Twenty-five Sonoma County schools and community organizations were invited to send a strategic team to participate in the Restorative Culture Collaborative Cohort Originally created to support the expansion of Restorative Practices in Sonoma County, the Collaborative has broadened to also include efforts related to addressing the social-emotional needs of students/clients; promoting equity and access; and building and nurturing thriving schools and communities.

As a collaboration between the Sonoma County Office of Education, First 5 Sonoma County, Child Parent Institute, Sonoma County Department of Human Services, Sonoma County Department of Health Services (Behavioral Health and Public Health), and Sonoma County ACES Connection the 2017-18 effort moved from the goal of awareness-building to one of action.

The Collaborative started with an orientation to the work, moved next to a focus on the intra- and inter- personal, and culminated with an attention to agency and organizational practices. In an effort to maximize the impact of the work, participating teams created action plans and received contextualized, site-based support between workshop session

This publication highlights the strides these twenty-five Sonoma County teams made toward building organizations grounded in empathy, equity, and engagement.