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About us... 

 

OUR MISSION
Using the proven principles of restorative justice, we empower youth to generate new possibilities for their lives through personal accountability, empathy, and leadership skills that shape positive social behaviors.

 

OUR VISION
Youth Transformation Center is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)  HIGH IMPACT organization, dedicated to moving the worldwide movement of restorative justice to the tipping point as an effective alternative to suspension, expulsion, and incarceration.

 

OUR OBJECTIVE
Statistics and studies clearly show that banishing and ostracizing children through suspension, expulsion, and juvenile incarceration has done little to build strong character in our young people or lead them to responsible and productive adulthood. The character development and restorative justice movements, now reaching critical mass around the world, provide an effective alternative that promises long-term, positive results.

 

Youth Transformation Center is proud to offer exciting motivational workshop intensives and cost effective materials in character development and restorative justice for youth and their adult leaders.  The time is ripe for practical guidance and inspiration!

 

WHAT WE DO

BUILD CHARACTER

Through a process of self-discovery, youth learn in our workshop intensives what it means to be fully responsible for their behaviors and for their lives. 

BUILD SELF-WORTH

Both in the restorative justice process post crime and in our workshop intensives youth have the opportunity to re-discover their self worth and their value to themselves, to their families, and to the world around them.

INSPIRE ACTION

Our Boomerang workshops aim to catapult youth to a positive future through personal insight that gives them the impetus and sense of urgency to reach small goals NOW that lead to big dreams.

Jeannette Holtham, author of Taking Restorative Justice to Schools: A Doorway to Discipline, is President and Founder of the Youth Transformation Center.  Ms. Holtham is a mediator and restorative justice facilitator and trainer with a 20-year career history in event planning and leadership training—nine of those years at JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement).  Jeannette graduated summa cum laude from Regis University with a BA in communications and earned the Excellence in Communication award.  In 2009 she was a nominee for the Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Council Leadership Award.  Jeannette holds several rigorous certifications, including Sherod and Phyllis Miller's Core Communication I and II, and the Insights Discovery personality profile model from Dundee, Scotland.  She is a graduate of Landmark Education's Curriculum for Living and the Wisdom Course.  Interestingly, she is the creator of the original "Movie Index" a parental guide for making informed entertainment choices that aired on KOAA-TV for six years.  Jeannette recently developed Boomerang, a motivational workshop intensive that gives teens dealing with high risk factors a chance to view their lives from a new lens and provides them with high-octane tools that will help them navigate their life’s journey to a positive and fulfilling future, while strengthening their social-emotional intelligence.

André Zarb-Cousin is known for his "go for the gold" attitude that has showed up over the years in his competitive spirit both as a long-held record-breaking soccer player at Colorado College where he received a three-year scholarship and during his 11 years of coaching award-winning high school soccer teams throughout the Colorado Springs School District 11. Not surprisingly, both his son and daughter are now nationally known coaches in their own rights, a college track and cross-country coach and a figure skating coach, respectively. With a BA in business administration from Colorado College and more than 30 years as an accountant executive primarily with Hewlett Packard, André now prefers the training room where he can motivate and inspire youth to reach for their BIG dreams.

Maggie Griggs brings her background as a web designer and developer, graphic editor, researcher and information technology professional to the YTC.  With a background in business and accounting to support her work as a technology professional Maggie has worked in companies both large and small.  Maggie earned a BS in Accounting with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Southern Colorado.  She has been recognized for her achievements in the business and information technology industries by the Cambridge Who's Who Registry of Professionals, The International Who's Who Registry of Information Technology Professionals, Empire Who's Who Registry of Executives and Professionals, The American Biographical Institute, Madison Who's Who and is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Economics Organization.  She has also provided and enjoyed a variety of support and learning experiences in archery, fencing, costuming, needlework and other aspects of Middle Ages recreation as well as creating the first internet based library for the region and holding various offices at the local and regional levels during more than 25 years as a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. 

 

 Copyright © 2011 Youth Transformation Center