Renee Handsaker
Manager of Restorative Services (Open Circle)Renee is a highly skilled facilitator with extensive expertise in restorative justice and conflict transformation.
As the Manager of Open Circle, she leads restorative justice processes addressing serious harms such as death, sexual assault, racism, and road traffic collisions. These processes emphasise healing and understanding between affected parties, as well as accountability and behaviour change, collaborative participation, and rebuilding trust and connection within the broader community.
Renee has been appointed as a restorative engagement facilitator to several Government panels, including the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Stolen Generation Redress Scheme, and the National Redress Scheme. Through these appointments, Renee has facilitated over 100 restorative engagements between institutional leaders and survivors of institutional harm with the Australian Defence Force, various departments of the Australian and Victorian Governments, secondary schools, disability organisations and religious institutions.
Renee is particularly committed to creating pathways for community‑led healing and justice processes that provide safe and meaningful responses to harm, without relying on harmful systemic and punitive approaches. Renee’s foundational knowledge stems from her background in Social Work and Masters in Narrative Therapy and Community Work. Her approach is characterised by empathy, active listening, and a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional facets of trauma, enabling her to guide restorative processes towards resolution, healing and transforming peoples’ experience of harm.