We recently connected with Raquel Castaneda Lopez and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Raquel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was elected to the Detroit City Council in 2013, becoming the first and only Latina to serve. It was an amazing honor, especially since I was recruited to run and hadn’t initially anticipated it being a part of my life. I was genuinely surprised that once I was elected, while there was an orientation, there was no comprehensive training—none of the behind-the-scenes support you desperately need.
You had to figure out everything from the basics of project management and strategy, to setting up your office and figuring out your policy agenda. I was kind of shocked. You get elected and you’re expected to just know everything, but the support simply wasn’t there, not in those first couple of months or later. I found myself trying to find workshops, reach out, attend conferences, and meet people just to learn the ropes. It truly was like drinking from a fire hose.
I served in office for eight years, and over that time, I met countless other women, especially Women of Color (WOC), who shared a similar experience—whether they were at the state, county, school board, or federal level. There were two major themes in the challenges we all faced:
* Lack of Comprehensive Support:
There weren’t sufficient, comprehensive trainings nor support when we were first elected. What did exist were often hyper-focused trainings on certain topics or identity-based networks, but not a comprehensive, one-stop shop to support you not just at the beginning, but throughout your journey in public service. We had to piecemeal together resources, diverting precious time and energy.
* The Human Toll is Ignored:
Most trainings focused solely on technical and tactical skills, which are needed, but they don’t address the human component—the immense toll that comes from being isolated, attacked, and undermined in institutions not built for people like us. This experience was intensified if you’re in the minority, politically or otherwise, championing issues of justice and equity. Many of the attacks were explicitly identity-based, targeting gender, race, ethnicity, or age. I kept seeing and experiencing this myself and then seeing it across the board with other WOC elected officials. Yet there were few to no safe spaces to share and get support to work through these traumatizing situations.
After the pandemic, I decided to not seek re-election and create the organization I wish existed when I was first elected- an organization that would provide holistic, restorative support services for values aligned women of color in the democracy space.
The idea for Restorative Democracy was born from the need to create a space that served as a one stop shop and a sanctuary—a sense of belonging, inclusion, and safety—for values aligned women of color and their allies in the democracy space. My vision was that Restorative Democracy would provide the necessary technical skills, but we would center electeds as human beings, prioritizing their personal finances, well-being, and legal protection, in addition to strategy and policy.
While there are more organizations now supporting public officials in governance, I believe we are one of the few, if not the only, that were founded and are run by a woman of color and former elected official.
All programming we offer are rooted in my unique approach, coupling my experience as a social worker, an organizer, and a former elected official with my training in different restorative practices—from somatics and neuro-emotional literacy to mindfulness and reflective questioning.
My goal is to give back, shorten the learning curve, and help people step into their roles and hit the ground running. More importantly, it’s about ensuring they don’t lose themselves—that they center their well-being and prioritize their wholeness to redefine leadership and introduce the truly transformative policies our democracy needs.
So much excites me about this work but my favorite moments are watching clients overcome mindsets and imposed expectations and shift from a sacrificial leadership approach to one the centers their well-being and longevity in office.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
1. How I got into my industry?
I am a former elected official and a lifelong Detroiter. I served almost a decade on the Detroit City Council making history in 2013 as the first and only Latina to hold that office.
Frankly, I never set out to be a public official, or even an entrepreneur—though I did consider starting an ice cream truck before I was recruited to run for office, lol! In retrospect, entrepreneurship is in my blood, my father was an entrepreneur in construction and I grew up helping him.
My decision to found Restorative Democracy came directly from my experience in office. I saw a huge lack of comprehensive training and truly holistic support for public officials, especially Womxn of Color (WOC), throughout their entire journey. More broadly, this lack of support extends to the whole democracy ecosystem: the chiefs of staff, policy analysts, nonprofit executive directors, and philanthropic leaders who are values-aligned WOC and work alongside us. We all operate in isolated, often toxic environments, and there were simply no safe spaces where we could put our armor down and get the necessary support we needed to thrive.
My motivation was to create that safe, communal, and strategic sanctuary.
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2. Products, Services, and The Problem We Solve:
A. The Problem We Solve
The problem we solve is rooted in a systemic failure: Political institutions were not built for people like us, and are structured to isolate, exhaust, and silence us.
Women, especially WOC, are repeatedly asked to step up, yet once they win and step into leadership, they are often abandoned and thrown into the lion’s den—attacked by both opponents and allies. This is systemic oppression being played out to silence the powerful voices and stories we desperately need to defend and protect our democracy.
This leadership model is not sustainable. Without the needed support, these amazing public officials will never introduce the transformative policies they championed, won’t seek higher office, or won’t stay in office as long. This hurts our democracy.
We solve the resulting symptoms of this systemic failure: the loneliness, isolation, self-doubt, and burnout that plague leaders in public service. RD creates a sanctuary—a community of belonging—that allows you to work through mindset barriers, offload impossible expectations, and move forward with greater clarity and purpose. Our ultimate goal is to increase your impact and help you transform our democracy without losing yourself in the process.
B. Products & Services
We offer a strategic, multi-tiered suite of high-impact programs designed to deliver sustainable longevity and tangible political effectiveness.
– LEVEL UP Leadership Accelerator (Flagship Program): Our signature 90-day intensive cohort program. This Done with you accelerator is the ultimate leadership playbook, explicitly combining our restorative framework with hard tactical skills. Participants don’t just feel better—they master the game, covering everything from policy navigation and strategic budgeting to building high-impact teams and creating a clear 12-week execution roadmap.
-The Restorative Leadership Collective (Flagship Membership): This community provides sustained support to combat isolation. It is divided into two cohorts:
-Elected-Only Cohort: Exclusive for public officials seeking ongoing strategy, confidential coaching, and peer support to drive bold policy agendas and pursue higher office.
-Democracy Ecosystem Cohort: For our values-aligned allies in government staff, philanthropy, and advocacy who need a safe, strategic space to connect and elevate their systemic impact.
– RD Leadership Coaching: Personalized one-on-one and small group coaching for public officials navigating a crisis, preparing for a re-election campaign, or managing significant transitions. This is our highest-touch service for solving complex, urgent, and confidential leadership challenges.
– Custom Programming & Consulting: We design and deliver bespoke restorative leadership development programs for organizations (non-profits, government agencies, foundations) seeking to institutionalize wellness and effectiveness for their staff or grantees.
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3. What Sets RD Apart:
What truly makes us unique is our combined “hard” and “human-centered” approach, delivered by a founder with direct experience:
a. Founded and Run by a WOC Former Elected Official: We are one of the very few, if not the only, organization in the country founded by a Womxn of Color who has successfully served in elected office. This direct, lived experience is our quality control; we do not teach theory, we teach what actually works to survive, thrive, and win. I bring the deep, nuanced understanding of what it actually takes to succeed in these spaces.
b. Holistic, Restorative Framework: My unique background as a social worker and my training in restorative practices (like somatics, mindfulness, and neuro-emotional literacy) set us apart. We combine the hard tactical skills (strategy, power mapping, base building, policy navigation) with the restorative skills needed for longevity.
c. Focus on the Whole Person: We don’t just focus on your title or power. We center you as an individual. Our curriculum covers everything to keep you whole and safe: from long-term wellness and sustainability to personal legal protections, communications branding, and building your personal support network. We are invested in your longevity in leadership.
***
4. What I’m Most Proud Of
I am most proud of the tangible impact of our work. Our clients have felt huge shifts and transformations: they are overcoming negative thought patterns, shifting mindsets, building greater clarity and capacity, and increasing their confidence. This directly transforms their leadership approach, which ultimately increases their impact on their communities.
***
5. Main Takeaways for Clients & Followers:
-We Believe in Your Longevity: We are invested in your long-term sustainability in leadership. You don’t have to go it alone; that is not sustainable.
– Leadership is for Everyone: We believe in leadership development and coaching for everyone, regardless of your title or career stage.
– We Are Values-Aligned: Our brand is rooted in equity and justice. While we centralize the voices and experiences of Womxn of Color, you do not have to be a WOC to work with us, as long as you are fully supportive of our mission and values.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
For me, it’s a kind of continual lesson that I have to unlearn and remind myself of: that all of the things that kept me safe and protected me in the past don’t necessarily serve me anymore.
My instinct is often to go into risk management or risk mitigation mode—to predict worst-case scenarios, or to try to plan everything perfectly to make sure nothing goes wrong. This is driven by a fear that people will see me as a failure or a fake, or by a need to prevent imposter syndrome from cropping up, so I overcompensate by trying to prove my value and worth.
So, one big lesson is the reminder that those old coping processes—that perfectionist tendency, the hypervigilance, the overcritical analytical thinking—helped me go very far in my career and feel safe in many ways. However, they don’t necessarily serve me now.
At this stage of my career, as an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to take risks, make mistakes, mess up, and try again. Things aren’t going to be perfect. If I remain too hypervigilant and so worried about staying ‘safe,’ I won’t truly get to where I want to be as an entrepreneur.
I guess another component of this is realizing that I am my own harshest critic and have the highest expectations for myself. So, I have to be intentional about keeping people around me who keep me grounded. They remind me to be more of a champion for myself—to be more compassionate, and to act like a best friend, coach, or mentor to myself on this emotional and crazy entrepreneur journey.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
When I first jumped into the entrepreneurial world, I was nervous and intimidated; I really didn’t know where to start.
My sister actually introduced me to Rachel Rodgers, right before she published her book, We Should All Be Millionaires. I started with her podcast and then listened to the audiobook, and it was truly transformational for me.
Up to that point, I had been consumed by feelings of being unqualified, largely because I came from the non-profit and public service sectors. There, the idea of wanting to be an entrepreneur, to make money, to think about retirement or life’s luxuries, was often seen as being at odds with the fight for justice—almost like crossing over to be ‘one of the bad guys.’
It was incredibly hard to let go of that, and I carried a lot of shame and guilt around wanting to build a good income, to eliminate my family’s poverty legacy, and to build financial stability and intergenerational wealth for my family, siblings, and community.
People would question, ‘Do you really need to make more than, say, $60,000 or $70,000?’—whatever the assumed ‘appropriate’ amount was for someone in the social justice field.
Rachel Rodgers’ book was impactful because it addressed the historical barriers and challenges women, especially women of color, face—from opening bank accounts to getting credit cards and loans. It framed these issues within a social justice and historical perspective, which truly helped me move past that shame and guilt.
After reading her book, I joined her community. I knew I needed to connect with other entrepreneurs as I began this journey, and I didn’t have many friends or folks in my network who were solopreneurs, let alone women of color entrepreneurs, at that time. The community was great.
While I’m no longer active in that specific community, it connected me to an initial group of fantastic solopreneurs—women of color in my area—and we now meet weekly and quarterly to strategize and share updates. It’s such a supportive group. So, I would say Rachel Rodgers’ approach and philosophy deeply resonate with me, and her book was instrumental.
The other resource that was incredibly helpful, especially in thinking about pricing, is Erin B. Haag’s book, Give Yourself a Raise: The Mindset and Math You Need to Get Your First Million. I really appreciated the step-by-step breakdown from a mathematical standpoint on how to calculate and think about your value and what your pricing should be.
Those two resources have been foundational for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://restorativedemocracy.org
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-casta%C3%B1eda-l%C3%B3pez/
