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Western Justice Center • 55 South Grand Ave • Pasadena CA 91105 • 626.584.7494 westernjustice.org
Fast Facts about Western Justice Center (WJC)
Our Mission
Western Justice Center (WJC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to building a
more civil, peaceful society where
differences are valued.
We design and implement creative
programs that change the way people think
about and respond to differences and
conflict. Our programs raise awareness,
build skills and increase the possibility of
just communities and schools.
Our History
In 1987, the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson, supported by a band of judges,
lawyers and civic leaders, saw in a compound of graffiti-scarred GSA surplus buildings
what today is a thriving non-profit complex anchored by the majestic Maxwell House
mansion that Western Justice Center (WJC) calls home. Judge Nelson envisioned
creating programs that, like Johnny’s apple seeds, would blossom far from where they
first emerged. Students, teachers and community members the world over would learn to
collaboratively resolve conflicts.
In 2014, WJC merged with
Encompass, a non-profit youth
development organization devoted to
reducing prejudice and bias-related
conflicts. Together, as WJC, we work
with students, teachers and community
members to help create safe and
welcoming schools and communities.
Our Programs
WJC programs have taken root and, indeed, will soon have the reach our founder
envisioned – two web-based programs strengthen our local offerings while providing
Image: WJC
Western Justice Center Fast Facts • April 2015 • Page 2
opportunities to work far afield. WJC’s anti-bias, anti-bullying and conflict resolution
programs will reach approximately 3,500 students, educators and community members
each year. They will help create schools and communities where kids feel safe and
welcome.
WJC programs, which comprise our Institute for Safe and Inclusive Schools,
include:
ABCs of Conflict
Educators learn to resolve conflict in the classroom in a positive way. They also
learn how to teach students to address and solve conflict through collaborative
negotiation and as peer mediators. Training includes how to set up in-school peer
mediation programs. WJC trains
groups of teachers from individual
schools, as well as the entire staff of
schools.
The annual Peer Mediation
Invitational celebrates Los Angeles
County elementary, middle and
high school peer mediators and
helps build skills. The Invitational
takes place at WJC headquarters
and in the U.S. 9th
Circuit Court of
Appeals. Students develop
mediation skills. They and their educator coaches also have a chance to meet and learn
from others involved with conflict resolution.
Compassion Plays is a program that mixes theater with
facilitated conversation to tackle bias, prejudice and issues of
identity and begin to create positive change in individuals and
their communities. The three 35-40 minute, single actor, 9-12
character live plays address, respectively, immigration, hate
crimes and racial identification. They were designed for high
school students, but are so good that we have started using them
for MCLE/bias credits.
Creating Bias-
Free Classrooms uses
improvisational theater,
guided self-reflection and
facilitated discussions to train Orange County K-12
teachers and administrators to address and prevent
racial-bias, sexual orientation-bias and gender-bias.
Image: Seanette Garcia
Western Justice Center Fast Facts • April 2015 • Page 3
WJC Encompass Service Learning Class: Los Angeles County High School for
the Arts (LACHSA) actors and artists learn improvisational acting and use those skills to
show how homophobia, racial bias and bullying affect the classroom. The LACHSA
students educate through improvisational depictions of “good” and “bad” mediators at the
Peer Mediation Invitational; act out classroom scenes for educators in Creating Bias-
Free Classrooms; and create content for Haven.
School Connectedness at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
(LACHSA) is a year-long project designed to build a safe and welcoming school
environment and enhance teaching and student
learning. The project incorporates conflict
resolution education and anti-bias training in
the form of elements from WJC programs that
include Encompass Service Learning Class,
Creating Bias-Free Classrooms, Haven social
network and the ABCs of Conflict.
Haven is a social network and
resource website – havensocialnetwork.org –
that provides a virtual place where high school
students and their advisers can learn to create safe and inclusive schools by developing
skills in bullying prevention, peer mediation and prejudice reduction.
The soon-to-debut Haven School Tools came into being in answer to focus
groups held during the beta testing of Haven social network. Educators asked for an
online resource with anti-bias and anti-bullying information and lesson plans about
conflict resolution in a school setting. We’re creating an online site with lesson plans,
videos and information about best practices for anyone interested in creating safe and
welcoming schools.
Visit westernjustice.org to learn more.
Image credits (except where noted): Brian Joseph
Image: WJC
Western Justice Center • 55 South Grand Ave • Pasadena CA 91105 • 626.584.7494 westernjustice.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, October 3, 2015
The California Club, Los Angeles
2015 WJC Justice Awards dinner HONORING:
LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl Champion of Justice
Girardi | Keese Defender of Justice
To Be Announced
Advocate of Justice *Compassion Plays
• Monday, April 27 – Horizon Line for educators in Orange County “Beginning Teachers Support & Assessment” (BTSA) program, Costa Mesa at 3:30 pm
• Friday, May 1 – Horizon Line at CA Judges Association Conference, Palm Desert from 3:15-4:30 pm
*ABCs of Conflict
• Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26 from 9:00 am-4:30pm at Western Justice Center
• Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 7 from 9:00 am-4:30pm at Western Justice Center
*Creating Bias-Free Classrooms
• Tuesday through Thursday, April 21, 22 & 23: sessions on Gender for Orange County educators in the BTSA program
* If you’d like to drop in on any of these programs, please contact Executive Director Judge Judith Chirlin (LASC-Ret.) or Director of Development Andrea Carroll at 626.584.7494 or [email protected] or [email protected]
Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson (left) & Hon. Judith C. Chirlin (Ret.-LASC) speak
with student peer mediators at the annual WJC Peer Mediation Invitational.
Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson, WJC Founder
The story of Western Justice Center (WJC) is intertwined with that of its founder, Judge
Nelson. She began implementing her vision for a more just and peaceful world, one achieved
with the help of law, first as a young lawyer and professor and, later, in 1969, as the first woman
dean of a major American law school, the University of Southern California Law School.
There, to the surprise (and later admiration) of many students and colleagues, she
advocated the use of mediation as an alternative to litigation. When then-President Jimmy Carter
appointed Judge Nelson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1979, she
continued her trail blazing approach and helped initiate one of the first mediation programs for a
federal appellate court. She also looked at a group of abandoned buildings next door to the court
and envisioned a place where a non-profit organization would develop programs for youth and
adults to learn to solve conflicts peacefully. Judge Nelson and an intrepid group of like-minded
lawyers and judges embarked on a campaign to create that place. In 1987, Western Justice
Center came into being.
Judge Nelson’s idea, that people in the legal community could collaboratively resolve
conflicts instead of taking them to trial, caught on. The model quickly spread across the nation
and even around the world. Today, alternative dispute resolution, or “appropriate” dispute
resolution as Judge Nelson prefers, is a staple of the U.S. justice system and is growing in
acceptance globally. That same idea, that conflicts can and should be resolved collaboratively, is
taking hold in schools and communities on a widespread basis.
Western Justice Center - Judge Nelson’s legacy - is proud to be part of this unfolding
story. WJC is working within schools and communities to make real Judge Nelson’s vision that
conflicts can be solved collaboratively and, with proper attention, the groundwork can be set for
resolving or even avoiding future conflict.
Judge Judith C. Chirlin (LASC-Ret.), Executive Director
Western Justice Center is familiar territory to current Executive Director Judge Judith C.
Chirlin. In addition to serving on the Board of WJC for several years before her appointment,
Judge Chirlin studied law under then USC Dean Nelson, and as Judge Nelson recalls, was her
first choice to lead WJC at its founding. At that time, however, Judge Chirlin was already a
seated Los Angeles Superior Court judge, and not available to take the position.
Jump ahead to 2009: after nearly 25 years on the bench, Judge Chirlin officially retired,
only to become a sought after mediator in addition to continuing her life-long work to improve
the legal system and the administration of justice in California, throughout the nation and around
the world. In November 2011, Judge Chirlin at last took the reins of Western Justice Center as
Executive Director.
Judge Chirlin is well suited to implement her former teacher’s vision for WJC.
Throughout her career, WJC has made a special effort to promote increased diversity in judicial
appointments throughout California and at the national level. Judge Chirlin has traveled
extensively, consulting on court reform and teaching programs for foreign judges, lawyers,
police officers and other legal professionals. Among the countries she has traveled to in that
capacity are Peru, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Russia, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Serbia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, Georgia, Oman, Ecuador, Moldova, Qatar and
Libya.
In 2011, working with the US State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, she
helped develop and then facilitated a 2 week program in Washington, D.C. for Iraqi women
activists. The purpose of the program was to assist them in developing programs to combat
gender based violence in Iraq and to educate American policy makers on the conditions for
women in Iraq.
Judge Chirlin is a graduate of The George Washington University (BA in Political
Science), Rutgers University (MA in Politics from the Eagleton Institute of Politics) and the
USC Law School (JD).
WJC Board of Directors
CHAIR
Hon. Richard A. Paez
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
VICE CHAIR
Hon. Dorothy L. Shubin
Los Angeles County Superior Court
PRESIDENT
Charles C. Lifland, Esq.
O'Melveny & Myers, LLP
VICE-PRESIDENT
Glenn D. Pomerantz, Esq.
Munger, Tolles, & Olson, LLP
TREASURER
Marvin E. Garrett, Esq.
Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble, Mallory & Natsis, LLP
SECRETARY
Raymond R. Kepner, Esq.
Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
Tanya M. Acker, Esq
Goldberg, Lowenstein & Weatherwax LLP
James R. Asperger, Esq.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
Donald P. Baker, Esq.
Past President
John H. Brinsley, Esq.
Erwin Chemerinsky, Esq.
University of California Irvine School of Law
Walter Cochran-Bond, Esq.
Past President
WJC Board of Directors April 2015 Page 2
Craig J. de Recat, Esq.
Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips, LLP
Hon. Raymond C. Fisher
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Immediate Past Chair
Jose A. Gomez, Ph.D.
California State University, Los Angeles
Hon. Scott M. Gordon
Los Angeles County Superior Court
Hon. Andrew J. Guilford
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Hon. Terry J. Hatter, Jr.
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Hon. Jeffrey W. Johnson
California Court of Appeal
Christopher Kim, Esq.
Lim, Ruger and Kim LLP
Dean J. Kitchens, Esq.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Immediate Past President
Ellyn McCoy
Diane L. Mc Gimsey, Esq.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Emily L. Murray, Esq.
Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble, Mallory & Natsis, LLP
Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Founder and Chair Emerita
Hon. Jacqueline H. Nguyen
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Hon. Fernando M. Olguin
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
WJC Board of Directors April 2015 Page 3
Diane Paul, Esq.
Past President
Chris Poole
JAMS Inc.
Terrence Roberts, Ph.D.
Terrence Roberts Consulting
Hon. Barry Russell
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California
Robert A. Sacks, Esq.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Past President
Thomas A. Saenz, Esq.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
David J. Schindler, Esq.
Latham & Watkins LLP
Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Amy Fisch Solomon, Esq.
Girardi Keese
Kalpana Srinivasan, Esq.
Susman Godfrey LLP
Mary-Christine Sungaila, Esq.
Snell & Wilmer LLP
Lois D. Thompson, Esq.
Proskauer Rose
William E. Thomson, Esq.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Michael J. Wallace
TM Financial Forensics, LLC
Angela Weimer
NALEO Educational Fund
WJC Board of Directors April 2015 Page 4
Clarissa C. Weirick, Esq.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Cathy Winter
CourtCall, LLC
Kerry Garvis Wright, Esq.
Glaser Weil Fink Jacobs Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP
General Counsel
R. Scott Jenkins, Esq.
Hahn & Hahn LLP
Advisory Board
Brad D. Brian, Esq.
Bert H. Deixler, Esq.
Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman (Ret.)
Hon. Alfred T. Goodwin
Dawn Haghighi, Esq.
Hon. Procter Hug, Jr.
Joseph D. Mandel, Esq.
R. Chandler Myers, Esq.
Sarah Smith Orr
Roger Patterson, Esq.
Marjorie Randolph, Esq.
Lois J. Scali, Esq.
Diane Scott
Michael L. Shannon, Esq.
Hon. Veronica Simmons McBeth (Ret.)
Lucinda Starrett, Esq.
WJC Board of Directors April 2015 Page 5
Thomas Walper, Esq.
Robert S. Warren, Esq.
Marjorie K. Wyatt
STAFF
Judith Chirlin, Executive Director
Lori Nelson, Associate Executive Director
Bethany Leal, Director of Finance and Operations
Andrea Carroll, Director of Development
Emily Linnemeier, Program Director
Teresa Wang, Digital Strategy Director
Joe Evans, Property Manager
Sylvia Gonzalez, Executive Assistant/Facilities Coordinator
Clifton Martin, Facilities Assistant