• NYYJI NYYJI

    About Us

    New York State Youth Justice Institute - A Partnership between the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the University at Albany
  • NYYJI NYYJI

    About Us

    New York State Youth Justice Institute - A Partnership between the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the University at Albany
  • NYYJI NYYJI

    About Us

    New York State Youth Justice Institute - A Partnership between the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the University at Albany

About Us

Mission
Mission

The New York State Youth Justice Institute strives to build and strengthen the capacity of localities around New York State to adopt evidence-informed youth justice practices. We do so by disseminating information, assisting with implementation and assessing efficacy in existing youth justice programs, and by conducting cutting-edge research to advance the science and practice of evidence-based initiatives.

Vision
Vision

We aim to become the premier resource for evidence-based policy and practice nationally and beyond. To that end, we:

  • Serve as an information hub for stakeholders;
  • Cultivate and support practitioners’ commitment to evidence-based practices;
  • Develop a prolific and ever-growing network of research expertise;
  • Foster and sustain synergy among stakeholders;
  • Leverage current public investment to attract external funding that will enable the Institute to grow.
Partners
Staff
Staff
Giza Lopez, Executive Director of the New York State Youth Justice Institute

Giza Lopes, PhD 
Executive Director
518-442-5598
[email protected]       

Dr. Giza Lopes is the Executive Director of the New York State Youth Justice Institute. 

Giza's scholarly work has investigated, among other topics, the collateral consequences of youth contact with criminal justice system as it relates to employment, education, and interpersonal relationships. Her research into these and other criminal justice issues has appeared in top-ranked academic journals, such as Justice Quarterly and Crime and Delinquency, as well as in multiple edited volumes, encyclopedias, and media outlets. She has also published a book, Dying with Dignity: A Legal Approach to Assisted Death, which traces the origins of the debate surrounding the legalization of "assisted suicide" in the United States and Europe. 

Prior to joining the Institute, Giza was a Senior Research Associate at the NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services, where she oversaw the implementation of data infrastructure in Public Defender programs statewide and supported localities by providing training and technical assistance related to that implementation. 

She received her PhD and MA from the School of Criminal Justice, the State University of New York at Albany.


Michele Ellis, Director of Finance and Grants at the New York State Youth Justice Institute

Michele Ellis
Director of Finance and Grants
[email protected]

Michele Ellis is the Director of Grants and Finance at the New York State Youth Justice Institute. As the Director of Grants and Finance, Michele oversees and administers the Institute’s accounting, budgetary, audit, personnel, and grants programs; and oversees office operations.

Before joining the Institute, Michele was the Administrative Director of the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center. She has over 20 years of experience in Grant management. Michele received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Plattsburgh and her associate degree in accounting from SUNY Cobleskill.


Sean Brown, Director of Training and Technical Assistance

Sean Brown
Director of Training and Technical Assistance
518-442-5385
[email protected]

Sean Brown is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the New York State Youth Justice Institute. With over 30 years of progressive experience, Sean leverages his extensive expertise to foster equity, support, and safety for youth, particularly those who are under-resourced or from resilient communities. His proven ability to manage large-scale programs and collaborate across various sectors underscores his leadership and dedication to achieving positive social outcomes. Sean excels in positive youth development, family engagement, education, workforce development, and program governance.
 

Sean brings a wealth of experience in collaborating with local, county, state, and federal agencies, including community-based organizations, local education agencies, higher education, and postsecondary institutions. Before joining the Institute, Sean successfully administered multi-million-dollar grants and provided technical assistance, fiscal management, and program evaluation for the New York State Education Department. As the Associate in Intercultural Relations for the Office of Family and Community Engagement Services, he effectively managed programs such as the My Brother’s Keeper Challenge Grant, the Extended School Day School Violence Prevention Program, and the Liberty Partnerships Program.


Sean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Southern Vermont College in Bennington, VT, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Management from the Sage Graduate School.


Kathy Graubart

Kathy Graubart
Administrative Assistant
518-442-5596
[email protected]

Kathy Graubart is the NYS Youth Justice’s Administrative Assistant. Kathy assists our team in all administrative projects as well as event organizing. She works closely with the Director of Grants and Finance, making sure the YJI’s fiscal and logistical needs are met timely and efficiently.

Before joining the Institute, Kathy was the Administrative Assistant in the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center at the School of Criminal Justice. She has also worked in other State agencies including the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and the NYS Department of Civil Service.


Amy Secor

Amy Secor
Senior Technical Assistance and Training Specialist
518-442-5602
[email protected]

Amy Secor is a Senior Technical Assistance and Training Specialist at the New York State Youth Justice Institute. Amy has over 23 years of professional experience in human services, including 18 years of experience in the field of probation in both Alaska and New York State.  As a probation supervisor, she spearheaded several innovative projects that encompass restorative justice principles, evidenced-based practices, trauma-informed approaches, and team building for the purpose of strength-based youth and community driven systems change.  

She is passionate about science backed initiatives that not only prevent system involvement but enhance desistance for youth and young adults involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.  Amy received her Bachelor of Science degree from Utica College of Syracuse University.


La-Meik Taylor

La-Meik Taylor
Senior Technical Assistance and Training Specialist
[email protected]

La-Meik Taylor is a Senior Technical Assistance and Training Specialist at the Youth Justice Institute. In this role, he supports the development of the Institute's Technical assistance plan by creating and delivering training curricula, technical assistance materials, and other actionable resources. Prior to joining the YJI, La-Meik worked in various youth justice-related roles, including restorative justice peer support, mentoring, Alternatives to Violence, Kingian nonviolence, among others. His practice expertise is further strengthened by his lived experience as a systems-impacted person. La-Meik received his BA  in Social Studies from Bard College through the Bard Prison Initiative and is currently enrolled in Bard's MBA in Sustainability program.


Nicole Collazo

Nicole Collazo
Youth Empowerment Specialist
[email protected]

Originally from Harlem, NY, Nicole Collazo landed in the capital region to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice at Russell Sage College. Since obtaining her bachelor's degree, Nicole has been a part of multiple nonprofit organizations whose mission revolve around youth, their purpose, and their wellbeing—especially youth of color. Nicole Believes in amplifying the places she walks in, providing a space for others to be honest and vulnerable, and passing her wisdom on to the leaders of tomorrow. She will continue to center those values in her new role as YJI’s Youth Empowerment Specialist. 


Alysha Gagnon, YJI Fellow

Alysha May (née Gagnon), PhD
Project Manager
518-442-5643
[email protected]

Alysha May (she/her/hers) is the Project Manager for the NYS Youth Justice Institute. She has been involved in several research projects including literature reviews about electronic monitoring, and youth with sexual behavior problems, and process evaluations of prevention/intervention programs with the Institute. Her dissertation focused on the impacts of school-police partnerships, including their efficacy and collateral consequences. Her broader research interests include program evaluation, longitudinal research, and the intersection of child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She received her PhD and MA in Criminal Justice at the School of Criminal Justice at UAlbany and her BA in Criminal Justice at Iona University. 


Sasha Boroda, YJI Instructional Support Assistant

Meera Bhat
YJI Research Fellow
[email protected]

Meera Bhat (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Welfare at University at Albany, SUNY. She is interested in working on issues at the intersection of political and economic justice and learning from and supporting stakeholder-led initiatives. Her work has focused on issues of poverty, microfinance, entrepreneurship, and youth and women's reproductive health and participation. She received her MA in Social Entrepreneurship and BA in Social Work and Rural Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), India.  She has also served as a UNFPA Special Youth Fellow for the Asia-Pacific region. 


Subhajit Pal

Subhajit Pal
YJI Graduate Research Assistant
[email protected]

Subhajit Pal (he/him) is a PhD candidate at the Department of Anthropology at the University at Albany, SUNY. He received his MA in Global Studies from Ambedkar University Delhi and BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from Calcutta University, India. Subhajit’s research interests include infrastructures of tourism and its narratives. He primarily utilizes qualitative methods, and his recent work is around the political consequences of tourism narratives.


Photo of David King in a blue blazer and tie.

David Howard King
Assistant Director of Communications
[email protected]

David Howard King is the Assistant Communications Director for the New York State Youth Justice Institute. King spent over 15 years as a journalist reporting on criminal justice reform, youth justice, government corruption & transparency, housing, and the arts. King has written for The Daily Beast, The Times Union, Shelterforce, Popular Science, Decibel, Revolver, and the Manhattan-based Gotham Gazette, where he served as State Government Editor for 8 years.  

In 2012, he served as the New York State reporter for The State Integrity Investigation, a partnership between the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity, and Public Radio International that analyzed each state’s risk for corruption. In 2016, King founded The Alt Weekly and later The Collaborative Magazine with the backing of Proctor’s Theatre.  

Before joining the Institute, King served as Director of Communications and Chief Public Information Officer for the Offices of the New York State Inspector General.

King received his BA in English from the State University of New York at Albany. 

YJI Scholars: Current Cohort
YJI Scholars: Current Cohort

Interested in joining the YJI Team as a Scholar in our internship program? Please fill out this Google Form and send your Resume and Writing Sample to [email protected]. If you have any questions, please review our FAQs or email us at [email protected].

Hannah Desnick

 

Hannah Desnick
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

                                                                                                                             

Yookeong Park

Yookyeong Park
PhD Student
Division of Educational Psychology and Methodology

 

 

 

 

 

   

                                                                                                                           

Rafia Rahman

 

Rafia Rahman                                                                                            
Ph.D. Student
Department of Anthropology

 

 

 

 

Olivia Rainstorm-Page

 

 

 

Olivia Rainstorm-Page                                                                                BA/MA Student
School of Criminal Justice 

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                      

Jee Won Ryu

                                                                                                               

Jee Won Ryu                                                                                                 
Ph.D. Student 
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

YJI Scholars: Past Cohorts
YJI Scholars: Past Cohorts

 

 

Sanaa Woodley

 

Sanaa Woodley
BA Student
Department of Political Science/Department of Sociology

 

 

 

 

 

Nya Pemberton

Nya Pemberton
BA Student
Department of Psychology

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lex Halpin

Lex Halpin
BA Student
Department of Sociology

 

 

 

 

 

Kiera O'Brien

 

Kiera O'Brien
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

 

Isabelle Lopez

 

Isabelle Lopez
BA Student
Department of Sociology/Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

 

 

 

 

Erin Gardner, PhD Student

Alexis McQuade
BA Student
Department of Sociology/School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

 

Alexis Schnyer

 

Alexis Schnyer
BA Student
Department of Psychology/School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

Allegra Walker

 

Allegra Walker


BA Student
Department of English/Department of Africana, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies

 

 

 

Erin Gardner, PhD Student

 

 

Amanda Scarlata
BA Student
Department of Psychology/School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

Anabelle Lopez

 

 

Anabelle Lopez
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

 

Anna Grosse

 

 

Anna Grosse
BA Student
Art/Creative Writing


 

 

 

Ashley Hall

 

 

Ashley Hall
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

Briana Williams

 

 

Briana Williams
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Erin Gardner, PhD Student

 

 

Brianna Caetano
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

Caitlin Nolan

 

 

Caitlin Nolan
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

Casey Pav

 

 

Casey Pav
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

 

 

Christoph Cervantes

 

 

Christoph Cervantes
BA Student
Department of Sociology/Departments of Mathematics & Psychology

 

 

 

 

Connor Reohr, Student

 

 

Connor Reohr
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Emily

 

 

Emily Wilson
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Erin Gardner, PhD Student

 

 

Erin Gardner
PhD Student
School of Social Welfare

 



 

Gianna Fiorello, MS Student

 

 

Gianna Fiorello 
MA Graduate
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Gracie Badlia

 

 

Gracie Badlia
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Gianna Fiorello, MS Student

 

 

Holly Yauchler
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Jacob

 

 

Jacob Nielson
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Jeewon

 

 

Jee Won Ryu
BA/MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Jenny Mudd, MS Student

 

 

Jenny Mudd
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Jillian Cassidy

 

 

Jillian Cassidy
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Philosophy

 

 

 

Josh Baldwin

 

 

Josh Baldwin
BA Graduate
Department of Political Science

 

 

 

Justine Dicio

 

 

Justine Dicio 
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Justis Manchur

 

 

Justis Manchur
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Kalpita Dapkekar, MS Student

 

 

Kalpita Dapkekar
MS Student
Data Science

 

 

 

Jenny Mudd, MS Student

 

 

Kyla Zybczynski 
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Lara

 

 

Lara Thomas
BA/MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Jenny Mudd, MS Student

 

 

Lauren Russell
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Liza

 

 

Lisa Mendoza
MBA Student
Massry School of Business

 

 

 

Meghna

 

 

Meghna Tetambe
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Mei-Ella Vickers

 

 

Mei-Ella Vickers
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Michaela Webb

 

 

Michaela Webb
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Mohammed Ibrahim, MS Student

 

 

Mohammed Ibrahim
MS Student
Urban and Regional Planning

 

 

 

 

Morgan Magierski

 

 

Morgan Magierski
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Morgan Thomas, BA Student

 

 

Morgan Thomas
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Sociology

 

 

 

Nicholas Gonzalez

 

 

Nicholas Gonzalez
MA Graduate
Department of Political Science

 

 

 

Nick

 

 

Nick O'Rourke
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Nyasha

 

 

Nyasha Biggs
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Paul

 

 

Paul White
BA/MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Roz Sasa

 

 

Roz Sasa
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Samahria

 

 

Samahria Alpern
Urban Studies
Brown University

 

 

 

Mohammed Ibrahim, MS Student

 

 

Sara Regensburger
MA Student
Department of Anthropology

 

 

 

Mohammed Ibrahim, MS Student

 

 

Sasha Boroda
BA/MA Graduate
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Shaniah Roseborough, BA/MA Student

 

 

 

Shaniah Roseborough
BA/MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

Shelby Peck, MS Student

 

 

Shelby Peck
BA Graduate
Southern Methodist University

 

 

 

Jenny Mudd, MS Student

 

 

Sierra Siedsma
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Sofia Bank Student

 

 

Sofia Bank
BA Student
School of Criminal Justice/College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity

 

 

 

Nikhil

 

 

Sri Nikhil Surapaneni
MS Student
Data Science

 

 

 

Morgan Thomas, BA Student

 

 

Sujaya Balachandran
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Sydney Bryans, BA Student

 

 

Sydney Bryans
BA Student
Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Taylor Oathout, BA Student

 

 

Taylor Oathout
MA Student 
School of Criminal Justice

 

 

 

Tierney Nash, BA Honors Student

 

 

Tierney Nash
MPA Student
Public Administration

 

 

 

Zhuoning Wu

 

 

Zhuoning Wu
MA Student
School of Criminal Justice/Department of Psychology

 

 

 

Internship Opportunities
Internship Opportunities

Interested in joining the YJI Team as a Scholar in our internship program? Please fill out this Form and send your Resume and Writing Sample to [email protected]. If you have any questions, please review our FAQ or email us at [email protected].

YJI
Internship FAQ 2
Internship FAQ 3
Internship FAQ 4