Restorative Justice: Black Youth and the Criminal Justice System

Shawn Richard is a lawyer at A. Shawn Richard Family and Estate Law. Shawn takes a creative, forward-thinking approach to finding solutions for clients’ family and estate litigation issues. He successfully argued Yenovkian v. Gulian, the first case in Canada to recognize the invasion of privacy tort of publicly placing a person in a false light, to achieve compensation for his client for online abuse from her ex-spouse. By paying attention to his clients’ goals and providing smart, practical advice, he has built a reputation for being a resolute but reasonable lawyer.

Shawn’s practice has been built on resolving complicated financial and international family and estate litigation issues. Shawn taught trial advocacy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and is a published author and frequent presenter. He currently teaches torts in the torts tutorial at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Shawn is the co-chair of the Law Society of Ontario's E-Course on Advancing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Legal Professions, and he is also the new co-chair of the Law Society of Ontario's Family Law Summit.

Dr. Annette Bailey is Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Internationalization with the Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University. She holds a PhD in Public Health Science. Her research is focused on gun violence prevention and survivorship. Much of this work has shed light on deeply seated racial injustice inherent in Black victims/survivors’ experience with gun violence loss. Dr. Bailey has collaborated with researchers and advocates in several countries to establish policy recommendations for gun violence survivors. Dr. Bailey is frequently called upon to support violence prevention initiatives at municipal, national, and international levels. She continues to support community-based programs serving victims and survivors of gun violence.

Marlon Merraro, Social Work ’06 is a well-recognized social systems architect with a clear focus on poverty reduction and addressing the social determinants of health within a dynamic framework of equity and inclusion. He brings 25 years of experience in senior leadership positions within the non-profit sector and municipal government spearheading strategic strategies and tactical methods that address complex social issues, resulting in improved and more equitable health and community services. Marlon currently serves as the Executive Director of Peacebuilders Canada and a Director of the Toronto Children’s Aid Society.

Dr. Janelle Brady (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor in the School of Early Childhood Studies, Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is an anti-racist educator, activist-researcher and community organizer. Dr. Brady completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in the Department of Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Her doctoral work explored Black mothering experiences of navigating anti-Black racism in the schooling and education system for their children. At OISE, Brady served as the senior coordinator and researcher of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) and is now an advisor. She has been featured by CityNews, CBC, Global TV, the Toronto Star, the Huffington Post and other local media outfits. She taught for a number of years in postsecondary education institutions prior to joining the School of Early Childhood Studies.