Tree · Los Angeles, California
Beyond Us & Them
Council circle practice in prisons, schools, policing and communities · Los Angeles
Since 2014Works nationallySouthern California
- council practice
- circle
- prisons
- restorative justice
- schools
- Ojai lineage
Beyond Us & Them, formerly Center for Council, is a Los Angeles nonprofit that trains people in council, a facilitated circle practice of speaking and listening from the heart. Its main programme trains incarcerated people over six months to facilitate council for other prisoners, and has grown to 29 California prisons and began in Vermont prisons in 2024. It also brings council to schools, health care workers and law enforcement, and ran a Foundations of Council training in Los Angeles on 3 and 4 October 2026.
The work began in 1984 as a programme of The Ojai Foundation, became the independent nonprofit Center for Council in 2014, and relaunched as Beyond Us & Them in 2024. Jared Seide is founder and executive director. Other programmes include the School Community Enhancement Project and POWER training (Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilience), piloted with the LAPD.