People

Leadership Team

Jeffrey Butts, Director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. His work focuses on policies and programs for at-risk and disconnected youth, especially those involved with the justice system. Previously, he was a research fellow with Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and director of the Program on Youth Justice at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Oregon and he earned the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Publications

Sheyla Delgado, Deputy Director for Analytics in the Research and Evaluation Center. Before joining the Center staff in 2013, she was a Rudin Fellow in Applied Justice Research. She works on projects focused on violence and leads the Center’s evaluation of Cure Violence in New York. Sheyla graduated from Florida State University in 2008 with a B.A. in criminology and a B.A. in international affairs, and she earned the M.A. in criminal justice from John Jay College in 2013. Publications

Rhoda Ramdeen, Chief of Operations for the Research and Evaluation Center. Prior to joining the Center staff in 2010, she was an assistant to the director of the Business and Finance Department at John Jay College. Before that, she held positions with the Nassau County (NY) Court, the New York State Assembly, and New York City’s Investigation, Revenue & Enforcement Administration. Rhoda graduated from John Jay College with a BA in forensic psychology and she earned a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from John Jay with a concentration in human resources management.

Kathleen Tomberg, Deputy Director for Strategy and the IRB Officer (Institutional Review Board) for the Research and Evaluation Center. Previously, she worked on an evaluation of a therapeutic program for incarcerated adolescents, the creation of a youth reentry directory, and the study of sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church. Kathy is a graduate of Furman University and she earned the masters in forensic mental health counseling from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Publications

Faculty Affiliates

Douglas Evans, is a faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University and was previously a senior investigator at the Research and Evaluation Center. His work focuses on criminal stigma that the formerly incarcerated experience in housing and social networking, the effects of higher education in prison, the consequences of incarceration for public health and family stability, and evaluation of alternatives to incarceration for youth and adults. Doug earned the Ph.D. at Indiana University–Bloomington. Publications

Lila Kazemian is a graduate of Université de Montréal in Canada, and she earned the Ph.D. in criminology at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. She joined the sociology faculty of John Jay College in 2006 after completing a post-doctoral fellowship funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, UK). Her research interests include life-course and criminal career research, desistance from crime, offender reentry, and comparative criminology. More information REC Publications

Eric Piza is Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. He earned the Ph.D. from Rutgers University. His research focuses on the spatial analysis of crime patterns, crime control technology, and the integration of academic research and police practice. Prior to entering academia, he served as the GIS Specialist of the Newark, NJ Police Department where he was responsible for day-to-day crime analysis and program evaluation activities. More information

Kevin Wolff, Chief Methodologist in the Research and Evaluation Center and a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College. His interests include the spatial patterning of crime, criminological theory, quantitative methods and juvenile justice. Another area of work focuses on factors affecting changing crime rates in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Wolff received the Ph.D. from the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. More information REC Publications

Senior Staff

Wogod Alawlaqi, Senior Research Coordinator with the Research and Evaluation Center. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies from New York City College of Technology. In the past, Wogod worked with Middle Eastern women and domestic violence at Tamkeen, a nonprofit organization. She also worked for immigration attorneys in assistant immigrants immigration procedures from Mexico and the Middle East. She wants to pursue a career in immigration and help immigrants assimilate into the American lifestyle. Publications

Rebecca Balletto, Senior Research Administrator for the Center manages contractors and oversees the work of external partners of the Research and Evaluation Center. Previously, she was involved in the evaluation of a program aimed at generating cognitive and behavioral change in adolescents detained on Rikers Island. Rebecca received a Bachelors Degree in Sociology from The University of Liverpool, England and a Masters in Criminal Justice at John Jay College.

Cassandra Ramdath, Senior Research Consultant with the Research and Evaluation Center, focusing on innovations and best practices in community supervision and correctional interventions. Previously, she was Senior Director of Research with the New York City Board of Correction and a senior research associate at the Center for Court Innovation. She also served as a probation and parole officer in Canada. She graduated from the University of Ottawa and earned the Ph.D. from John Jay College and the CUNY Graduate Center.

Jason Szkola, Senior Research Associate in the Research and Evaluation Center and a criminal justice policy, oversight, and administration Ph.D. student at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York/John Jay College. Previously, he worked as an internal evaluation researcher for youth development and youth justice programs with Good Shepherd Services and the Police Athletic League. Jay graduated with a B.A. in English Literature and a B.A. in Philosophy from Northeastern University, and he earned an MSW from New York University. Publications

Anthony Vega, Senior Research Analyst for the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, focuses on the intersection between the criminal justice system, sexuality, and gender. Previously, he was an instructor and research assistant for Washington State University and a research intern for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Anthony graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.A in sociology and earned a M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. Publications

Research Staff

Nicole Alexander, Communications Specialist and researcher, graduated from the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies undergraduate program in May 2014 where her areas of concentration were social problems and justice research. During her undergraduate degree she was a New York Needs You Fellow, McNair Scholar, Pinkerton Fellow and an E.L.L.A (engage lead learn act) fellow with the Sadie Nash Leadership project. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in branding and integrated communications at the City College of New York. Publications

Justice A. Banks, Research Coordinator, has over 25 years of experience working with diverse populations. Previously, he was the director of a non-profit harm reduction agency in the Bronx and a social worker with a public human services agency. He was also a supervising research associate with the Research and Evaluation Center’s 4-year evaluation of the Cure Violence model in New York City. Justice holds a masters degree from the University of Chicago.

Patricia Cobar, Research Coordinator, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has extensive experience in child care and helped collect school supplies for underprivileged children in Honduras. Patricia participated in multiple running marathons to raise thousands of dollars for Autism Research. Publications

Richard Espinobarros, Research Analyst, works on the evaluation of Cure Violence and the Center’s projects with the New York City Mayor’s Office for Criminal Justice. Previously, he worked at the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Richard graduated from John Jay College with a B.A in criminology and minor in psychology. Publications

Arlana K. Henry, Research Associate, has worked on quantitative and qualitative research projects focused on incarceration, immigration, neighborhood violence and crime, and mental health. She previously worked as a research assistant at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and served with AmeriCorps at New American Pathways and Fugees Family in Atlanta. Arlana graduated with a B.S. in crime, law and deviance (now criminology) and a minor in sociology from The Pennsylvania State University and she earned the M.A. in sociology from the University of Georgia. Publications

Gina Moreno, Research Analyst, earned bachelors and masters degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with a concentration in criminology and a minor in English. At John Jay, she completed year-long fellowships at the Vera Institute of Justice, where she worked primarily on expanding access to post-secondary education in prison, and the Drug Policy Alliance, where she worked on drug policy reform campaigns. Gina hopes to continue working on applied research in the context of criminal justice reform. Publications

Graduate Fellows

Shun Feng, Rudin Research Fellow, is a Ph.D student at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York/John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park. His research interests include environmental criminology, spatial analysis of crime, and problem-oriented policing.

Sebastian Hoyos-Torres, Rudin Research Fellow, is pursuing a Ph.D. in criminal justice at John Jay. He earned a B.A. in criminology and criminal justice with a minor in psychology from Le Moyne College.

Angela Silletti, Rudin Research Fellow, is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate Center of the City University of New York/ John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has previous research experience with the New Jersey State Parole Board and the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Her research interests include corrections, specifically policies related to elderly offenders and end of life care.