YOLO Spotlight - Maria Olmedo
In 2013, Yolo County began the Neighborhood Court Program, now known as the Yolo Restorative Justice Partnership (RJP). The program uses community volunteers who act as panelists and facilitators during conferences to sit down with people who have committed low level crimes and work through a process where the crime is discussed, accountability is resolved and appropriate actions are agreed on. Since its beginning, the program has diverted over 2,000 increasingly serious cases from the normal court setting, taking pressure off of the system and providing restoration of trust rather than only punishment.
Why is this important?
Because our Spotlight today is Maria Olmedo, who provides community outreach for the RJP in her role at the Yolo County District Attorney’s office.
Maria moved to Woodland when she was six years old and is part of a large family who have all played various significant roles in the Woodland community, especially in local sports. It was a pleasure to discover more about Maria during our session.
FUN FACT #1
With four sisters and one brother, Maria learned early on the importance of working as a team and helping each other out. (Maybe this is why so many of them turned to positions in coaching sports?) When her dad broke his arm when she was younger, all of the kids pitched in to help the family. The family opened a bakery when Maria was a senior in high school but sold it when her mom got sick. An upbringing of hard work and teamwork ensured that all six of the kids turned out to be successful in their own right. In fact, all six of the children in her family graduated from CSU-Sacramento. Maria also feels it is important for her try and make a difference in the Hispanic community.
FUN FACT #2
Maria has been a cross country runner since 7th grade and still enjoys athletic activities such as indoor soccer and fun hikes with the family. All her siblings also enjoy playing soccer, so family gatherings are probably pretty active! Maria loves watching movies to relax and trying new places to dine out (an activity that has been harder this past year.) She has two children, one who has born right before the pandemic began and her new little one who is only one month old. And while she has much support from her husband and family, a nap is always welcome.
FUN FACT #3
As if a toddler, a pandemic, and a newborn didn’t cause enough turmoil, Maria and her family recently bought a house, just a few weeks before the baby was born. Maria calls it a crazy time and she gets total agreement here. Some new moms have horror stories to tell about giving birth during the pandemic, but Maria’s experience was not as traumatic because dad was able to come and go and to be there for her. The maternity rooms are now in the old ICU area so the rooms were different, but Maria still enjoyed her delivery and time spent recovering.
SO, WHAT’S HAPPENING AT RJP?
1. Maria’s background in community service and nonprofits has served her well in her outreach position. It provides her with a nice mix of service to the community and helping in the local government. She enjoys her job immensely and looks forward to going back after her family leave. She began as an intern at the DA’s office and parlayed her degree in social science into helping with victim services.
2. At RJP, Maria acts as a volunteer recruiter, an important role because the program is heavily reliant on volunteers to act as community panelists and facilitators. She also handles the scheduling of volunteers, staff and participants, an enormous job similar to herding cats. Her outreach activities include letting people know about the program and setting up training sessions so volunteers can be properly trained in restorative justice techniques. She is still working remotely because county facilities are still closed to the public, forcing conferences to also be virtual for now rather than in person.
3. Maria acknowledges that everyone associated with RJP, volunteers and staff alike, are committed to the program. It is important, Maria said, to know that people who have made a mistake in life can repair their mistake and move on to do great things. She wants the community to know that there are other options out there besides court and how vital it is to restore justice back into the community with the input of community volunteers. Maria noted that everyone walks out of a conference with the feeling that they just did something good.
Five years from now, Maria would love to still be working with the RJP, potentially with an even heavier workload. She has learned to step aside and breathe when she gets stressed and it appears to be working because she has a calm demeanor even amongst the chaos. If you would like to learn more about the Yolo Restorative Justice Partnership you can check it out here: https://yoloda.org/progressive-programs/restorative-justice-partnership/
