Lauren Trout

Overview

Lauren Trout (they/them) is a restorative justice practitioner and subject matter expert who works in education, justice, and community sectors to provide training, coaching, and technical support. As a Senior Program Associate with the Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team, Trout’s work focuses on equity, climate and culture, conflict resolution, harm prevention, and comprehensive school safety. Trout specializes in supporting paradigm shifts at the individual, collective, and systemic levels in order to create climates that are inclusive, safe, and equitable. 

Trout’s body of work as an author and project lead focuses on school climate and safety, equity, systems of well-being, and initiative implementation integrity. Trout has also worked with state education agencies and federal education centers supporting their work in advancing nonpunitive discipline approaches. Trout has served as a keynote panelist and featured speaker and has presented in webinars and at conferences around the country.

Before WestEd, Trout ran restorative justice programs for the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office and Jefferson Parish Public School System in Louisiana. There, Trout facilitated victim-offender dialogues as an alternative to court and oversaw the implementation of restorative practices for the school district. As a trainer, facilitator, speaker, and consultant, Trout has experience spanning local and national levels of education and criminal justice systems.  

Education

• BASc in political science and international studies, Saint Louis University

Select Publications

Harnetiaux, J., Trout, L., & Wu, K. (2024). Restorative ways of being to embody what is possible: A guide for restorative leaders. WestEd.  

Office of Safe and Supportive Schools Technical Assistance Center Collaborative. (2023). Creating and sustaining discipline policies that support students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being and success: Strategies for school and district leaders [Fact sheet]. https://t4pacenter.ed.gov/SupportiveSchools 

Trout, L., Pate, C. M., Wu, K., & McKenna, J. (2022). Reimagining school safety: A guide for schools and communities. Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/reimagining-school-safety-guide/ 

Wu, K., & Trout, L. (2022). A reflective process for working through complex restorative practice dilemmas in schools. Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd. 

Darling-Hammond, S., Trout, S., Fronius, T., & Cerna, R. (2021). Can restorative practices bridge racial disparities in schools? Evidence from the California Healthy Kids Survey. WestEd. 

Trout, L. (2021). The toolkit before the toolkit: Centering adaptive and relational elements of restorative practices for implementation success. Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd.