FOCUS: victim-offender mediation, restorative justice
Contact Yazmina: yazmina@faces-adr.org
A native of Panama, Yazmina Batista graduated with the equivalent of a J.D. from the Latin American University of Science and Technology. Upon graduating, Yazmina began working for the district attorney's office in Panama, specifically focusing on juvenile cases.
Since her career began, Yazmina noticed a need in her home country for lawyers who specialize in alternative dispute resolution. To become a pioneer of ADR in Panama, Ms. Batista obtained her LL.M. degree in dispute resolution as a Fulbright Scholar from Pepperdine University School of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (Malibu, CA, USA). While studying at Pepperdine University School of Law she interned at the Ventura County Public Defender's Office, focusing on criminal cases.
In the future, Ms. Batista plans to develop a Victim Offender Mediation program, combining community empowerment, effective access to justice, rehabilitation of the offenders, and restoration of the victim’s sense of identity and safety. Ms. Batista believes that these public goods are well worth the effort required to turn them into a reality in her jurisdiction.