Doug NollI'm called in when human dynamics are getting in the way of strategic leadership execution.

Behind the Scenes: Prison of Peace Origins

11 Jan 2026 · 2 min

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1:52

In this first-person narrative, the speaker recounts how a letter from Susan Russo, a life‑sentenced inmate at Valley State Prison for Women, prompted Laura Koffer—a Los Angeles mediator and Pepperdine adjunct—to approach the speaker about bringing peacemaking and mediation training to incarcerated women. Eight months later, in April 2010, the Prison of Peace project launched with a pilot class of 15 women, eventually expanding to a goal of training 150 life‑sentenced inmates. The speaker describes the early years (2010‑2015) as a pro‑bono effort with no grant funding, highlighting the financial strain but also the transformative impact on participants. An illustrative success story is shared: a young man who, after committing a family homicide at 16, completed a bachelor’s degree at Fresno State and is now pursuing a master’s in humanities at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The account emphasizes the project's origins, collaborative foundation between Pepperdine adjuncts and community mediators, logistical challenges, and the hopeful outcomes for incarcerated individuals.

Chapters

I got a call from my colleague Laura Koffer, who's a mediator in Los Angeles and like me an adjunct at Pepperdine at Strauss. And she read me a letter that she had received from a woman serving a life sentence without possibility parole in the largest, most violent women's prison in the world, Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California. Which isn't too— it's about an hour and a half from where I live, which is why Laurel called me. And this woman Susan Russo was asking Laurel if she would be willing to come into the prison and train 150 women serving life sentences how to become peacemakers and mediators to stop prison violence. And she read the letter to me and said, what do you think? And I said, I think we should do this. And so it 8 months later, in May— April of 2010, we were teaching our first 15 women in the Prison of Peace project. And today— so Prison of Peace consumed me for the first— from 2010 to about really 2015. And we were going broke. It was all pro bono in those days. We didn't have any grants. But we— but it was an incredible experience. And we helped so many people, incarcerated people, turn their lives around. Just got an email today from a guy, young man, in, in serving life sentences. At 16, he killed 4 of his family members in a fit of rage because he had been so abused. He just couldn't take it any longer. Uh, but he's just finished his bachelor's degree at Fresno State, and he's going to be working on his master's degree in humanities at Cal State Dominguez Hills. He's in Southern California.