European Sector
About LAIRP Europe
LAIRP Europe: Expanding Our Global Impact
LAIRP is expanding its work across Europe under the leadership of two distinguished scholars: Dr. Leah Koumentaki, Director of Research & Indigenous Justice – LAIRP Europe, and Dr. Katerina Soulou, VP of Violence Interruption – European Sector.
Together, they are building LAIRP’s European framework for restorative justice, indigenous practices, and violence interruption. Their work includes developing research partnerships, strengthening school and community justice systems, designing culturally responsive training models, and leading the scientific planning for the Relations, Culture & Violence Interruption Conference (Crete 2027).
LAIRP Europe is becoming a transnational hub for restorative justice innovation—where science, culture, and community converge to build safer, more connected societies across the EU and beyond.
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Dr. Katerina Soulou is a researcher specializing in criminal law and restorative justice. She holds a PhD in Criminal Law from Aix-Marseille University (France), awarded the 2024 France-Americas Thesis Prize. Her dissertation explores the ethical, penological, and political foundations of restorative justice through a critical and comparative lens, focusing on France and Brazil. A former researcher at the French National Academy of Prison Administration (ÉNAP), Dr. Soulou is currently Head of Research and Development in Social Sciences at the Social Link Laboratory (Labo du lien), a Paris-based social economy enterprise promoting social cohesion. She collaborates with the Los Angeles Institute for Restorative Practices (LAIRP) on research in criminal justice, school community justice, and restorative practices. She is also the Scientific and Organizational Lead of the international conference Relations, Culture and Violence Interruption (June 1–4, 2027, Crete, Greece).
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Leah is a Greek Cretan national who completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology at the University of Crete, where she developed a solid grounding in social theory and research. After working in the private sector and offering her support to young victims in a variety of settings, Leah pursued a Master in Research in Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Manchester in order to deepen her methodological and analytical skills. She successfully completed her doctoral studies in Criminology at the University of Essex in 2022, focusing on the intersections between harm, justice, and social responses. Prior to her doctoral studies, Leah co-ordinated research projects on restorative justice and other topics related to criminology, gaining experience in interdisciplinary inquiry. During her doctoral research, she was involved in teaching as an Assistant Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at both the University of Essex and Royal Holloway, University of London, contributing to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in these fields.
