Elaine Leeder
Elaine Leeder was always drawn to the dark side of life. The daughter of a Holocaust refugee, she spent the better part of her life trying to understand that darkness. The desire to make sense of that which seems so difficult led her on a journey into one of the darkest places in our society, our prison system. Elaine volunteers in a restorative justice program that offers both victims and offenders the opportunity to face one another, not as adversaries but as equals, to engage in conversations that have the potential to set them free.
From inside the walls at some of California’s most famous prisons, Elaine has worked with some of the most traumatized of individuals. Hurt people hurt people she reminds us. And yet it is in these conversations, through the power of restorative justice, that she has witnessed moments of profound transformation, for both the victim and those who have done the harm.
You can listen to her episode here.
