Who we are!
Over the past several years, the Engage Team have jointly facilitated numerous workshops with staff from schools and community organizations looking at how to create restorative cultures. They bring passion, research, and over fifty years of experience to Engage.
Caroline Missal
Caroline has been an educator for thirty years. She has always been invested in creating environments that are caring, respectful, and safe for all. Her work with Edmonton Public Schools as a teacher, education/behaviour consultant, and principal has given her a keen understanding of the challenges facing schools and communities today. During her sixteen years as a principal, Caroline used restorative approaches in all her schools. She has seen the positive results first-hand.
Caroline’s background is in special education; she is passionate about supporting vulnerable children and youth to achieve success in school and in life. She also holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. She was trained as a Community Conferencing Facilitator in 1998 by David Moore and John McDonald from Transformative Justice Australia. In 2000, after two years of facilitation experience, Caroline studied with TJA to become a trainer herself.
Caroline has also worked on secondment for Alberta Human Services in the Research and Innovation Branch. She was a senior manager in Cross Ministry Services Branch at Alberta Education, where she was responsible for leading and supporting initiatives related to welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environments, including the provincial Prevention of Bullying Strategy. Caroline is a past board member of several community organisations, including the Hope Foundation and the Zebra Child Protection Society, and spent ten years as a board member of the Alberta Conflict Transformation Society (ACTS).
Sue Hopgood
Since Sue first learned about Restorative Justice almost 20 years ago, she has become passionate about transforming the lives of people affected by conflict and crime. Sue was a founding member of the Alberta Conflict Transformation Society (ACTS) in 1999, when the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) first brought the idea of Restorative Justice to Edmonton. This work became so important for Sue that she re-evaluated her goal of policing and resigned from EPS in 2002 to pursue her true calling of Restorative Justice.
Sue and Caroline met in 1998 when they were both training as Community Conference facilitators by David Moore and John MacDonald from Transformative Justice Australia (TJA). In 2000, they were both qualified as trainers by TJA. Since then, Sue has facilitated over 500 Community Conferences, ranging from grade one name calling to homicides. She and Caroline have conducted more than 50 training sessions, qualifying over 1,000 people as facilitators.
Sue wholeheartedly believes it is an honour and a privilege to be invited into people’s lives to help them repair harm, heal, and find reconciliation, often during their most vulnerable and challenging life experiences. It is a true gift to bear witness to their trauma, grief, healing, and forgiveness. Some of Sue’s favourite work is with junior high girls, helping them navigate their friendships and resolve their long memories of hurt feelings.
Proactively, Sue is also passionate about coaching adults who work with youth on how to use the principles of Restorative Justice in non-conflict situations, so that when young people do make a poor choice, they already understand the importance of relationships, repairing harm, taking responsibility, and having a voice.