"Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Dr. Ellen Skilton to the Restorative Works! Podcast.

Dr. Skilton joins us as we explore how creative expression and restorative pedagogy open new pathways for repair, resilience, and transformation. She shares moving selections from her poetry manuscript Collateral Repair, weaving together themes of grief, love, and unexpected healing. She reflects on her personal journey of “unexpected repair,” finding possibility for restoration in spaces shaped by loss. With honesty and depth, she invites listeners to consider how grief can be not only endured but transformed into an opening for connection and creativity.

Dr. Skilton also discusses her work on restorative pedagogy. She emphasizes the importance of disrupting hierarchies in education, fostering “with” rather than “for” orientations, and cultivating classrooms where risk-taking and mistakes become essential parts of learning. Highlighting programs like Student Pedagogical Consultants, she demonstrates how shifting power dynamics in higher education empowers both faculty and students to thrive."