Jonathan Derby

As a special consultant to Prison Fellowship International, Jonathan Derby is developing a handbook that sensitizes national ministries about restorative justice concepts and model practices.

Jonathan works closely with Prison Fellowship International leadership and national ministry leaders who are restorative justice experts in their countries, including Netherlands, Germany, Syria, Rwanda, Nigeria, Canada, New Zealand, Colombia, and the United States. In the coming year, Jonathan will help launch a communications campaign that educates the Prison Fellowship International global community on restorative justice. He will also facilitate capacity building trainings with Prison Fellowship International staff and national ministries. Additionally, Jonathan will develop a three-year strategic plan that integrates restorative justice within the context of Prison Fellowship International’s ministry.

In 2004, Jonathan graduated from Pepperdine School of Law with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. He worked 14 years with organizations in India that seek access to justice for the most vulnerable. In 2005, he joined International Justice Mission in Mumbai, which combats sex trafficking and forced prostitution. In 2008 Jonathan was promoted to Field Office Director and led a team of 40 staff. In April 2012, Jonathan moved to Delhi and started Counsel to Secure Justice (CSJ), an organization that provides legal support and restorative care to children who experience sexual harm. Between 2012 and 2018, CSJ supported more than 225 clients during their criminal proceedings. As he and the team worked closely with India’s justice systems, Jonathan saw restorative justice’s transcending potential to repair the harm and brokenness caused by crime.

Jonathan joined Dan Van Ness, Karen Heetderks Strong, and Lynette Parker to revise the important restorative justice textbook, Restoring Justice. Jonathan will use the book as he teaches Restorative Justice at Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in Spring 2021.