Graham Salinger, a South Side of Chicago native, joins Urban Alliance as the Program Director for the Chicago office, having worked in youth development for a little over a decade.  

Graham began his career in youth development as a Peace Corps volunteer English Teacher in Eastern Ukraine from 2012-2014. Following his work in Peace Corps, Graham worked as a teacher in China before transitioning to working for youth-serving nonprofits. As the Youth Services Coordinator for Good Shepherd Mediation Program, a Philadelphia based community meditation and restorative justice center, Graham was responsible for managing a broad portfolio of programs. This included a diversion program for youth who had been arrested, support groups for students with incarcerated parents, training for school-based youth mediators, an anti-cyber-bullying pilot curriculum, and restorative justice trainings for teachers and school officials. 

Graham then worked as a Restorative Justice Practitioner for the Center for Community Justice (CCJ) in Indiana. Graham was responsible for increasing CCJ’s community impact with an emphasis on youth engagement and educator training. Graham founded Promise Academy for Conflict Transformation (PACT), a month-long workshop series for youth who had been arrested. Graham also trained school district officials in strategies to support social emotional learning for students, conducted circle process and other restorative justice methods in schools to foster inclusive cultures, trained school leadership in Restorative Justice methods and conducted workshops for members of the Chamber of Commerce. 

In his free time Graham enjoys walking around the city with his wife, listening to podcasts, and curling up with a good book and his cat Dr. Strangelove.