People

Staff

Rebecca Balletto, Senior Research Administrator, manages contractors and oversees the work of external partners of the 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 graduated from the University of Liverpool and earned a Masters in Criminal Justice at John Jay College.

Jeffrey Butts, Director of the Research and Evaluation Center. Previously a research fellow with Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and director of the Program on Youth Justice at the Urban Institute, Jeff graduated from the University of Oregon and earned the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. CV    Publications

Patricia Cobar, Senior 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

Sheyla Delgado, Deputy Director for Analytics, leads the statistical work for all Center projects and directs the evaluation of Cure Violence. 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

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

Tao Lin, Data Scientist, works on data platform management and large scale data processing. He works on similar projects for the Data Collaborative for Justice, another research center at John Jay College. Tao earned an M.S. degree in Information Systems from Texas A&M International University. Previously, he was a Regional Marketing Manager at Pepsi Beverage West North-China. More Information

Gina Moreno, Senior Research Analyst, earned bachelors and masters degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a masters in statistics from Baruch College. 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. Publications

Fidel Osorio, Research Analyst, focuses on exploratory data analysis, data collection and processing, and statistical modeling. Fidel graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York with a B.S. in computer science and information security.

Katheryne Pugliese, Graduate Research Fellow, is a doctoral student at John Jay College, CUNY Graduate Center. She has an M.A. in Communication Analysis from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and worked on projects in Spain and Latin America to provide resources for justice-involved individuals. Her research interests are harm reduction, desistance from crime, violence prevention, and social media in research.

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. 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 and the creation of a youth reentry directory. 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

Affiliated Scholars and Consultants

Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill is a faculty member at Arizona State University and former research director for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office. A Ph.D. graduate of the CUNY Graduate Center/John Jay College, his scholarship centers on social identity and the subjective experience of justice and includes theoretical, policy-oriented, and evaluation research.  REC Publications

Nazia Fyazi is a science and management consultant with experience in tech, law, and academia, and previous work with startups, not-for-profits, and small clients. She graduated from John Jay College with a B.A. in forensic psychology. Nazia’s research interests include violence and the brain and how cognitive functioning affects interactions with the criminal justice system.

Talib Hudson is Director of Special Projects with the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College. He earned the Ph.D. in public and urban policy at the New School in New York City, focusing on community-based violence prevention. He founded The New Hood, a community-based policy and research center within the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

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). More information — REC Publications

Paul Odér, Graduate Research Fellow, is a doctoral student and lecturer at John Jay College, CUNY Graduate Center. His research areas are police use of force, lead poisoning, human–wildlife conflict, and state crime. Paul earned a BSAS in forensic science from Youngstown State University with a minor in chemistry and a concentration in forensic anthropology.

Marcos Soler is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at John Jay College and New York State’s Deputy Secretary for Public Safety. Previously, he was Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ). He earned the Ph.D. from The New School University, New York. His research focuses on criminological theory, gun violence, and analysis of crime trends.

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. Kevin received the Ph.D. from the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. More information — REC Publications