From Courtroom Dreams to Restorative Justice: A Journey in Conflict Transformation
25 at 25 | Odelia Duffus (CMU '22)
Odelia Duffus (CMU ’22) graduated with a major in Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies. Now a mediator and caseworker with Mediation Services in Winnipeg, she helps people navigate conflict through restorative justice approaches grounded in listening, curiosity, and care.
Odelia Duffus wanted to become a lawyer after she graduated high school in Jamaica. Many years later, she's liaising with the court—but not in the role she expected.
Duffus is a mediator and caseworker with Mediation Services, a Winnipeg-based organization offering conflict resolution and training to workplaces, families, and communities. She wants to make a safer and more just future for all people involved in conflict, by navigating it in ways alternative to conventional punishment. Through mediation, she acts as a neutral third party that hears each side's perspective. She helps create an agreement that benefits everyone and develop an appropriate solution.
She speaks passionately about her work: "I love what I do. I feel like I'm doing something—it's not just work. I'm meeting people and they say, 'Wow, thank you for listening to me.' All people want is someone to listen."
Duffus graduated in 2022 with a major in Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies (PACTS). She started taking courses in the field because it seemed most similar to her interests in law and her desire to help and advocate for people.
Her experience in Jamaica was that court was the only option for solving crime, but in her CMU classes, she began learning about a different side of the judicial system: restorative justice. It seeks to facilitate communication between those who experience harm and those who cause harm, addressing their needs and feelings, minimizing the likelihood of offenders harming again, and empowering victims by giving them agency.
She did her work-integrated learning placement at Mediation Services, fielding intake calls, compiling lists of resources for participants, and observing victim-offender mediation sessions. Duffus used to think, you do the crime, you serve the time—that's it. But her placement and studies taught her a lot ever since that first PACTS class. "The best and [most] effective way to conflict is restorative justice and I'll preach that forever. I did not believe in it when I started at CMU, but now I do." By the end of her degree, she had even learned of a case study of successful restorative justice attempts in Jamaica.
When Duffus graduated, her experience from her work-integrated learning placement helped her land a job back at Mediation Services. Whether dealing with cases on divorce, property disputes, siblings making decisions for their elderly parents, or criminal court cases, she loves this work that pushes her to learn and grow. "With the work I do, I'm replacing judgement with curiosity. Before I judge, I'm curious about what's going on. I ask questions, I dig deep. Some people consider it nosey, but I think it's necessary."
She found encouragement and opportunities at CMU to develop her confidence and leadership abilities. She was co-director of social activities on student council and then senior international student assistant, where she used her own experiences to help international students access health care and banks, learn about Canadian university culture, and discuss racism and code switching.
Printed from: media.cmu.ca/alumni-replacing-judgment-with-curiosity