Doctoral Students

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Abby Ballou is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. Her research interests include postsecondary carceral education and post-release labor market reentry. Since arriving at Northeastern, Abb…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Jacob Balzarini is a PhD student in Northeastern University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. His work bridges research, teaching, and community engagement—focusing on the timing and structure of incarceration and the complexities of reen…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Kayla Bates is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds an M.S. in Criminal Justice and a B.S. in Psychology from Grand Valley State University. Her master’s thesis, titled, “The Analy…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Julia Bell is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and Sociology with a concentration in Social and Criminal Justice from Central Michigan University, and a M….

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Ciela Capage is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. Her research interests center around communities and place, with a focus on the intersections of race, gender, crime, and policing. Since…

Criminology and Justice Policy, JD/PhD

Chase Childress (he/him/his) is a 4th year dual-degree J.D./Ph.D. doctoral student in the School of Criminology & Criminal Justice. He completed his J.D. at Northeastern School of Law in 2022. …

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Brandon Craig is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and a member of the Race and Justice Lab at Northeastern University. Broadly, their research takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying victimization, help-s…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Oghenerhuru Daniel is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany (SUNY) and an MSc in International Social and Publi…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Cassie DiBenedetti is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds a B.S. in Data Science from Duquesne University. She was actively involved in the Duquesne community to address Asian Ame…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Mallory Ferrick is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds an M.S. and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven. Her research interests include community responses …

Criminology and Justice Policy, JD/PhD

Shahinaz Geneid is a JD student at Northeastern University School of Law and PhD student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds a B.A. in Social Research and Public Policy from New York University Abu …

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Callie Hansson (she/they) is a PhD Candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her research focuses on victimization and applies theories of framing to examine public perceptions of crime problems. They worked with Dr. Farrell as a g…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Kaley Jones is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds an M.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of N…

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Mo Keane (they/them) is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, whose research interests include the experiences of marginalized identities/persons within the criminal justice system and the role of institutions in defin…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Christian Law is a doctoral student at Northeastern University in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. His research and teaching interests center on the intersections of race, crime, politics, and punishment. Specifically, he examines how …

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Ayanna Miller is a doctoral student at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, originally from Brooklyn, New York. Ayanna’s research interests include racial justice, policing, police-community relationships, commun…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Delanie Nahikian is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds B.A.’s in Criminology, Sociology, and Psychology from Capital University. She currently works as a research assistant…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Oscar Navarro-Alvarez is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. His research interests include barriers to reentry and desistance among gangs and other hidden populations. He is a graduate res…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Christianna Palermo is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds an M.A. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University–Newark and a B.A. in Sociology from the University at Albany, SUNY. …

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Heather Paterson is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from Tulane University and, prior to her doctoral candidacy, spent three years working as a clinical…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Cassidy Pereira is a doctoral student in the Criminology and Justice Policy Program at Northeastern University. She recently received her Master’s Degree at Northeastern, and completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Dartmouth in 2017. Bef…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Jillian Reeves received her bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, with minors in psychology and Chinese studies. Prior to her doctoral candidacy, she co-authored a journal article about the role of adolescent developme…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Savannah Reid is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She holds an M.S. in Criminal Justice from George Mason University and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Tennessee at Chat…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Michel-Ange is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. His research interests are in the areas of punishment, prison abolition, and reentry. Since arriving at Northeastern, Michel-Ange has work…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Daniel Trovato is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. His research interests include the outcomes of school suspension and expulsion over the life-course, and the outcomes of perceived disc…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Joanna Wahmhoff is a Ph.D. student in Criminology and Justice Policy at Northeastern University. Her research interests encompass reentry post-incarceration, with a specific focus on collateral consequences and their interplay with poverty. She joine…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Amelia is a doctoral student at Northeastern University in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Originally from New Mexico, she holds a Master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Northeastern. Previously, Amelia graduated with…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Candi Wills (she/her) is in her 4th year of the doctoral program and focuses her research primarily on institutional responses to human trafficking and marginalized populations, including racial/ethnic minorities, gender, and sexual minorities. While…

Criminology and Justice Policy, PhD

Alexis Yohros is a doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University and a research assistant at the Institute on Race and Justice. Alexis is currently working on her dissertation, which focuses on how adve…

Kayon Morgan is a Ph.D. student in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy at Northeastern University. Her research interests are centered around Race, Crime, Justice, and Policing. She is interested in how race shapes health, violence and victimization, and police-citizen interactions. She has joined the Doctoral program in Fall 2025, after receiving her master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Northeastern University in May 2025. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Vermont State University in Political Science. Currently, she is a Research Assistant to Dr. Eric Piza in the criminology department.