John Russell Memorial statement.
The memorial video is shared here with approval of the family.
John Russell was a long-time friend of Ned Iceton, the founder of the NED Foundation. John was instrumental in Ned initiating the Social Developers’ Network (SDN) Workshops back in the early 1970s, and then became an original member of the NED Interim Board, which planned the NED Foundation for many years prior to its launch in March 2009. Since then, John was an energetic member of the NED Board, always with his passionate views on Restorative Justice and the critical significance of the SDN to the Foundation’s philosophy.
After Ned Iceton’s death in 2015, John added his long experience with Ned’s ideas and ideals into the years when the Board was working to convert the aspirations of Ned’s Will Project into a functioning non-profit, philanthropic organisation and, ultimately into a registered charity. John never missed a meeting in all his time on the Board, and was adamant that the Foundation always upheld the values that formed the originating impulse everyone committed to from inception.
John was also a fierce proponent of the SDN workshop tradition, and strove to attend every workshop over many decades. He loved the conviviality and experience of the workshops to such an extent that even in his advanced age he was keen to attend and participate in all the unique sessions that highlight the events.
John stepped down from the NED Board in November 2024. He will be sorely missed as a founding inspiration of SDN and the NED Foundation. His presence will be felt long after his departure.
These few words can in no way encapsulate what John, the person, meant to each of us. His kind and joyful personality, his sense of the ridiculous, the way he lit up a room as he held forth with a song or anecdote.
His commitment to us, as dear colleagues, was unwavering, mirrored by his commitment to his community to enact positive change.
The NED family joins in embracing Rosaria at this time and we thank her for her steadfast support to John throughout their life together and her joyful participation in the many SDN workshops over the years.