Dave is first of all 鈥榬ich鈥� in most of what matters to him: valued relationships and opportunity to make a contribution in areas of his life-long passions. These include trauma recovery and healing, creating social structures that contribute to the making of a justpeace; assisting others who languish (trauma survivors, in the main) to discover their own gifts, to recover hope, to grow and to flourish. Dave is Co-Director of Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives Association (CJI), in Langley, B.C., an Adjunct Professor in the School of Criminology at 大象传媒 and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. Dave holds a PhD in Criminological Sciences from KULeuven, Belgium. The primary focus of Dave鈥檚 work at CJI is on facilitating 鈥榯herapeutic dialogue鈥� in prisons between victims and offenders in crimes of severe violence under the auspices of CJI鈥檚 Victim Offender Mediation Program (VOMP). Dave鈥檚 research interests as the title of his Doctoral dissertation suggests, have focused on the implications of 鈥淓ncountering 鈥楾he Other鈥欌��: the outcomes for trauma survivors and the prisoners responsible for offending against them as they proceed through the VOMP process: the preparation for their dialogues, the face-to-face meeting(s) and the outcomes often described as 鈥渢ransformative鈥� by the participants.
In what time remains, Dave is a sailor and a fervent 鈥榳annabe鈥� in areas as disparate as: social justice and justice reform (especially in Latin America), fine-woodworking, classical music, blues guitar, and desire to test his celestial navigation skills somewhere under the Southern Cross. He hopes never to stop dreaming about and exploring what lies just 鈥渂eyond鈥�.
Email: davidgustafson@cjibc.org