Nicole Keltai
Nicole Keltai has been practicing social work since 1999. She has worked in various capacities in a number of therapeutic milieus including youth trauma work, substance abuse, and senior services in schools in California, the United Kingdom, and New York City. Since 2007, she has been on the social work team at Community Roots Charter School, a Roots ConnectED learning site, where she currently serves as the Director of Social Work at the Middle School, supports the K-8 family and community programming, and plays an integral role in the establishment and implementation of the restorative practices approach to discipline at Community Roots. She is licensed as a Restorative Practice Trainer through the International Institute of Restorative Practices, co-leads the K-8 Restorative Practices vertical team at Community Roots, utilizing data to improve student outcomes and dismantle the school to prison pipeline. She also supervises social work masters students and is an Assistant Adjunct professor at NYU in Field Instruction. Nicole believes strongly in focusing on the strengths of the whole child and recognizes that her extensive background in social work allows for her to be an advocate for social justice. She has been a workshop facilitator with Roots ConnectED since 2017 where she supports schools in learning about restorative practices and family and community programming and implementing aspects of this work into their communities.