She/Her
Christianne Paras is a leading voice in critical restorative justice, serving as a contributing author to the essential book, Colorizing Restorative Justice. As a woman of colour, an immigrant, and of Ilokana and Kapangpangan descent from the Ilocos region of the Philippines, her work is deeply informed by an intersectional perspective on justice, systemic oppression, and the revitalization of her own and other communal healing traditions.
Christianne is the Executive Director of the Restorative Justice Association of BC (RJABC), where she leads provincial efforts to advance victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive restorative practices. She also co-founded the international training and consulting organization Reclaiming Our Own Truths & Stories (ROOTS) with Erica Littlewolf, which has hosted community circles for BIPOC practitioners and community organizers and offered restorative justice trainings and anti-racism and anti-oppression education for various institutions and community programs across Canada and the U.S. Christianne is also the instructor for the Restorative Justice in Educational Settings course through Simon Fraser University’s Continuing Studies program, equipping leaders, practitioners, and educators with the skills necessary to design and implement sustainable, equitable, and systemic RJ programs within complex organizations.
Her work focuses on challenging systemic inequalities, disrupting the co-optation of Indigenous and cultural communal healing practices, and ensuring RJ is used as a tool for structural transformation.