfully when harm happens. So far, the program has trained twenty on-site restorative facilitators. Additionally, twenty more are in the pipeline — people trained specifically to hold space and guide restorative circles in response to harm.

KBCS spoke with Strange about restorative practices at an institution. In this conversation, she explains what accountability really means in practice and how Audre Lorde’s words of wisdom shape her approach.