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Learning and Development Manager - Omni Institute
Arden Trewartha has lived in the Upper Arkansas Valley of Central Colorado for 25 years, starting in Leadville and moving down valley to the “warmer weather” of Salida. She’s
worked in jobs ranging from co-founding and directing a startup organization dedicated to health promotion among low-income children, youth, and families, to joining Peace Corps Peru as a health promoter with her spouse in their 40’s. Most recently she worked with several foundations dedicated to health equity, developing community-driven strategies with people most impacted by issues, to identify, envision and implement local and regional solutions. Arden believes that restorative justice is a way to reimagine the justice system, repair harm, and restore relationships among individuals, groups, and the greater community.
Retired Restorative Justice Facilitator
Chris is now retired, after a career spent almost exclusively in
state government – just under 10 years with the State of Alaska
and just under 30 years with the State of Vermont. The State of
Vermont gig was entirely with the department of corrections, first
as a volunteer coordinator in a tri-county jail, then as a community
resource coordinator in probation and parole and finally as a
community corrections program supervisor, also in probation and
parole. It was while working in corrections in 1995 that he was
first exposed to restorative justice (RJ) and trained to facilitate RJ
community conferences.
After that training, he became very
passionate about RJ and was very fortunate to have been able to
facilitate many RJ processes and to have trained many other RJ
facilitators. Since moving to Colorado in 2016, he has been
engaged in many volunteer capacities, including working as a
volunteer with Full Circle Restorative Justice. He is very excited
about how far FCRJ has come and the potential for future
achievements. For more details on Chris and contact information,
please go to: chrisdinnan.com.
Scott has been a resident of Salida for 20 years, moving from his native Cincinnati to be a guide on the Arkansas River. For a number of years, Scott combined seasonal work (Monarch Mountain, river guiding, landscaping) to make ends meet.
Scott grew up in a family who preached that their children must learn from mistakes. This ethic was instilled in him. His desire to work with children led to a 10-year career with Salida’s Boys & Girls Club. In 2018, Scott opened the Fun Street Family Arcade on F Street in Salida. F Street Family Arcade was intended to and has become Salida’s “teen club”, providing a safe, wholesome, supervised place for Salida’s youth to congregate, socialize, and recreate.
It was a natural progression for Scott to take his caring for children and teens to the Full Circle Restorative Board of Directors, also in 2018. He had seen some kids have difficulties in life after becoming involved in the criminal justice system and wanted to support Restorative Practices as an alternative. Scott serves as the Treasurer of the Board.
Scott continues to enjoy all outdoor activities, including skiing, hiking, snowboarding, and being on the Arkansas River.
Dr. Robyn Short is an organization systems design consultant, peace-building trainer, and mediator with expertise in restorative practices and transformative mediation models. Robyn works with individuals, corporations, and nonprofit organizations in discovering the root causes of conflicts, so they may transform their relationships and create new and productive paths forward individually, as teams, and ultimately as an organization.
She also works with community leaders and political and governmental leaders to develop initiatives for building sustainable peace in areas of historic conflict. In this capacity, she has been featured in news outlets internationally.
Robyn is passionate about restorative justice because of its capacity to support human transformation. Robyn lives in the Wet Mountains with her husband and two Irish Setters where they seize every opportunity to immerse themselves in nature.
Nick Tolsma grew up on an alfalfa/barley farm outside of Alamosa, CO in the San Luis Valley. After graduating from Alamosa High School, he went to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. In 2005, Nick graduated CSU with a B.S. in Natural Resources Management and B.A. in Sociology, Concentration in Criminal Justice. Nick moved back to the San Luis Valley and was accepted at the Southern Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy (SCLETA) at Trinidad State Junior College, Alamosa, CO starting his career in law enforcement with his first agency in 2006. Nick moved to Chaffee County in 2011 and he is currently serving as a patrol sergeant for the City of Salida.
Throughout his career, Nick has witnessed hundreds of juveniles navigate the criminal justice system. Nick believes that most juveniles are successful with diversion if they are involved with repairing the harm they caused to the victims though self-accountability. Nick was drawn to serve on the board as a liaison with law-enforcement and Full Circle Restorative Justice which has been a collaborative process while restoring connections.
While Nick is off duty, he enjoys spending time in the mountains with his family.
Sarah Briggs - Board Member
Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who began her journey in Chaffee County as a river guide on the Arkansas River in 2010. Originally from southern Louisiana, she recognized early in life how social inequality and disparities in resources can impact individuals, families, and communities for a lifetime. She spent several years working in wilderness therapy in Hawaii and Utah before taking the leap to graduate school.
Sarah moved to Salida full-time in 2019 and began working at Solvista Health with individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses. For the past four years, she has been a member of the crisis team, serving as the county’s co-responding clinician for the past three years.
Through her work in community mental health, Sarah has witnessed the profound impact of the intersection between mental illness and the criminal justice system. She understands the need for alternatives within the legal system—most importantly, a proactive approach to conflict. She saw an opportunity to be a voice for this issue by serving as a board member.
Sarah believes that no dog should go unpetted, homemade chocolate chip cookies are the reigning champions of the dessert world, and that all behavior serves a function. In her free time, you can find her on a mountain bike or skis, camera in hand.
