Professional Development Instructors
We are grateful and honored that these instructors choose to share their knowledge through our professional development programs. Though they offer their expertise several times per year with the Hutchinson Center, our instructors are independent professionals working in their individual fields.
Tom Dowd
Distinguished Toastmaster
(he/him/his)
Tom Dowd (also known as “Transformation Tom”!) received a communications degree from the University of Delaware. He is a prize-winning speaker, and an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author, trainer and coach. As a member of Toastmasters International, Dowd exhibits consistent success in speech competitions and achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster status in 2015. Dowd utilized his 25+ years of experience in the financial and customer service industry to start Thomas Dowd Professional Development and Coaching, LLC, where he helps people to creatively find their own paths to success.
Tom teaches Practical Public Speaking: From Fear to Success.
Elizabeth Haffey
(she/her/hers)
Elizabeth Haffey is a Maine-based professional grant writer. Through her business, E. Haffey Grant Consulting, she helps clients develop and write proposals, researches opportunities, and trains staff and volunteers to apply for grants. Haffey received her Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and is currently working on her Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Southern Maine.
Elizabeth teaches Grant Writing Essentials.
Heather Fogg
(she/her/hers)
Heather is thrilled to have joined RJP Maine in July 2021. Years of visits and learning the restorative landscape in the area make being here a dream come true. Heather values the interconnectedness of all people and honors that as a circle keeper, conflict coach, mediator, restorative dialogue and restorative reflection facilitator, community dialogue facilitator, conferencing facilitator, and Certified Optimum Life Breathologist (C.O.L.B.). Heather invitationally shares her love of the work by awakening the ideas and concepts within others via trainings, presentations, and teaching courses about conflict and resolution and restorative justice. She served on the board and leadership circle of the Circle of Restorative Initiatives (CRI) for Maryland, helping to spread the awakening to restorative values and the processes that support them. Heather was fortunate to grow in the field with years of support, love, and encouragement from colleagues and collaborators at the Maryland Judiciary Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO). Heather’s educational upbringing included studying psychology because she is fascinated by people and all the gifts each individual brings in the world.
Heather facilitates the Foundations in Restorative Practices program.
Sarah Matari
(she/her/hers)
Sarah began providing restorative practices and mediation services to institutions and communities early on in her alternative dispute resolution career. As a trainer and consultant for the NYC Department of Education restorative pilot project, she delivered mediation and restorative circle trainings to staff and students in an effort to help schools work towards restorative culture change. She learned firsthand the importance of having a sustainable implementation strategy and team approach when engaging with restorative practices and brings that experience in her directing of RJPM’s Training and Capacity Building Team.
Sarah facilitates the Foundations in Restorative Practices program.
New Hope Midcoast
New Hope Midcoast offers support to people in Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties affected by domestic and dating violence and provides educational resources to assist our communities in creating a safer and healthier future.
New Hope Midcoast facilitates Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence Intervention Training.
Kristen Grant
(she/her/hers)
Kristen’s work focuses on the interactions between the people, and ecosystems of the coast. Her work includes a range of activities to build the capacity of coastal communities to plan and adapt for their future, such as building community engagement and facilitation skills, considering housing options, addressing coastal access and waterfront development issues, and understanding erosion trends and planning for coastal hazards. To this work, Kristen brings a Master of Science degree focused on Environmental Education, and has an extensive background in outreach education and community development, as well as nearly a decade of experience in training facilitators.
Kristen teaches Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills and Building Your Virtual Facilitation Skills.
Terry Porter, M.A., Ph.D.
(she/her/hers)
Terry Porter is Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Maine, where she taught business strategy and sustainability at the Maine Business School for 13 years. She also initiated a Sustainability track in the MBA program and advised the student chapter of Net Impact, a leadership development program in sustainable business. Dr. Porter holds an MA in Clinical Psychology and is a certified mental health counselor. She is a 2014 Fulbright Scholar. Terry has over thirty years of experience as a teacher, counselor, coach, guide and facilitator.
Terry teaches Engaging Your Critical Thinking Skills and Going Green: Sustainability in Business.
Wendy Rapaport, L.C.S.W., M.S.W., Psy.D
(she/her/hers)
Wendy is a licensed clinical psychologist on the faculty at the University of Miami School of Medicine Diabetes Research Institute and the UMaine School of Social Work. She also is in private practice in Boca Raton, Florida, and has specialized in individual, marital, family and group therapy for 40 years. A professional writer, Rapaport has published more than 65 articles and lectures around the country. She was awarded the National Health Information Award for her book, “When Diabetes Hits Home: The Whole Family’s Guide to Emotional Health.” Rapaport is also the author of “Approaches to Behavior: Changing the Dynamic between Patient and Professional in Diabetes Care”, “On the Couch with a Good Enough Poet”, “What do We Tell the Children” and “Friendship Matters”.
Wendy facilitates and Helping People Change: The Power of Group Work and Self-Care is a Verb.
Will Galloway, M.A.T.
(he/him/his)
Will offers over three decades of experience working in the field of conflict transformation. He has served as a court-appointed mediator, was co-owner and founder of the mediation firm Charbonneau & Galloway, mediated cases with the United States Postal Service and has offered courses in basic and advanced mediation. Currently, Galloway serves as the Head of School and co-founder of the Watershed School in Camden, Maine where the principles and practices of conflict transformation have been integrated into the design of the academic program. Galloway lives with his wife and three children in Hope, Maine. He enjoys biking, Tai Chi Ch’uan, and spending time with his family wherever their interests take them.
Will teaches Mediation & the Art of Conflict Transformation.
Gina Simm
(she/her/hers)
Gina has taught in early childhood education for over 30 years. Her background in Montessori education and children’s theater launched her into the world of public schools where she spent most of her career as a first-grade teacher (including a year spent teaching English in China). Simm worked closely with Miki Kashtan, a co-founder of Bay Area Nonviolent Communication. Simm’s knowledge of Nonviolent Communication has transformed her classroom into a place where systems of the heart create a child-centered environment for moving through conflict. Simm lives in the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Gina facilitates Teaching From the Heart: Nonviolent Communication in Pre-K and Elementary School Classrooms.
Peggy Smith
(she/her/hers)
Peggy holds a master’s degree in literacy and language arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a certified trainer with the International Center for Nonviolent Communication with over four decades of teaching experience. A co-founder of the Maine Nonviolent Communication Network, Smith is at the forefront of bringing empathic thinking and communicating to midcoast Maine. Since 1991, Smith has studied with Zen teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh and is a dharma teacher within his tradition. Smith enjoys designing and implementing programs that support empathic thinking and communicating as part of systemic culture change. She lives in Lincolnville, Maine and greets the day watching the sunrise over Islesboro.
Peggy facilitates Calming Strong Emotions.
Jamar Williams
(he/him/his)
Jamar arrived in August of 2021 with enthusiasm as a trainer on the Training and Capacity Building Team of RJP Maine. He has extensive experience in various aspects of the prison reentry field and has leveraged his expertise to educate others in universities, institutions and conferences across the country. Jamar’s focus on social and restorative justice has led him to relocate to Maine to train others on restorative justice practices. When he is not motivating others through speeches or helping them to live a life of purpose, he can be found participating in any kind of exercise. Bicycling, reading, writing, and going for walks are ways that he rounds out his day. Jamar also enjoys gathering around food with others as he exercises his culinary skills in the kitchen.
Jamar facilitates the Foundations in Restorative Practices program.