Team

Bryan L. Sykes, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for this research project. He is an inaugural Inclusive Excellence Term Chair Associate Professor and Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Criminology, Law & Society (and, by courtesy, the Department of Sociology and the Program in Public Health) at the University of California, Irvine. Professor Sykes' research focuses on demography and criminology, with particular interests in demographic processes, structural inequality, racial disparities, population health, and research methodology.

Emily Owens, Ph.D., is the co-principal investigator on the project. She is the Chair of, and a Professor in, the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society (with a secondary appointment the Department of Economics) at the University of California, Irvine. Professor Owens studies a wide range of topics in the economics of crime, including policing, sentencing, and the impact of local public policies on criminal behavior. Her research examines how government policies affect the prevalence of criminal activity, as well as how agents within the criminal justice system, particularly police, prosecutors, and judges, respond to policy changes.

Meghan M. Ballard is a doctoral candidate in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include linguistic (in)justice, racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system, and the interplay between social inequities and access to justice.

Courtney Echols is a doctoral candidate in Criminology, Law & Society and a third year J.D. (law) student at the University of California, Irvine. Her research centers on documenting historical anti-Black violence in the US and intervening in its legacies, with a particular focus on Louisiana.

Vicente Celestino Mata is a doctoral student in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. His research interests include understanding the impacts of settler colonialism on immigration law and policy, social inequality in the legal system, and the decision-making practices of immigration judges. 

Jahaira Pacheco is a doctoral student in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. She is interested in understanding the unjust detection practices carried out by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to advocate for immigration reform. 

J. Amanda Sharry is a doctoral student in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on the genesis and effects of poverty and inequality, and how it relates to the social marginality of formerly incarcerated populations and their labor market outcomes.

Justin L. Sola is a doctoral candidate in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. His research involves testing theories of why people seek security, and exploring how inequality is maintained and magnified in the criminal justice system.

Kyle Winnen is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on systemic injustice and the effects of policy and language on the perpetuation of inequality within the criminal legal system.

María Guadalupe Estrada is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in Criminology, Law & Society and Educational Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. She is interested in the system of “Crimmigration” and a former volunteer in the Prison Pandemic Project at UCI.