Meet Our Staff
Emma Goldbas
Director
she/her/hers
emma.goldbas@rjimaine.org
(207) 504 - 5134 ext. 700
Emma is the Director of RJIM. She is a Maine native but a citizen of the world. After receiving her BA, she worked and lived in inner cities in the United States and villages across Africa and the Middle East. Her MA in International studies with a focus on development and conflict resolution brought her to the District of Columbia where she worked with housing and food insecure individuals and re-entering citizens to help them obtain housing, join the workforce and reduce their possibility for recidivism. Emma believes in second chance hiring as well as second chances and that we all deserve to have access to the tools and skills that will help us heal individually and collectively. Emma has seen first hand the power of restorative justice on an international scale in Rwanda, Uganda and Israel/Palestine where her ally and facilitation training helped build stronger communities. Additionally, in inner-city Syracuse bridging the gap between public and private school disputes and most recently in Wards 1 and 2 in DC mitigating gang and racial violence. Emma is an avid yogi, lover of nature and movement. When in doubt, dance! She sends her om shanti to a brighter and more peaceful world.
she/her/hers
hphillips@rjimaine.org
(207) 504 - 5134 ext. 711
Halley is the Restorative Justice Learning & Development Specialist and Training & Consulting Lead at RJIM. Born and raised in Maine, Halley spent much of her childhood outside, creating games and catching frogs. Halley went to college in New Brunswick, Canada, and received her MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UNCG. Halley is of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band, who's land is in western, MA. Halley grew up in a predominantly white community, and struggled with her mixed identity. This led to an interest in Psychology and Human Rights, and later on, turned into a passion for Restorative Justice principles, as well as reconnecting to her Native roots. We know that hurt people, hurt people. And with this knowledge in hand Halley has dedicated her life to trying to understand and change the systems of oppression that perpetuate harm and violence.
Halley Phillips
Restorative Justice Learning & Development Specialist
Training & Consulting Lead
Hawo Mohamed
Youth Justice Liaison - Cumberland County
Training & Consulting Coordinator
she/her/hers
hmohamed@rjimaine.org
(207) 504-5134 ext. 708
Hawo is a Youth Justice Liason and Training & Consulting Coordinator for RJIM where she is also leading youth leadership and development projects. She was born in Kenya and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995, settling in Portland, Maine. Since then, she has called Maine her home. Hawo has had a great interest in social justice since high school, and working and living in Portland has allowed her to delve deeper into issues involving race, power, and privilege in America. Since then, she has committed herself to helping transform the conditions and situations that perpetuate oppression and inequality. Hawo sees a world that embraces RJ as one that prioritizes care and healing for its community members. When there is an abundance of resources for the community. Where healing, wellness and health is centered. This world to Hawo is just, and one that accounts for and works to solve all of the inequities that have been created through centuries of oppression.
Gemma Soldati
Youth Justice Liaison - York County
she/her/hers
gsoldati@rjimaine.org
(207) 504 - 5134 ext. 701
Gemma grew up in and currently lives in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire. Gemma's professional background is varied from marketing for arts non-profits, to facilitating creative workshops with underserved teens, to managing political campaigns. Her heart is in any play-based approach to learning, connecting and creative explorations. She is an accomplished performer having toured her solo shows nationally and internationally for audiences young and old. Gemma also brings her trauma informed facilitation experience as a birth doula to her role here at RJIM. She is passionate about conflict resolution, vulnerability and imagining a better way to resolve harm and pain.
Rory Robb
Facilitator
RJID Program Lead
she/her/hers
roryrobb23@gmail.com
Rory is a Lead Facilitator and Lead on the Coalition to Support Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism through Restorative Justice Circles and Dialogue. Rory has spent her entire life supporting people with ID having grown up with a sister with ID and supporting an agency providing residential and community integration programs for individuals with disabilities. The agency engaged several trainers and immersed their philosophy with that of Non-Violent Communication for 10+ years. Rory was privileged to have participated in a 9 day Intensive International Training in NVC with the founder, the late Marshall Rosenburg. Rory has been with RJIM since 2016, as she felt there was a close connection between NVC and RJ as they relate to healing relationships and conflict. After working with juveniles, it became apparent to Rory that adults with ID could engage in the RJ process and it would offer new tools to healing harm. We believe when people have the opportunity to have community connection and learning after difficult behavior, their ability and motivation to not harm that community improves. Some of the main goals of the Coalition are; to decrease incidents of harm, offer healing to all those impacted by harm, maintain their home and access to the community and gain skills with interpersonal relationships before and after harmful behavior. RJ offers a different model of support and accountability in a system that has often excluded these individuals from the community. To Rory a world with Restorative and Transformative Justice will offer all individuals, regardless of their abilities, to be valued members of their community.