Stan Baker
Advocate for Student Success Through Relational Lens
Stan Baker brings unique expertise to the field of education, specializing in making things right through restorative practices. He taught from Grade 3 to Grade 12 and was a teaching elementary principal for 11 years. In the last 11 years of his educational career, Stan held the positions of Behaviour Support Officer, Restorative Practices Coordinator and Safe Schools Resource Teacher with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Stan has led transformative projects to strengthen educator-student relationships, improve school climates through bullying prevention and system wide school climate surveys. He led the 90 schools in the district in violence prevention through implementation of the Violence Threat Risk Assessment protocols which included a signed protocol with 47 community agencies which included 5 different police agencies. He was instrumental in revising and implementing the Police-School Board protocol regionally for 7 school districts and 5 police services. He applied his commitment to building student relationships to an innovative Smoking Cessation Project with the Peterborough Public Health Services for high school students addicted to smoking. With his leadership, the school district participated in 3 regional Situation or HUB Tables where community agencies met weekly to address situations of acutely elevated risk with small group visits to individuals or families to ask “How can we help?”
Stan’s research on trusted adult-student relationships underscores the importance of connection in reducing absenteeism. One research project investigated the impact of a trusted caring adult on student attendance in 5 district school boards. A second research project focused on building the connection between elementary teachers and the parents of students who were at risk of chronic absenteeism. As a speaker, he equips audiences with restorative strategies to make things right and build belonging, voice and agency. Stan currently hosts 2 podcasts, CircleForum and Principals’ Shorts. He helps new principals and vice-principals listen to understand not to respond.
Training Associate Shelley Steele
Shelley is a retired Child and Youth Counsellor with over 40 years of experience supporting children, youth, and families, although she humorously notes that a Child and Youth Counsellor never truly retires. She spent 20 years in education, working both in schools and at the District level to support staff and families. After retiring from the school system, Shelley continued to assist school staff nationwide through training and coaching, focusing on Restorative Practices and a relationship-based approach to help educators overcome challenges.
Shelley believes that everyone has the potential for positive change when given the right tools, support, and opportunities. Her career also includes 15 years in residential care, which gave her a comprehensive understanding of the systems that affect youth and families, along with the challenges these systems create.
In education, Shelley spent over 10 years working directly with children, youth, and the adults who support them. She then spent another 10 years training and supporting educators and community partners to better serve youth and families. Notable training programs she led include Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Applied Suicide Intervention Skill Training (ASIST) and Restorative Practices (Formal Conferencing and Classroom Circles). Shelley was invited to present at the National Conference for Violent Threat Risk Assessment in Banff, Alberta, where she was acknowledged for her work in the field. Shelley was lead and primary VTRA trainer for her District’s community. She also supported and became a resource for other districts as they began training in these programs.
Shelley led Safe Schools initiatives for 10 years, overseeing suspension and expulsion programs, addressing violent incidents, promoting restorative practices, fostering community connections, and supervising staff to implement these programs. She played a key role in integrating relationship-based approaches into both the programs and policies.
Now retired in Ontario, Canada, Shelley enjoys the opportunities that retirement brings, and embraces time spent with her five grandchildren.
Contact Shelley at steele2084@live.ca
Steve Young
Stephen (Steve) Young – Retired – Principal – York Region District School Board, Ontario, Canada
Steve has stepped back from restorative practice trainings with Restorative Resolutions in June, 2025 in order to focus on other interests. Check out his last podcast in July 2025.
Steve is a retired Elementary teacher and Principal with 35 years of service. He has Bachelors (McMaster University) and Masters (University of New Brunswick) Degrees in Physical Education, a Bachelor of Education (University of Toronto) and a Masters in Restorative Practice (International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) Graduate School). He also holds Ontario Education Principal and Supervisory Officer qualifications.
Steve has been involved in the use of Restorative Practices in schools for more than 20 years. Working with the York Region District school Board, Steve championed and lead the Board’s Restorative Practices initiative for many years, as well as sitting on the Board’s Safe Schools Committee.
He also worked within the Youth Justice court system, facilitating conferences as part of the Youth Justice Act. He is a member of FaithCare, sitting on the steering committee and providing restorative services to faith communities. Steve is a certified trainer with the IIRP in Formal Conferences, Circles, and Restorative Frameworks. He presently sits as a Trustee on the IIRP Board of Trustees. Steve is a certified Community Mediator and Restorative Justice trainer with Community Justice Alternatives of Durham Region (CJAD) where he sits as member of the Board. He is a past Board member of the Canadian Restorative Justice Consortium (CRJC).
He is the author of The Restorative Principal: Leading in Education with Restorative Practices, describing his personal journey in learning about, and implementing, Restorative Practices in schools.
He lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Contact Steve at restorativesteve@gmail.com