June 2021 National Monthly Action Call

Featuring River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding Police-Youth-Dialogues Be inspired. Meet peacebuilders leading the call for peace and justice! 

Join author Jeffrey Weisberg, Executive Director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding and Will Halvosa, Disproportionate Minority Contact Coordinator (DMC) for the Gainsville Florida Police Department. Together, they will share the work of Police Youth Dialogue: A Restorative Path Toward Justice, with the purpose of healing historical harms between black and brown youth, and law enforcement. 

As Executive Director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, Jeffrey Weisberg designed, developed and implemented a wide range of programs and services in his local community of Gainesville Florida and throughout the world. A small portion of his work with youth includes police/youth dialogues, social/emotional learning, restorative justice, and coming of age programs. For the past 25 years, Jeffrey has served as a Florida Certified Mediator. He is using Restorative Practices to support the Department of Juvenile Justice, schools, and prisons, to bolster alternatives to the punitive model. Jeffrey Weisberg is a founding member of the Peace Alliance and co-author of The Little Book of Police Youth Dialogue: A Restorative Path Toward Justice. [See book below.]

                  

Will Halvosa retired as Captain from the Gainesville Police Department, after 30 years of service. Currently, he is the  Disproportionate Minority Contact Coordinator (DMC) of that agency. Will graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Criminal Justice. He is certified in RED: Racial and Ethnic Disparity through Georgetown University. Will instructs statewide on DMC, RED, Implicit Bias, and Procedural Justice. Even though he is semi-retired, Will remains involved in community advocacy. Will Halvosa is currently a Board member of Partnership for Strong Families, Child Advocacy Center, MOTIV8U, and YouthBuild.