Meet the Team
Restorative Justice Victoria (RJV) is run by a dedicated, highly-trained team of professionals to ensure we provide our clients with the most productive, meaningful, and healing experience possible. Thanks to the hard work of people in our organization, RJV has become a national leader in the delivery of restorative justice programming, and is at the forefront of research, education, and training methodologies.
Gillian Lindquist
Executive Director
Gillian Lindquist has been working in the restorative justice field since 2009. She was first introduced to the concept through her training and practice as a mediator. She holds a Certificate in Conflict Management, a Certificate in Restorative Justice, and a Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies. A life-long learner, she continues to grow and expand her knowledge through ongoing training, reading, and reflective practice. Gillian is the 2013 recipient of Correctional Service Canada’s National Ron Wiebe Award for her work in restorative justice.
Rachael Seeley
Acting Program & Volunteer Manager
Rachael graduated from Plymouth Law School in England in 2012 and immediately embarked on a career in Death Penalty defense in Mississippi. She continued her career in Athens, Georgia as the Mitigation Specialist for the Georgia Capital Defender in 2013 where she worked closely with defendants and victims to reach a non-death resolution on some 15 cases state-wide. During this time, she also lectured at Universities across the UK and in the US on Death Penalty defense and mitigation. She joined RJV in 2021 after moving back to Victoria with her family.
Jessica Rourke
Case Worker
Jessica Rouke began volunteering in the field of restorative justice in 2009. She sat on the Board of Directors of Restorative Justice Oak Bay for three years, acted as the interim Executive Director of RJV in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, and has been in the role of Case Worker with RJV since 2017. Jessica holds a PhD in Psychology and has taken many mediation and dispute resolution courses. In addition to her work in restorative justice, Jessica teaches at the University of Victoria, Camosun College, and Thompson Rivers University. Jessica is the 2018 recipient of a Victoria Community Leadership Award for her work in restorative justice.
Carol Larsen
Case Worker
Carol Larsen started volunteering with RJV in 2015 and came on as a staff member in 2016. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Victoria and Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Carol is a clinical and family counsellor in private practice and a psycho-educational facilitator and lecturer.
Lane Foster
Case Worker
Lane Foster is a white, disabled, Trans settler that has lived on Lkwungen territories for the past 10 years. For the last 7 years, Lane has worked in the anti-violence sector. Lane co-founded the Sexualized Violence Task Force at the University of Victoria, helping to develop UVic’s Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response Policy, and worked with survivors and people who caused harm in restorative and transformative capacities. Lane is the Transformative Justice project lead at the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, and they continue to volunteer in the community facilitating and coordinating accountability processes. Lane has a Bachelors in Gender Studies and Political Science from the University of Victoria, and is committed to ongoing learning and training to build their skills in and knowledge of restorative justice.
Julie Cormier
Program Coordinator
Julie is a white, cis, Franco-Ontarian woman with French and Métis heritage living on the Lekwungen Territory for over 10 years. She joined RJV in 2013 as a volunteer caseworker. She has led youth circles, including Girls Circle and One Circle, for over 8 years in elementary, high schools and alternative schools using art, inquiry-based learning and critical education. She is passionate about gender justice, peace and nonviolence. Julie carries a Masters in the Studies in Policy and Practice in the Human Services at the University of Victoria, as well as a joint-honors degree in Criminology and Gender Studies from the University of Ottawa. In addition to her work at RJV, Julie is a Youth and Family Counsellor at Artemis Place working with gender-diverse youth and developing life skills programming.
Taryn Burgar
Program & Volunteer Manager - away on leave
Taryn Burgar has a Masters in Dispute Resolution from the University of Victoria and a Certificate in Restorative Justice from Simon Fraser University. She has conducted research on the use of restorative justice in sexual assault cases. Previous to joining RJV, she worked for the Office of the Ombudsperson, the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. She started volunteering with RJV in 2016, moving into her position in 2019.
Volunteers
We have a group of dedicated and highly trained volunteers filling many roles in our organization. All of our facilitators and mentors have been extensively trained, engage in continuous development, and complete regular police information checks. Many of them have relevant professional backgrounds, including counselling, dispute resolution, law, social work, and family coordination. To read more about our volunteer roles, click here.
Board of Directors
The important job of oversight of RJV is in the hands of our accomplished and dedicated Board of Directors who not only ensure all our policies are followed and required funding is available, they also step in and lend a hand as volunteers whenever asked to do so.
Sitting Board
- Alyne Mochan, Chair of the Board
- Jo-Ann Youmans, Secretary
- Devin Arnold, Treasurer
- Alison Paine, Vice-Chair
- Justin Douglas
- Naomi Gitterman
- April Lagadyn
- Tolu Kolawole
- Dawn Theissen
RJ
Victoria
"RJ showed me the scope of harm that resulted from my actions. I hadn’t realized just how many people can be affected by a single moment, by a single action of mine. In realizing this, I don’t think I would have been able to come to terms with the harm I caused without the supportive volunteers and RJ’s process and agreement terms."
