Restorative Practices Advisors
Restorative Practices Advisors (RPAs) serve a resource on campus to students and student groups in the areas of mediation and restorative practices. RPAs proactively provide education and outreach to the Bates community, seeking to engage students, faculty, and staff in meaningful conversations that will strive to build community and establish mutual respect. These educational programs will have the overarching goal of helping individuals and communities develop the capacity to communicate effectively and work through conflicts as they arise. RPAs also serve as resources to students and student groups who may be experiencing conflict. RPAs facilitate mediations and restorative circles and conferences for student conflicts.
The Restorative Practices Advisors for Academic Year 2025-2026 are listed below:
John Campana ’26
Hey there! I am John Campana ’26 and I am from Plymouth, Michigan. I am a Religious Studies major and Hispanic Studies minor, as well as the music director for the Bates College Deansmen, an a cappella group on campus. I joined the Restorative Practices team at the end of my first year at Bates with the hopes of helping create community through the act of conflict mediation and making space for ourselves through being vulnerable with one another. Honesty, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and mindfulness have remained some of my core values throughout my time with Restorative Practices. If you don’t want to talk about conflict, you can always talk to me about history, Bollywood, or spirituality!
Evangeline Kpetsey ’28
I am a Biochemistry major and love reading, crocheting, and playing chess. I am a Community Outreach fellow at the Harward Center and a Junior Advisor at ResLife. On the RPA team, I bring my ability to actively listen, which allows me to engage in different viewpoints by seeing all sides of an argument. This year, I am looking forward to growing as a new addition to the RPA team and trying my best to help students resolve conflicts with each other and themselves.
James Foleno ’28
Hi! I am a politics major from Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Bates, in addition to this role, I am the president of the Brooks Quimby Debate Council (BQDC), a Junior Advisor, and a Bonner Leader. I was first introduced to restorative justice in middle school, where I observed identity-based inequities resulting in punitive actions that ultimately contributed to the school-to-prison pipeline. After restorative justice was incorporated into my school, I saw how the practice furthered effective harm reduction and community building. My experiences led me to get formally trained by Youth Led Justice (YLJ) in Cumberland County in circle mediation. This year, I bring experience across different settings and a commitment to putting my beliefs into practice. I look forward to solidifying bonds across this campus by bringing more people into this work.
