About Us
We envision a world in which communities are healed, united, and transformed through conflict resolution education and restorative practices rooted in equity, justice, and opportunity.
Western Justice Center (WJC) is a nonprofit organization that equips young people with the skills to navigate conflict, repair harm, and strengthen their schools and communities across Los Angeles County. We partner with educators, school districts and community organizations to replace punitive discipline with restorative practices and conflict resolution education which foster student voice, leadership, trust and belonging.
By fostering student voice and leadership, providing educator training and serving as a convener for community coalitions, WJC is building a movement of young leaders, caring adults and school communities committed to connection over exclusion and belonging over division.
WJC is the largest K–12 conflict resolution education provider in Los Angeles County reaching more than 25,000+ youth at over 40 schools.
Our Mission
WJC empowers people to strengthen their communities by growing the conflict resolution skills and capacity of youth, educators, schools, and community partners.
Our Core Values
Empathy: We listen with open hearts and minds, willing to be moved to action.
Empowerment: We believe in and support the power of people acting individually and collectively to shape their lives and communities.
Equity: We dedicate ourselves to fair treatment, opportunity and advancement for all, because every person deserves the chance to pursue their innate human potential.
Inclusion: We actively seek out, embrace, and elevate the perspectives and life experience of people of diverse backgrounds.
Impact: We hold ourselves accountable for making a difference, and we do it with integrity.
What Makes Us Unique
Our approach focuses on growing the next generation of peacemakers and transforming school discipline. We know that real change does not come from a one time training. It requires deep relationships, long term partnerships and systems level integration to take root amidst shifting demands.
WJC works at the intersection of education, health, well being and community building to equip educators with skills, tools and capacity to implement restorative justice in their classrooms. That is why we:
Support educators to replace punitive discipline with restorative practices that foster trust and belonging.
De-escalate conflict as and strengthen campus culture by equipping youth with leadership and mediation skills.
Build resilient communities to help people manage through social and economic uncertainty, hardship, and natural disasters.
Re-imagine systems through scaling our approach, spurring narrative change around suspensions, and reversing decades punitive approaches toward children.
Our History
“Justice is about inclusion. It is about listening to people and solving problems, not deciding on a winner or a loser.”
– Judge Dorothy W. Nelson
Western Justice Center was founded in 1987 by a group of judges, lawyers and civic leaders led by the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Western Justice Center was born from Judge Dorothy W. Nelson’s belief that lasting peace is built through understanding, dialogue and community action. In 1987, she gathered fellow judges, lawyers and civic leaders to create a space dedicated to resolving conflict without courts or confrontation.
WJC’s founding members sought out innovative ways to handle conflict by supporting the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques in and beyond the court system. Their aim was for WJC to serve as a thought leader, convener and capacity builder in the field of conflict resolution education. Her vision extended beyond legal disputes, and she saw the potential to equip young people with the skills to navigate differences and shape more just communities.
Today, Western Justice Center partners with schools and communities across Los Angeles County to prepare the next generation of peacemakers, ensuring Judge Nelson’s vision continues to inspire and transform lives.
55 South Grand Avenue,
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 584-7494
#BuildingPeaceTogether