Dr. Eloise Sepeda (she/her/ella)
Public Speaker, Human Rights Advocate, and Life Coach in United States
Dr. Sepeda is a Latina and Native Roots of the Kickapoo Nation and a child/adult survivor of family & stranger sexual violence, gangs, substance abuse, and homelessness. Despite the high risks of lethal violence and becoming a teen mom, she is resilient. Since 1999, Eloise has used her personal & professional survivor leader experiences to guide her work and advocacy.
As a national SME Restorative-Transformative Justice Practitioner, she believes in decolonizing restorative practices and centering the voices of people who are marginalized and disproportionately overrepresented in carceral systems of oppression, modern-day colonization of family surveillance, and separation. She uses her expertise in Violence & Abuse, Intersections of Child Welfare & multi-systems to advance racial equity, and human-centered engagement to promote safety, justice, family preservation, healing, and well-being for every person impacted and/or who caused harm seeking to make wrongs right.
Dr. Sepeda offers specialized restorative-transformative justice (RJTJ) training and implementation for multidisciplinary services such as Faith-Based & Grassroots organizations, Child Welfare, DV/SA/HT agencies, Civil/Criminal court-legal services, communities, parents/ youth. She serves as Faculty for Futures Without Violence and on the Ujima Women of Color in Leadership Cohort.
*Interim Co-Executive Director, Contigo Wellness [2023]
* Founder, Harmony One Restorative Justice | www.bethechange.tools
- National Restorative Justice Practioner, Author, Public Speaker, Trainer
- Certified Professional NLP Life Coach
- Certified Human Rights Advocate
- Certified TBRI Practitioner
Community Service & Support:
- Board Member - Man In Me and National Domestic Violence Collaborative
- Member of ATC Domestic Violence Task Force, Child Welfare Race Equity Collaborative, Central Health Equity Policy Council, Integral Care PNAC Adv Committee, TWAIS
- Appointed Former Community Development Commissioner, District 2, Travis County
Published Material:
- Coauthored: Restorative Discipline Practices [2016]
- Coauthored: Colorizing Restorative Practices, Living Justice Press [2023]
- Coauthored curricula with UT Austin & Texas State University (TCOLE)
Podcast Interview with Dr. Sepeda:
- Safe & Together, Restorative Justice & DV/CPS
- Amplify RJ (Restorative Justice)
- FUTURES Without Violence, Advance racial equity
Recent Awards:
- Awarded 2021 NAACP Austin Chapter
- Awarded 2022 National Crime Victims - Survivor Leader