Course: Community-Building Circles (NC-CIRCLELEADERSHIP-LVL1)

Community-Building Circles is the foundational course in the Certificate in Restorative & Democratic Circle Leadership and introduces participants to Circle Processes as a relational practice for building trust, connection, and psychological safety.

Grounded in restorative justice principles, this highly experiential course invites participants to engage directly in Circle as both participants and facilitators. Through guided practice, reflection, and structured design work, participants develop the skills and mindsets needed to create inclusive, accountable spaces where individuals can speak authentically, listen deeply, and build stronger relationships.

Participants will learn how to:

Design and facilitate community-building circles
Establish shared agreements that support safe and meaningful dialogue
Use guiding questions to foster reflection and connection
Navigate group dynamics with awareness, intention, and care
Hold space in a way that promotes dignity, inclusion, and shared responsibility

This course is ideal for educators, organizational leaders, HR professionals, community practitioners, and anyone seeking practical tools to strengthen team culture, engagement, and communication. No prior experience with Circle Processes is required.

Session: NC-CIRCLELEADERSHIP-LVL1.127

Schedule:

Weekly on Friday afternoons (1pm to 4pm) on September 4, 11, 28, 25, and October 2.

Times:

01:00pm - 04:00pm

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Price:

Course Fee : $999.00

Instructors

Name

Additional Resources

Monti Datta

Biography: Monti Narayan Datta, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Richmond, where he teaches classes in international relations, research methods, human rights, and global governance. Since 2017 he has engaged with the Central Virginian peacebuilding community, studying and teaching at Eastern Mennonite University's Summer Peacebuilding Institute. A practitioner of mindfulness for community engagement, Monti has taught meditation classes at the Richmond City Jail and to formerly incarcerated persons via the REAL-LIFE program. His current research examines the legacy of Japanese militarized enslavement in South Korea, and how to find ways for nation-states, like Japan and South Korea, to find reconciliation on historic issues using restorative justice methods.

Eunkyung Ahn

Biography:

Eunkyung Ahn, MA, is a South Korean educator and Circle keeper who has been part of the movement to integrate restorative justice (RJ) practices in the South Korean educational system. She obtained her MA in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia 2019. Since then, she has worked as one of the RJ practitioners for the Seoul Metropolitan and Gyeonggi Province police using restorative justice methods to find greater truth and reconciliation in the criminal justice process. In 2022, she co-founded, "The Forest of Light and Peace" a peace building NGO based in South Korea helping address educational challenges. She is dedicated to spreading the philosophy of Circle processes via spirituality, the body, art, and other expressive practices to transform communities into becoming more equitable and just.

Facility Detail

TBD - UR Campus

Richmond, VA 23173