Duane Ruth-Heffelbower began his restorative justice work in 1983, joining with Ron Claassen to start a victim offender reconciliation program in Fresno, California. He chaired the founding board and currently directs the organization which has handled 8,000 cases over the years. In 1996 he joined the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies of Fresno Pacific University where he currently directs the graduate academic programs including a master of arts degree and graduate certificate with several tracks, one of which is restorative justice. He has done restorative justice work on five continents and trained thousands of people.

Important Idea

Reconciling injustices is at the heart of all conflict resolution work. Where feelings of injustice are not dealt with there is no true resolution.

-- Duane Ruth-Heffelbower

Leading Edge

Currently, Duane is working to extend the reach of victim offender dialogue into new areas and applying restorative justice concepts to workplace and government settings.

Reach Duane Ruth-Heffelbower at  duane.ruth-heffelbower@fresno.edu

Bibliography