staff

​Jackie Durant
​Director

For several years, Jackie served as a director for drug and alcohol treatment facilities and as an instructor for State certified drug and alcohol counselors in northern California. Having previously worked with both victims and offenders in the criminal justice system, she now serves as Executive Director of HOPE City Redding, a non-profit organization providing community-based programs under the umbrella of Restorative Justice Practices. As a Restorative Justice Practitioner, Jackie believes that trauma, crime and wrongdoing cause harm / injustice; and the fruit of justice should be healing and restoration for all stakeholders involved. She combines her leadership and passion to implement programs that motivate people towards walking in freedom and inner healing. She applies empathetic insight through teaching and program development to see healing and wholeness restored to all those seeking justice in their community.

Caroline Kim
​Finance &  Operations Manager

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Caroline brings to Hope City over 20 years of accounting and administrative experience from various industries. She is passionate about developing best practices and policies to support the growth of HOPE City programs. She is a Quickbooks Pro Advisor, enjoys gardening, volunteering and being a maker. Fun fact: she and her husband Stephen spent over 6 months touring the country in their self converted camper van before settling in Redding, CA.

Kendall Martin
Restorative Practices Facilitator

​Kendall is an Ohio native who now calls Redding, California home.   She was recognized by the state of Ohio as an Early Childhood Mental Health Professional.  She has worked in both the education and mental health field for the past thirteen years with a focus on trauma care, parenting support, improving parent-child relationships and decreasing disruptive behaviors.  She is driven by her desire to help others to believe in themselves and realize their full potential.  Kendall is passionate about transformation and reconciliation and is proud to be a member of the HOPE City Redding team!

Bonnie Goolsby
Community Educator

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Bonnie comes to us from the Space Coast of Florida where she and her husband Ray raised their beautiful family. Professional experience has included teaching in public and private education, teaching at an institute for the mentally and physically challenged, and teaching homebound students challenged with physical disabilities.  For 12 years, Bonnie was senior Children’s Director at a church of 3000 and the Academy Supervisor of a fully accredited and Gold Seal Preschool Academy with an average of 80-90 children.  She was an integral part of leading the Academy through two terms of accreditation with ACSI. Bonnie is a supporter of the Love and Logic approach that helps children to become good decision makers. She feels it is now a privilege to be a part of the Hope City Team. 

Mallory Cunningham
Mentor Coordinator

​Mallory is a North Carolina native who has been enjoying the vast beauty of Northern California since 2016. After spending three years as a missionary with at-risk children in the Dominican Republic and two years overseeing a mentoring program in North Carolina, she found a true passion for seeing transformation and restoration happen in the lives of the disenfranchised. Mallory is now thankful to be part of the Hope City team since June 2020 and looks forward to serving the awesome mentors and youth of Shasta County!

Ruth Reading
Restorative Practices Facilitator

​As a trained Restorative Practices Facilitator, Ruth works with educators and administrators to implement Restorative Practices across their school communities. She has been involved in Education in Australia for over 10 years where she worked as a Teaching and Classroom Management Consultant and Elementary School Teacher. Ruth is also a trained independent facilitator of Parenting the Love and Logic Way™ and 9 Essential Skills for the Love and Logic Classroom® teaching effective strategies for helping children make great choices in schools, homes and churches. Ruth is passionate about helping adults create safe places for children to play, learn and powerfully be themselves. She helps to solve behavioral issues and implement strategies to manage children so more time is spent on learning and developing and less time is spent on managing behaviors.

Volunteers

Bonita Ahring
Juvenile Hall Liaison

​Bonita has spent more that twenty-two years as a director, founder, and builder of schools in the USA as well as Latin America, with sixteen of those years spent on the mission field in Costa Rica building a K-12 school that is still going strong today. After moving to Redding in 2011 and attending school for three years she now works as the Chaplain for Shasta County Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and volunteers with HOPE City. Bonita has recently developed the L.O.T. Program which stands for Leaders Of Tomorrow. As a HOPE City volunteer she facilitates the L.O.T. program in the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. Bonita is an encourager first and foremost and uses her vast teaching experience to benefit all those who come in contact with her.

Laura Griffis
Hope City Youth

Laura Griffis is the volunteer facilitator of our Hope City Youth Program. With more than 30 years of experience working with children, Laura has developed and published leadership curriculum for youth, travels as a conference speaker, a consultant to youth programs, and is certified facilitator for both Love and Logic Parenting and Habitudes. She is passionate about developing and training young people who can be leaders in their generation; instilling in them a hope that their future is bright and they were born to make a positive impact in their world. Her specific training is focused on character and identity building through development in leadership habits and attitudes. Hope City Youth Program is a place for at risk teens to be mentored and encouraged to believe and dream that anything is possible.