Social Work & the Criminal Legal System

Reentry

A – K

Laura Abrams, UCLA
PROFESSOR AND CHAIR
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

Email: abrams@luskin.ucla.edu
Website: https://luskin.ucla.edu/person/laura-abrams 

Professor Abrams’ scholarship focuses on improving the well being of youth and young adults with histories of incarceration. Her ethnographic studies have examined youths’ experiences of criminality, risk, and institutions seeking to reshape their identities through both therapeutic and punitive practices. These themes are presented in her 2013 book (co-authored with Ben Anderson-Nathe) Compassionate Confinement: A Year in the Life of Unit C, (Rutgers University Press). Her most recent book (co-authored with Diane Terry), Everyday Desistance: The Transition to Adulthood Among Formerly Incarcerated Youth (Rutgers University Press, 2017), examines how formerly incarcerated young men and women navigate reentry and the transition to adulthood in the context of urban Los Angeles. Dr. Abrams is also the lead editor of a 2016 multidisciplinary volume on the role of volunteers and non-profits in changing lives and promoting more humane conditions in prisons and jails: The Voluntary Sector in Prisons: Encouraging Personal and Institutional Change (Palgrave, 2016).

 

Elizabeth Allen

Email: eallensocialphd@gmail.com

Website: http://www.drelizabethallen.org/

I bring more than 25 years of clinical experience with justice-involved women and other marginalized groups. I am tenaciously committed to smart decarceration research, policy, and practice and throughout my career aimed to embrace what academia together with activism can offer change-agents and guide and support radical social change.

My dissertation research was an inquiry into redemptive narratives and the distance process for justIce-involved women with the goal of adding to the knowledge base of desistance, advocating for policies and interventions that support the process of distance and promoting a unifying framework to bridge micro and macro approaches with vulnerable and marginalized populations. Currently, I am a PI on a CBPR project using Photovoice with the urban youth with the lived experience of parental incarceration.

The synthesis of my clinical and research experience prepares me for the dual role of researcher and policy-maker and utilizing evidence to advance policy and practice. My research interests are vast and include the intersection of micro and macro issues amplified within criminal justice systems including racial, gender and economic justice and human rights.

D. Michael Applegarth, University of Buffalo

Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO

Email: dapplega@buffalo.edu

Website: https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/faculty-research/full-time-faculty/michael-applegarth.html

About: Through his research, Dr. Michael Applegarth aims to increase our understanding of how mental illness and criminal legal involvement are connected for both juveniles and adults. His research aims to increase knowledge and inform policy surrounding strategies to prevent criminal legal involvement through diversion and community responses, provide treatment for those incarcerated, and increase the effectiveness of reentry services.

His dissertation focused on better understanding the connection between mental illness and recidivism for individuals on parole. Other research streams have examined how mental health and the juvenile justice system intersect around issues of family reintegration and the health needs of detained youth. Applegarth previously held research fellowships with both the National Institute of Justice and Rand Corp., in which he studied and co-authored reports on recidivism and the effectiveness of various support programs in reducing crime among at-risk and justice-involved youth.

Tina Barr, UNC Pembroke

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT PEMBROKE

Email: tina.barr@uncp.edu 
Website: https://www.uncp.edu/profile/tina-barr 

My relevant research centers on issues related to wrongful conviction, including reentry, psychosocial effects, and compensation.

Stacey Barrenger, Northeast Ohio Medical University

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, NORTHEAST OHIO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Email: sbarrenger@neomed.edu

Website: https://www.neomed.edu/directory-profile/barrenger-stacey-78249/ 

About: Stacey L. Barrenger, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. Dr. Barrenger’s work focuses on the intersection of mental illness and other social problems (criminal justice involvement, substance use, homelessness, & poverty). She has examined the production of risk for recidivism among men with mental illnesses leaving prison. She is interested in implementation research that considers the community or structural factors that can impact the effectiveness of empirically supported treatments in high-risk environments. Her current research explores pathways to recovery and desistance from crime for peer specialists with criminal justice histories and the prison health care experiences of those with mental illnesses who were formerly incarcerated.

Kristin Bolton, UNC Wilmington

Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON

Email: boltonk@uncw.edu

Website: https://uncw.edu/chhs/swk/about/bio/kristinbolton.html

About: Dr. Kristin W. Bolton is an Associate Professor and MSW Program Coordinator in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her research interests include: youth violence prevention, re-entry services, healthy psychological development, and the evidence base of solution focused brief therapy with violent and non-violent offenders.

Janae Bonsu, UIC

Doctoral Candidate, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO

Email: jbonsu2@uic.edu

About: I am a doctoral candidate at Jane Addams College of Social Work, activist, and restorative justice practitioner. My work is based in an intersectional and structural analysis. My current work interrogates the intersection of gender-based violence, policing, and survivor empowerment; building and sustaining models of transformative justice; and policies that directly impact incarcerated people and their families.

Brita Bookser, UC Berkeley

Doctoral Candidate, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

Email: britabookser@berkeley.edu

Website: https://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/people/phd-students

About: Brita A. Bookser’s research interests include early care and education, education policy, carceral logics in education, feminist anti-carceral studies, womanism, and critical race theory. Her research-praxis agenda is facilitated by varied agency partnerships that explore policies and pedagogies for inclusion and civic engagement. Bookser’s qualitatively-driven mixed-method dissertation explores a typology of exclusionary discipline measures in preschools and examines how structural factors influence exclusionary tactics in early care and education settings.

Charlotte Lyn Bright, University of Maryland

Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Education, University of Maryland

Email: cbright@ssw.umaryland.edu

My research focuses on populations and services within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, with specific interests in gender, trauma, and implementation of best practices.

Pajarita Charles, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Associate Professor, SANDRA ROSENBAUM SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK 

Email: paja.charles@wisc.edu

Website: https://socwork.wisc.edu/staff/pajarita-charles-mpa-msw-phd/

About: Pajarita Charles is an Associate Professor at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work and an affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty, the Center for Law, Society, and Justice, and the Justice Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research centers on the development, implementation, and testing of family-focused preventive interventions to promote positive outcomes for children and families affected by the criminal-legal system. Dr. Charles’ efforts foster research, practice, and public sector partnerships to build capacity for reform and the reduction of the footprint of the criminal-legal system. She is a co-leader of the national Promote Smart Decarceration grand challenge network for the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and frequently collaborates with local and state organizations to provide expertise and guidance on issues pertinent to families impacted by the criminal-legal system.

Christino Chavez, New York University

Adjunct Professor, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 

Email: cnc350@nyu.edu

Website: https://socialwork.nyu.edu/faculty-and-research/our-faculty/adjuncts/bios-a-c.html#chavez

About: My research interests and professional experience revolve around criminal and juvenile justice, gang violence and membership, racism in justice, restorative justice practices, mental health and trauma, policies and legislations regarding criminal justice, and immigration.

Dominique Courts, UCONN

Graduate Student, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

Email: Dominique.Courts@uconn.edu

Website: https://ssw.uconn.edu/person/c-l-dominique-courts-ma-mft/#

About: After graduating from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology with a concentration in Social and Cultural Analysis, Dominique Courts, MA, MFT, earned a clinical master’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy at UCONN. Following her work as a therapist, Dominique is now a Crandall-Cordero fellow at The UCONN School of Social Work and invested in affecting change on an institutional and systems level.

As a doctoral student, she is particularly interested in using a reproductive and healing justice framework to understand the healing process for people, who live with intersecting marginalized identities, especially lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer individuals of color. The lack of visibility and research around LGBTQ people of color led her to be passionate about conducting mixed-methods and participatory action research to explore various aspects of their lived experiences. Ultimately, Dominique desires to amplify the voices of marginalized populations in her research and use collaborative and empowering research methods and accessible dissemination techniques.

Throughout the CT community, Dominique also facilitates workshops and groups focused on relationships, LGBTQ identities and other topics related to social justice and healing. She centers the lived experiences and needs of the individuals at the intersections of race, sexuality, gender and ability in her research, teaching, clinical and community work and advocacy.

Varsha DuBose, LCSW, Southern Connecticut State University

Doctoral Student & Teaching Assistant, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY

Email: Dubosev1@southernct.edu 

About: Varsha Dubose is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of practice experience and legal and mental health settings. Varsha is currently a doctoral student and teaching assistant at Southern Connecticut State University. Varsha has practical experience working with justice-involved veterans with significant mental health and substance use disorders. One of the theoretical approaches that Varsha is focusing her research on is critical race theory. Varsha is interested in addressing the intersections of racial oppression and social injustices that are prevalent in the United States judicial system. Varsha’s teaching interests are in areas related to veterans, race/oppression, mental health and substance use disorders within the criminal justice systems. 

Jennifer Erwin, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Assistant Professor, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY EDWARDSVILLE

Email: jeerwin@siue.edu

Website: https://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/social-work/faculty-staff/erwin.shtml

About: My research focus has primarily explored adult mental health courts. Additional research interests include examining the experiences of adults with mental illness who are involved with the criminal justice system and the role of peer support in treatment courts.

Liz Espinoza, College of Saint Rose

VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF SAINT ROSE

Email: espinozl@strose.edu

Liz Espinoza has forensic social work experience at state government level in NY.

Amanda Geller, University of California at Irvine

Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT IRVINE

Email: amanda.geller@uci.edu

Website: https://amandagellerphd.com/ 

About: The focus of my research is twofold: examining the causes and effects of incarceration for men and their families, and examining racial disparities in the administration of justice.

Matthew Gilmour, Florida State University

Doctoral Student, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

Email: mgilmour@fsu.edu

Website: https://csw.fsu.edu/person/matthew-gilmour

About: My current research interests are focused on correctional and criminal justice system policies and reform, particularly inmate medical and mental health care, inmate rights, privatization of correctional/criminal justice services, reentry and rehabilitation. I am also interested in the utilization of research in advocacy work as it relates to social justice in general, particularly racial disparities and other issues involving the oppression of marginalized populations.

Ivan Godfrey, SUNY Ulster

Associate Professor, SUNY ULSTER

Email: Godfreyi@sunyulster.edu

Website: http://sunyulster.edu

About: I have participated in a recent research study about the value of post secondary education for incarcerated persons. My teaching interest and expertise is in Alternative to Incarceration & Reentry strategies and initiatives

Lauri Goldkind, Fordham University

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Email: goldkind@fordham.edu

Website: https://www.fordham.edu/info/24281/gss_full-time_faculty_profiles/11298/lauri_goldkind

Dr. Goldkind has a longstanding interest and practice background in nonprofit leadership, capacity building and organizational development. Her practice experience has been centered in the youth development, education and juvenile justice realms. Prior to joining the faculty at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service, she served as the Director of the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services’ (CASES) School Connection Center, a public school admissions office for youth exiting the justice system. She was instrumental in developing the Center’s operational infrastructure, including creating and maintaining all data systems and documenting the Center’s progress. She also helped craft policy and develop data management applications at Community Prep High School, a school for young people transitioning back to their communities from the juvenile justice system. Before that she held program planning and fund raising positions at agencies serving young people in New York City, including the Posse Foundation, where she was the first director of development.

​Dr. Goldkind’s current research work centers on the intersection of the juvenile justice and public education system’s impact on urban youth. She is presently conducting a national study of school social workers exploring their role in the school re-entry process of juvenile justice youth. Dr. Goldkind is also interested in domestic trafficking issues and is partnering with the Girls Education Mentoring Services (GEMS) to document their programmatic model and highlight the complex and unexplored issues of girls who are commercially sexually exploited.

 

 

Aaron Gottlieb, UIC

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JANE ADDAMS COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO

Email: agott19@uic.edu

Website: https://socialwork.uic.edu/facultyandstaff/aaron-gottlieb/

Dr. Gottlieb’s research focuses on the causes and consequences of mass incarceration in the United States and how to effectively reduce U.S. reliance on incarceration. His scholarship has been published in leading social work, criminology, and sociology journals.

 

Woojae Han, Soongsil University

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SOONGSIL UNIVERSITY

Email: whan@ssu.ac.kr

Woojae Han is an assistant professor of School of Social Work at Soongsil University in Korea. His research focuses on alternative court system, community rehabilitation for offenders with mental illness, and behavioral health disparities for populations at risk.

Debra Hrouda, Northeast Ohio Medical University

Director of Practice Implementation and Evaluation, NORTHEAST OHIO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Email: dhrouda@neomed.edu

About: Focus on the implementation of evidence-based, best, and emerging practices for people along the continuum of justice involvement.

Russ Immarigeon, CRI Publications

Editor 

Email: russimmarigeon@fairpoint.net

About: Editor of national publications on community corrections, alternatives to prison, and offender programming. Editor of four books on crime desistance, prisoner reentry, and women, gender and girls in the criminal justice system. Independent researcher on the overuse of incarceration for women and others, and of cash bail in pretrial settings

Bryan Jackson-Green, University of California Irvine

JD/PhD Student, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE

Email: bryantjj@uci.edu

Website: https://sites.uci.edu/bryantjacksongreen/

About: Bryant Jackson-Green is a doctoral student in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine and a JD candidate at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. His research lies at the intersection of criminal justice policy and organizational theory, focusing on how organizations perceive and make decisions about social risk. Using mixed methods, his work highlights the importance of law and organizations in a larger social-ecological context.

Leah Jacobs, University of Pittsburgh

Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Email: leahjacobs@pitt.edu

Website: https://www.socialwork.pitt.edu/people/leah-jacobs

About: My research interests include: socio-structural risk factors for criminal justice involvement; the role of neighborhood qualities in contributing to arrests among people with mental health and substance use problems; the provision of mental health and substance abuse treatment in jails; and reentry programs that seek to decrease recidivism among individuals with mental health and substance abuse problems.

Jennifer Kellman Fritz, Eastern Michigan University

Director & Professor, EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

Email: jkellman@emich.edu 

Website: https://www.emich.edu/chhs/social-work/faculty/j_kellman-fritz.php

Erin Kerrison, UC Berkeley

Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY

Email: kerrison@berkeley.edu

Website: http://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/faculty/erin-kerrison

About: My research and teaching interests extend from a legal epidemiological framework, wherein law and legal institutions operate as social determinants of health. Specifically, through varied agency partnerships, my mixed-method research agenda investigates the impact that compounded structural disadvantage, concentrated poverty and state supervision has on service delivery, substance abuse, violence and other health outcomes for individuals and communities marked by criminal justice intervention.

Peter A. Kindle, University of South Dakota

PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Email: Peter.Kindle@usd.edu

Website: https://sites.google.com/a/usd.edu/peter-a-kindle-p/

I taught inside a Texas prison for six years while completing my doctorate in social work, then spent over a year volunteering with the Second Chance Program of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission before locating my current faculty position in South Dakota. I am expecting to conduct a program evaluation for the Carver County jail’s new mental health program over the next two years.

Jean Kjellstrand, University of Oregon

Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

Email: jeank@uoregon.edu

Website: https://education.uoregon.edu/people/faculty/jeank

About: Dr. Jean Kjellstrand, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Human Services at the University of Oregon, focuses on parental incarceration. Specifically, she examines how parental incarceration impacts child development, and how to support children and their parents both during and after incarceration. Her goal is to create effective interventions that are affordable, acceptable, and sustainable within existing delivery systems. Before entering academics, Dr. Kjellstrand was a licensed social worker for over 15 years. During this period, she developed and coordinated several individual, group, and community interventions to support and empower children and families in high-risk circumstances.

Karen Kolivoski, Howard University

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, HOWARD UNIVERSITY

Email: karen.kolivoski@howard.edu

Website: https://www.karenkolivoski.com  and https://twitter.com/KKolivoski

My research interests focus on crossover youth, specifically on understanding how factors in children and youths’ experiences within the child welfare system impact subsequent juvenile and criminal justice system involvement. I am especially interested in understanding the role of out of home placements within the child welfare system, youths’ relationships and perceptions of their child welfare caseworkers, and sibling and family influences as related to criminal justice outcomes. I also have interest and experience in transfer of youths to the adult system and juvenile life without parole, including the misconduct/experiences of youth in prisons. In regards to teaching, I teach in the criminal justice field of practice specialization in the MSW program at Howard University.

 

Liat Kriegel, Washington State University

Research Assistant Professor, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INNOVATIONS

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Email: liat.kriegel@wsu.edu

About: Dr. Kriegel’s research focuses on the intersection of the housing, mental health, and criminal legal systems. Her current work explores the utility of public space during reentry.

Husain Lateef, Washington University in St. Louis

Assistant Professor, BROWN SCHOOL AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY OF ST. LOUIS 

Email: hlateef@wustl.edu 

Website: https://brownschool.wustl.edu/faculty-and-research/husain-lateef/ 

About: Dr. Husain Lateef’s research intersects with his practice experience working with serious juvenile offenders by advancing scholarship to inform reentry for this population post-conviction. His scholarship also examines issues related to misattributions of criminal risk to ethnic minority populations with implications for reentry policy. He teaches courses related to preparing social work students to work with criminal justice-involved adults, forensic social work practice & criminal justice policy & interventions.

George Leibowitz, Stony Brook University

Professor, STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE

Email: George.Leibowitz@stonybrookmedicine.edu 

Website: https://socialwelfare.stonybrookmedicine.edu/faculty-staff/leibowitz

About: For the past 20 years, I have been working as an interdisciplinary researcher, forensic evaluator, national consultant and trainer in the related fields of adolescent delinquency, addictions, sexually harmful behavior among youth, and adult sexually offending behavior. I am interested in research on sex offender registry reform, restorative justice, and compassionate release laws. I am also a member of the National Association of Forensic Social Work recently co-authored the following textbook: Maschi, T. & Leibowitz, G.S. (Eds.) (2018). Forensic social work: Psychosocial and legal issues across diverse populations and settings (2nd Ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Lewis Lee, University of Alabama

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Email: lhlee@ua.edu

Website: https://socialwork.ua.edu/blog/social-theme-staff/lee-lewis-phd/

Dr. Lewis Hyukseung Lee has experience working with incarcerated adults and with youth who have come in contact with the criminal justice system. Prior to joining Pitt’s doctoral program, he worked as the Assistant Director for the Korean Community Center in Englewood, New Jersey, where he provided community services for immigrant minorities. His research interests include social policy in the criminal justice system, criminal desistance, mental health disparities and service use, substance use, community-based participatory research, macro practice.

Jill Levenson, Barry University

Professor of Social Work, BARRY UNIVERSITY

Email: jlevenson@barry.edu

Website: https://www.barry.edu/en/c-vitae/professors/jill-levenson/ 

About: I study the effectiveness of sexual offender registries in reducing recidivism, as well as the impact of registration on offenders and communities. My research fits in the larger context of collateral sanctions of criminal sentencing and its impact on employment, housing, social support, psychosocial risk factors, and successful reintegration. I also study the relationship between childhood adversity and adult criminality, and the need for trauma-informed treatment and re-entry services for offenders.

George Leibowitz, Stony Brook University

PROFESSOR, STONY BROOK, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE

Email: George.Leibowitz@stonybrookmedicine.edu

Website: https://socialwelfare.stonybrookmedicine.edu/faculty-staff/leibowitz

For the past 20 years, I have been working as an interdisciplinary researcher, forensic evaluator, national consultant and trainer in the related fields of adolescent delinquency, addictions, sexually harmful behavior among youth, and adult sexually offending behavior. I am interested in research on sex offender registry reform, restorative justice, and compassionate release laws. I am also a member of the National Association of Forensic Social Work recently co-authored the following textbook: Maschi, T. & Leibowitz, G.S. (Eds.) (2018). Forensic social work: Psychosocial and legal issues across diverse populations and settings (2nd Ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

 

Caroline Long, University of Maryland

Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Email: cburry@ssw.umaryland.edu

About: I have a child welfare background and an ongoing interest in parental incarceration, particularly maternal incarcerated, and the children of incarcerated parents. Additionally, I have a focus on smart decarceration and alternative sentencing.

Kelli J. Marks, Oakland Community College, Madonna University

Full time faculty, OAKLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Adjunct Professor, MADONNA UNIVERSITY

Email: kjmarks@oaklandcc.edu kmarks@madonna.edu

About: Dr. Kelli Marks is the BSW Program Director in Social Work. Kelli joined the full time faculty of Madonna University in 2016 and has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan (2000) with an emphasis in interpersonal practice and children and youth and received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Oakland University in 2015. Her research focused on the importance of student engagement of academic outcomes, concentrating on minority male achievement.

Kelli worked previously in juvenile justice before entering adult corrections and was employed as a corrections officer with female inmates for several years; she also has 15 years of experience working with adult felons in Oakland County.

Carl Mazza, Lehman College CUNY

Associate Professor & Department Chair, SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT LEHMAN COLLEGE (CUNY)

Email: carl.maaza@lehman.cuny.edu

Website: https://www.lehman.edu/academics/health-human-services-nursing/social-work/faculty-mazza.php

About: Dr. Mazza has written on incarcerated fathers, children of incarcerated parents, prison education, practicing social work in prison, and various issues regarding reentry. He has recently completed a book on fatherhood in the U.S. and has a chapter on incarcerated fathers. He is the former track chair of the Criminal & Juvenile Justice Track for the Council on Social Work Education. He is currently researching and writing a book on social work with exonerated people.

Susan McCarter, UNC Charlotte

Associate Professor, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHARLOTTE

Email: smccarter@uncc.edu

Website: https://pages.uncc.edu/smccar17/

About: Dr. McCarter’s career began as a juvenile probation officer, inner-city mental health counselor, and policy analyst and advocate in Virginia. For over 20 years she has served as a Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Scholar (now Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED)) and a forensic practitioner. Nationally, Dr. McCarter serves as an expert juvenile justice forensic witness, on the board of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, and chairs the Society of Social Work and Research’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Interest Group. Regionally, she co-chairs the NC RED Subcommittee and the Charlotte Racial Justice Consortium (funded by the AAC&U and dedicated to truth, racial healing and transformation), and serves on the leadership team for Race Matters for Juvenile Justice as well as their Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Team. Dr. McCarter currently facilitates the UNC Charlotte Racial Equity Skill Building Caucus and leads multiple funded research studies examining the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP), Juvenile Diversion, and Racial Equity.

Branden McLeod, UIC

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JANE ADDAMS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO

Email: bmcleod7@uic.edu

Website: https://socialwork.uic.edu/profiles/branden-a-mcleod/

My research examines the intersection between fatherhood and the criminal justice system. I endeavor unpack how the criminal justice system potentially attenuates the role of fathers and the factors that mitigate, sustain, and strengthen paternal involvement and family well-being. I teach social welfare, social policy analysis and advocacy, and research methods.

Louisiana Medina, USC
Eyitayo Onifade, Clark Atlanta University

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

Email: eonifade@cau.edu

Jaimie Page Brill, Texas A&M University, Commerce

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COMMERCE

Email: jaimiepage.brill@tamuc.edu

Website: https://www.tamuc.edu/academics/cvSyllabi/cv/BrillJaimie.pdf

Dr. Page Brill works with Exonerees who have been wrongfully convicted/incarcerated. In addition to community macro practice, she conducts research around wrongful conviction. She teaches an array of social work courses, including Social Work and the Law.

Oluwayomi Paseda, MSW, LMSW, University of Georgia

DOCTORAL STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Email: oluwayomi@uga.edu

My research interests include reentry programs, interventions, and services for women transitioning from incarceration to the community.

Ashley Pennell, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

LMSW, Assistant Professor, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE

Email: awalke68@vols.utk.edu

Website: https://faculty.utk.edu/Ashley.Pennell

About: Ashley Pennell is a Licensed Master Social Worker in Knoxville, TN. She is an adjunct instructor at the University of Tennessee teaching bachelors and masters level forensic social work courses. Her work experience is primarily in social work in public defense settings, jail based therapy, victim advocacy, and re-entry services. She is particularly interested in the intersection of trauma, poverty, and incarceration.

Clark Peters, University of Missouri

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

Email: peterscm@missouri.edu

Website: http://ssw.missouri.edu/faculty_peters.html

Carrie Pettus, Florida State University

Associate Professor, Founding Director, INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

Email: c.pettus@fsu.edu

Website: https://csw.fsu.edu/person/carrie-pettus

About: Dr. Carrie Pettus is Associate Professor of Social Work at Florida State University and Founding Executive Director of the Institute for Justice Research and Development. Pettus conducts applied research on smart decarceration of prisons and jails through policy and practice intervention development. Pettus generates research on ameliorating racial, economic, and behavioral health disproportionality. She works with community partners to develop interventions to enhance positive social support, treat trauma experiences and behavioral health disorders, and generate well-being for those impacted by criminal justice involvement. Dr. Pettus holds a doctorate in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mark Plassmeyer, University of Arkansas

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Email: mpplassm@uark.edu

My research broadly focuses on the criminal justice system with an emphasis on drug policy and policies that impact people with criminal histories.
I teach social welfare policy and political advocacy courses that focus on local, national, and global economic and social issues while making sure to emphasize the role of drug policy and criminal justice policy in exacerbating these issues. I also helped develop a drug policy class that will be part of our new substance use minor. Lastly, I advocate for increased involvement in the political process for social workers and the socially and economically marginalized communities they serve, particularly people who use drugs and/or have criminal histories.

Taylor Reed, UCLA

MSW/PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES

Email: taylorashlyn@ucla.edu 

I’m particularly interested in how environmental factors that are at play once individuals are no longer incarcerated affect the success of reentry programs, and how re-entry programs address these exposures. The focus of my research will center around identifying success and weaknesses in existing re-entry programs and highlighting data-backed modifications to these programs to bolster a successful transition back into society. My research will also include studying minority youth in urban neighborhoods and how exposure to violence (both frequency and type) affect their incarceration rates. This work can hopefully be adapted to study other social and environmental factors in order to better understand which experiences are most associated with juvenile incarceration. My work will allow for policy makers and stakeholders to comprehensively understand what occurs in these neighborhoods and identify vulnerable areas that can serve as intervention points to help protect these at-risk youth.

Jacoba Rock, Boise State University

Clinical Associate Professor, BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

Pronouns: She/They

Email: jacobarock@boisestate.edu 

Website: https://www.boisestate.edu/socialwork/jacoba-rock-ph-d/

About:Jacoba Rock is an Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work at Boise State School of Social Work. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, with a doctoral minor in Criminology, from Pennsylvania State University. She received a Master of Social Work degree, with a clinical concentration in work with High-Risk Youth, and a graduate certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution, both from the University of Denver. Dr. Rock’s applied research focuses on incarcerated youth (juveniles and young adults), opportunities for improved system response and reform, as well as deimplementation and abolition. Dr. Rock has conducted many program evaluations within carceral and other criminal/juvenile legal settings, offered professional development trainings to both courtroom and correctional staff, and also offered consultation, assessment, and testimony on hundreds of cases of juvenile and young adult life, virtual life, and capital sentences. Dr. Rock has taught Social Work since 2012 in BSW, MSW, and DSW programs, and focuses on courses on Intersectionality and other critical approaches, Human Behavior and Social Environment, Program Evaluation, and Pedagogy.

Allison Salisbury, UIUC

PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Email: aas6@illinois.edu

Allison Salisbury (she/her/hers), MSW, is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Social Work. Her research interests include criminal justice content in the social work curriculum.

Kim Stauss, University of Arkansas

PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS – SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Email: kstauss@uark.edu

I have collaborated on the development of letter-writing program to help incarcerated parents reconnect with their children. We have completed research on this program and tried to disseminate this program in both community and departmental correctional facilities.

 

Megan Schlegel, San Jose State University
James R. Shannon, University of Maryland

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Email: jshannon@umbc.edu

Currently teaching in the undergraduate policy sequence at the University of Maryland Baltimore County School of Social Work, I have been asked by administrative staff to consider designing a policy course bridging social welfare policy with criminal justice policy. Prior to retiring from the Mongomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation after more than twenty five years of service, I had routinely supervised social work interns, undergrads and grads, in the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. Most of my work was in Reentry at the Montgomery County Pre-Release Center.

 

Amy Smoyer, Southern Connecticut State University

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY

Email: smoyera1@southernct.edu

Website: www.amysmoyer.com

My program of research examines the structural determinants of health and health disparities. Specifically, I seek to build knowledge about the lived experience of incarceration, parole, and probation in order to better understand the impact of correctional systems on individual and community health. I am particularly interested in women’s experiences with these systems. In terms of outcomes, my work has focused primarily on HIV care and prevention and food-related wellness.

 

Kim Stauss, University of Arkansas

Professor, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS – SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Email: kstauss@uark.edu

Website:https://socialwork.uark.edu/directory/full-time-faculty/uid/kstauss/name/Kim+Stauss/  

About: I have collaborated on the development of letter-writing program to help incarcerated parents reconnect with their children. We have completed research on this program and tried to disseminate this program in both community and departmental correctional facilities.

Hiroki Toi, Toyo University

Associate Professor, TOYO UNIVERSITY

Email: hirokitoi.sw@gmail.com

Website: http://ris.toyo.ac.jp/profile/en.49ce7e9f9582deae7ed49a595b30efe8.html

About: Hiroki Toi, PhD, MSW is an Associate Professor at Toyo University in Japan, where he teaches criminal justice, human rights and social work for undergraduate students. Hiroki’s research primarily focuses on better understanding the professional values and conflict among forensic social workers. Hiroki worked as a research assistant for the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and has practiced in forensic psychiatric hospital, prison hospital, and also served as a social work advisor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Hiroki’s scholarship and teaching aim to build the capacity of the social work profession to address challenges and opportunities in the field of criminal justice and community-based social work practice.

Peter Treitler, Boston University

Assistant Professor, BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Pronouns: He/Hims

Email: treitler@boston.edu 

Website: https://www.bu.edu/ssw/profile/peter-trietler/

About: Peter Treitler’s research works to improve access and quality of behavioral health care during incarceration and re-entry.

Stephen Tripodi, Florida State University

Professor & Doctoral Program Director, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

Associate Director, THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Email: stripodi@fsu.edu

Website: https://csw.fsu.edu/person/stephen-tripodi

About: Stephen Tripodi’s most recent projects include analyzing the influence of childhood victimization on adult mental health/substance use problems for incarcerated women and ultimately researching its relationship with recidivism. Stephen has recently completed a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of Seeking Safety with women prisoners on PTSD symptoms, depression, and cravings to use alcohol and/or drugs. Seeking Safety is a trauma-focused, cognitive-behavioral substance abuse intervention. Stephen and his interdisciplinary research team are currently writing grant proposals to expand this RCT to include several prisons and jails throughout North Carolina and Idaho.

Durrell Malik Washington Sr., University of Chicago

MSW, Doctoral Candidate, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Email: dwashington5@uchicago.edu

About: Durrell Malik Washington Sr. is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice. He takes an interdisciplinary approach towards scholarship drawing from social work, sociological, criminological, life course, and family system theories and perspectives. Durrell’s research interest lies at the intersections in P.I.C. Abolition, Juvenile legal practice and policy, Social Networks, Families and Other Social Context. Specifically, Durrell is a Mixed Method Researcher whose research agenda is geared at understanding the impact of juvenile incarceration on family life and youths transition to adulthood. Durrell has methodological training across several different qualitative and quantitative methods. have served as both a Research Assistant and Project Manager during his time at the Crown Family School and prior to his doctoral training, at Columbia University. To date, he has published a combination of several co- and solo-authored peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and currently has a number of other peer-reviewed articles under review. Because our work as social workers do not just reach academics but also community and policy audiences as well, he has also published several other public-facing products, including research reports, op-eds, editorials, and news articles.

Mel Wilson, NASW

SENIOR POLICY CONSULTANT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS

Email: mwilson.NASW@socialworkers.org

My interest and experience with criminal justice and social work includes being active in criminal justice policy and legislative actions via my affiliation with – NASW, the Justice Roundtable , the Justice Reform Taskforce, and the Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Work Group. I have also written several NASW Social Justice Briefs on topics including bail reform, racial profiling, drug policy, and juvenile justice issues.

 

Alexandra Wimberly, University of Maryland

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Email: awimberly@ssw.umaryland.edu

Website: https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/academics/faculty/alexandra-wimberly/

Alexandra researches interventions for individuals with substance use problems and associated challenges such as criminal justice involvement and HIV risk. She is interested in complementary health approaches to improve stress coping as a pathway to reduced substance use. For example, she designed and implemented an RCT testing the effect of a yoga intervention on stress, substance use and HIV outcomes for individuals in reentry from prison or jail. Alexandra also researches interventions that recognize the chronic nature of substance use disorders, particularly continuing care.

 

Lilane Windsor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

DIRECTOR FOR FACULTY RESEARCH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Email: lwindsor@illinois.edu

Website: www.newarkccb.org

Liliane Cambraia Windsor, Ph.D., MSW is the Director of Faculty Research and Associate Professor at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Social Work. Her research focuses on the application of critical consciousness theory to the development of multi-level interventions designed to reduce health inequalities related to substance use disorders, including HIV infection and incarceration in marginalized communities. Dr. Windsor follows community based participatory research (CBPR) principles and utilizes a variety of scientific methodologies including ethnography, randomized experimental controlled trials, measurement development, meta-analysis, and online survey. Dr. Windsor is the founder and chair of the Newark Community Collaborative Board, a group of researchers, service providers, and consumers developed Community Wise, a multilevel intervention designed to reduce substance use frequency, criminal offending, and health risk behaviors. Dr. Windsor has overseen numerous research studies in the United States and in Brazil. Currently, she is principal investigator of the Community Wise Optimization study (R01 funded by NIMHD) and its administrative supplements. Dr. Windsor is also a co-investigator in the Social Action in Rural Communities Study, an Avant Guarde research award from NIDA to Dr. Dolores Albarracin. Finally, Dr. Windsor is a RWJ Health Policy fellow at the National Academy of Medicine. Her teaching interests include research methods, social justice, and substance use disorders. Born and raised in Brazil, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from FCH-FUMEC, Brazil in 1998. She moved to Texas in 2000 to pursue her Master of Science and doctoral degrees in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

Hidenori Yamatani, Pittsburgh University

ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH PITTSBURGH UNIVERSITY, PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL WORK

Email: hzy@pitt.edu

Website: http://crsp.pitt.edu/person/hidenori-yamatani-phd-msw

As the Pitt School of Social Work’s associate dean for research, Yamatani oversees sponsored research, training, and service projects; provides proposal-development assistance for external funding; promotes interdisciplinary research projects; enhances scholarly research and activities; and facilitates faculty mentoring. A full professor, his research specialties include organizational development, strategic planning, program optimization and evaluation, and community research. Yamatani directs Pitt’s Community Enhancement Research Network (CERN), which promotes community development through collaborative applied social work research. CERN includes faculty from the social work school and other Pitt units as well as non-Pitt researchers and community stakeholders.