Georgia Justice Project | Douglas Ammar & Rami El Gharib

Today on the podcast, Robin and Lester interview Douglas Ammar & Rami El Gharib of the Georgia Justice Project who focus on restorative justice.

Guest Bios

Douglas B. Ammar

Douglas B. Ammar has been an active presence at Georgia Justice Project (GJP) since its beginning in 1986. Starting as a volunteer, then joining as a staff attorney in 1990, Doug has led GJP as Executive Director since 1995. During his time as Executive Director, GJP has helped change 21 laws in Georgia that have worked to reduce barriers to reentry for people impacted by the criminal justice system.

Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, Doug earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Davidson College in 1984, and then a law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1989.

Rami El Gharib

Rami recently joined Georgia Justice Project (GJP) as the organization’s first Restorative Justice Program Manager. Rami comes to GJP as an accomplished Restorative Justice practitioner with several years of experience. In his current role, Rami supports GJP in efforts to build Georgia’s first restorative justice program taking referrals of felony cases involving adults, or youth who are tried as adults. The program, Restorative Justice Georgia, is partnering with local District Attorney offices in the Metro Atlanta area.

Before his role at GJP, Rami facilitated juvenile violent crime Restorative Conferences and Victim Offender Dialogues in Colorado and Connecticut. He has also facilitated Restorative Justice processes for adults within the Colorado justice system. Additionally, Rami is the founder of the Restorative Rainbow Alliance, which aims to introduce a LGBTQ+ lens into the field of Restorative Justice by providing extra care for LGBTQ+ victims of hate crimes and assisting facilitators in understanding the extra levels of harm that LGBTQ+ individuals may face. Rami is also the founder of The Space, an LGBTQ+ youth safe space in Colorado that utilizes Restorative Circles to assess the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in the Region.

Originally from Lebanon, Rami received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the American University of Beirut in 2017, and his Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of New Haven in 2020.