Restorative Practice · Conflict Transformation

Conflict is not
the problem— how we relate
to it is.

HeartRoot Collective supports organizations and communities transition from interpersonal and structural conflict into healthy cultures, ecosystems, and futures.

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HeartRoot — anatomical heart as tree with roots and branches

What We Do

We work with what’s underneath

We help you understand, navigate, and transform your organization from the ground up. By providing expert training, coaching, and facilitation, we guide your team to uncover root causes of structural tension, prioritize conversations of repair, and build concrete frameworks for lasting accountability.

In Partnership With

Organizations & communities we’ve served

Looking for Support?

Let’s start a conversation

Share a little about what you’re navigating—we’ll follow up to explore next steps.

“Healthy conflict is love tapping fear on the shoulder and saying ‘it’s ok, I got this.’”

— Priya Parker

What Guides Our Work

Change from the roots up.

Most organizational tension stems from disconnection—from each other, and from the systems, structures, and protocols that hold us together. When commitment to live out values and build better relationships comes first, change becomes something we move through together, not against.

Culture-building and repair are not opposites. We attend to both the personal and the structural long before tension boils into active conflict.

Our values

Culture + Structure

We don’t patch immediate problems; we transform the policies and norms that create them.

Relational Pace

Trust requires honesty and practice. We work at a pace your team can actually sustain.

Root-Cause

We prioritize feelings and needs over self-interests and surface issues to address the root cause.

Internal Wisdom

Your team holds the answers. Our job is to surface that knowledge, not override it.

Explicit Power

We name the dynamics in the room—seniority, identity, history—so we can work through them authentically.

True Repair

Resolution isn’t enough. Repair is what stops old, toxic patterns from re-emerging.

Our Team

Meet the people behind the work

Kit Hadlund

Founder, Consultant
& Trainer

Kit Hadlund is a facilitator, mediator, and conflict transformation consultant specialized in leading complex change processes. In 2022, he founded HeartRoot Collective to partner with organizations, schools, and communities navigating moments of conflict, harm, and systemic transition.

Kit holds an M.A. in Peace and Justice Leadership from SIT, a B.A. from DePaul University in International Studies, and professional certificates in Advanced Youth Development and Social Justice Mediation. His organizational work includes facilitating healing in the midst of race, gender, and class-based conflict, and coaching accountability frameworks. His background spans across community, school, governmental, and private sectors. Across all environments, his practice is designed to listen to the personal while transforming the structural.

Originally from the Midwest, and now based in Charlotte, NC, Kit is a connected father to two boys and is descended from Nordic and Irish traditions. Outside of consulting, he serves as an international menswork facilitator, and a dedicated dancer, poet, singer, and drummer. He brings all these diverse gifts and experiences together to help groups build spaces where compassion, authenticity, and collective wisdom can thrive.

Jason Ware

Consultant & Trainer

Born into a lineage and tradition of bridging social divides and working for equity, Jason Ware is an intentional and dynamic facilitator, leadership coach/consultant, content developer, and servant leader. Trained and practiced in the ways of Restorative Justice and Conflict Transformation for over a decade, Jason’s greatest gift and passion is fostering healthy communal spaces. Originally from Rochester, NY, he journeyed to Chicago to attend DePaul University to engage with the city as a classroom.

Jason’s career has been intertwined with grassroots community organizing and political activism. Intent on addressing the school-to-prison pipeline, Jason began his career as a Restorative Justice Coach in Chicago Public Schools. In this role he developed alternative discipline protocols, led culture-shifting initiatives, and developed the capacity of teachers and staff.

Since that time, Jason has been a classroom teacher in Chicago Public Schools and served as a Dean of Students and Assistant Principal of Culture. Most recently he served as a Restorative Justice Specialist for Chicago Public Schools in the Office of Social Emotional Learning. In this role, Jason sought to spread and strengthen practices throughout the school district that disrupt cycles of institutional harm and trauma on our communities.

What We Offer

Facilitated support for organizations and communities ready to engage with depth, care, and accountability.

01 Restorative Practice & Team Training

Custom training to build the skills and shared language needed to engage tension effectively—covering restorative practice, communication, accountability, harm repair, and relationship-centered culture.

For larger engagements, Kit designs Restorative Action Plans and whole-organization Restorative Practice models that shift culture from the inside out.

Good fit for

Teams seeking proactive skill-building, scalable restorative infrastructure, or shared frameworks after change has surfaced new needs.

02 Conflict Transformation Processes

Support for organizations navigating ongoing tension, relational strain, or unaddressed harm. These processes help teams slow down, name what’s happening, and move toward clarity, accountability, and repair.

Good fit for

Organizations experiencing recurring tension, fractured team dynamics, or breakdowns requiring facilitated intervention.

03 Coaching

One-on-one and team-based support to strengthen relational practices, navigate change with intention, and grow into more grounded leadership.

Good fit for

Leaders, managers, and teams needing focused support around communication, conflict, or culture leadership.

04 Interpersonal Mediation

A structured process for individuals or small groups navigating a specific conflict. The goal isn’t to force agreement, but to create space for honest communication, understanding, and meaningful next steps.

Good fit for

Interpersonal conflicts, leadership tensions, staff disputes, and situations where guided dialogue could support movement.

05 Community Accountability

Survivor-led processes of repair following interpersonal and community harm. This work centers survivor agency, builds communal strategies to address and prevent harm, and utilizes community pods to ensure immediate safety and long-term accountability.

Good fit for

Communities, networks, or pods seeking collective, non-punitive approaches to harm, safety, and sustainable behavior transformation.

06 Organizational Support

Longer-term support to integrate restorative and relational practices into the structures, norms, and systems that shape everyday culture—including accountability processes, investigation pathways, and written protocols.

Good fit for

Organizations seeking sustained support in building internal pathways for repair, accountability, and healthier culture.

How We Partner With You

A grounded process for understanding what’s happening and supporting meaningful change.

Consultation

We begin with a conversation to understand your context and what you’re navigating. No pressure, no commitment.

Assessment and Preparation

We gather information, identify key dynamics, and clarify goals so the process matches your reality.

Facilitated Support

We guide the agreed-upon process—mediation, training, coaching, Restorative Action Plan design, or organizational support.

Integration and Next Steps

We help the work land somewhere meaningful—identifying agreements, repair commitments, and longer-term supports.

Conflict is notthe problem— how we relateto it is.

We work with what’s underneath

Organizations & communities we’ve served

Let’s start a conversation

What Guides Our Work

Change from the roots up.

Our values

Meet the people behind the work

What We Offer

How We Partner With You

Consultation

Assessment and Preparation

Facilitated Support

Integration and Next Steps

Let’s start a conversation

Conflict is not
the problem— how we relate
to it is.