Pat Downing, RJRC

Pat Downing is the Coordinator of the Western North Carolina Restorative Justice Task Force and a member of the Leadership Team of the Restorative Justice Resource Center in Asheville, North Carolina. Trained as a mediator in 1997, she has experience in civil cases, Victim-Offender mediation and family mediation.

Pat’s career reflects her skills in counseling, group facilitation and peace-making. Areas of expertise include training, conflict resolution, inter-agency coordination and consumer advocacy. Her career reflects hard work, flexibility, a strong belief in solutions and a willingness to take on new challenges.

As co-founder and Executive Director of the Smart Choices Program in Asheville, Pat worked for five years with teenagers referred by the courts, empowering them to make better choices and to create successful lives. She conducted family mediations with the teens and their parents, helping them to address the underlying issues that led to the delinquent behavior. She led weekly group sessions with the teens and parents, and recruited, trained and supervised volunteer mentors.

Pat worked for eight years with the Maricopa County Social Services Department in Phoenix, Arizona. As Case Management Coordinator, she developed and implemented a county-wide case management system for 13 Community Action Programs, supervised Case Managers, planned and facilitated monthly in-service training workshops. As Social Services Planner and Contract Administrator, she administered grants, monitored social services contracts and worked with representatives from local governments, social service agencies and citizens to develop solutions to local problems

As Researcher for a gubernatorial candidate in the mid-1980‘s, Pat conducted research in Arizona and other states in criminal justice issues. Her exposure to innovative community corrections programs in other states fueled her commitment to creating a more compassionate and effective approach to justice.

Pat’s volunteer activities reflect her commitment to bringing about healing and empowerment for people whose lives had been impacted by crime. She worked with a statewide group to promote Restorative Justice principles and practices in North Carolina; with prison inmates in a crime prevention program in Arizona; and with families of incarcerated adults. She advocated with the DOC and Arizona legislature for changes in prison conditions. She also served on the Advisory Board of the Sex Offender Treatment Program for the Arizona Department of Corrections and the Citizens Advisory Council on Community Services.

Pat has extensive experience as a trainer. She currently teaches parenting classes and has written a book and many articles for parents. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Transit Association, she planned and directed several annual conventions; and as Director of Public Relations for the International Childbirth Education Association, she provided PR training to members of local childbirth groups. She taught childbirth preparation classes for several years and helped conduct training workshops for new childbirth instructors.

Now living outside Asheville, North Carolina, Pat enjoys hiking in the mountains, writing, dancing and hanging out with her 2 ½ year old grand-daughter.