Kaitlyn Foust

Kaitlyn is from Denver, Colorado. She is a first year graduate student in Criminal Justice and Criminology at Loyola University. In May 2020, she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology and Criminal Justice & Criminology from Loyola University. Kaitlyn has been working at the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice since October 2019. Her research interests include probation programming, reintegration, and recidivism. Kaitlyn is looking forward to a career that combines her interests in psychology and criminal justice.

 

Cynthia Guzman

Cynthia is from Joliet, Illinois. She is a first-year graduate student in Loyola’s MA Program in Criminal Justice and Criminology. She earned her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Spring of 2019 at Saint Xavier University. Cynthia began working in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in January of 2020. Cynthia’s research interests include juveniles, police misconduct, and probation. In the future, Cynthia would like to pursue a career in Chicago working with the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department.

 

Sophia Juarez

Sophia is from Chicago, Illinois. She earned her bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology and Psychology from Loyola University in Spring of 2019 and her Masters in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Loyola University in Spring of 2020. Sophia began working in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in January 2020. Her research interests include the disproportionate impact of criminal justice system involvement, particularly wrongful conviction and gun crimes have on minority individuals and communities. Sophia is now a Case Manager for the Adult Criminal Justice System (ACJS) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC). She continues her research regarding wrongful convictions of Hispanic individuals.

 

Holly Michalak

Holly is from Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. She worked for the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice from January 2019 to December 2019, when she graduated from Loyola's Applied Statistics Master of Science program. While at the Center, she did research on recidivism and firearm offenses and worked to clean data for other projects. Holly currently works for Allstate as a business analytics consultant. She plans to continue working in analytics, data science, and on projects with the Center.

 

Caroline McCabe

Carly is originally from Barrington, Rhode Island, and moved to Chicago to serve in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) after graduating from college. As an undergraduate, she attended the College of the Holy Cross, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History and Peace and Conflict Studies. After completing JVC and spending several years doing case management with folks exiting prison and experiencing homelessness, she returned to Loyola University Chicago to work toward a master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice. While in graduate school, Carly worked in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice as a research assistant (2017-2019). Currently, Carly is a Research Analyst for the Cook County Adult Probation Department, where she has the opportunity to conduct research and program evaluations of Cook County’s pretrial processes and probation programs. She is passionate about evidence-based criminal and pretrial justice reform, and is particularly interested in community-based alternatives to incarceration, oversight and accountability mechanisms for justice system agencies, transformative justice, decarceration, and efforts to minimize the reach and power of the carceral state.

 

Letitia Monreal

Leti is from Houston, Texas. She graduated from Loyola's Graduate Program in Criminal Justice and Criminology in Fall 2020. She finished her undergraduate degree in Justice Studies from Northeastern Illinois University where she graduated with honors. Leti began working in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice in September of 2019. Leti's research interests include recidivism and juvenile justice. She is now a Research Analyst in the Adult Probation Department for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Lake County, Illinois. 

 

Isabella Munro

Isabella is from Yarmouth, Maine. She is a second-year graduate student in Loyola's MA program in Criminal Justice and Criminology. She received a BS in Biology and Psychology from Loyola University Maryland in the Spring of 2019. Isabella began working as a research assistant for Dr. Maribeth Rezey in the Fall of 2020 and recently joined the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in May of 2020. Isabella's research interests include victimization trends, child maltreatment, and the relationship between biology and crime. In the future, Isabella would like to pursue a career in investigations working specifically with special victims wherever that might take her.

 

Henry Douglas Otto

H. Douglas Otto was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio before attending Loyola University Chicago, where he earned a bachelor's degree (2017) and master's degree (2018) in Criminal Justice & Criminology. During this time, Otto also worked as a research assistant for the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice. He is currently a research analyst at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, and his research interests include community corrections and rural criminology. 

 

Vinnie Palazetti

Vinnie is from Flint, Michigan. He is a graduate student in Loyola’s Applied Statistics MS Program. He finished his Bachelor’s of Science from Ball State University in the Fall of 2017. Vinnie began working in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in March of 2020. Vinnie’s interests include data engineering, feature creation, and model optimization. In the future, Vinnie would like to have a career as a statistician in the public sector—specifically the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Energy, or Bureau of International Labor Affairs.

 

Avery Pankratz

Avery is from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee. She is a graduate student in Loyola’s Five-Year BS/MA Program in Criminal Justice and Criminology. She graduated magna cum laude with undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and Criminology and Psychology in the spring of 2020. Avery began working in the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in January of 2019. Avery’s research interests include recidivism, bail, and reintegration. In the future, Avery plans to pursue a career in criminal justice research that will allow her to continue to live and work in Chicago. 

 

Sophia Rana

Sophia is from Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Loyola’s Five-Year BS/MA Criminal Justice and Criminology Program in Spring of 2020 after finishing her undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Computer Science, and Computer Forensics in the Spring of 2019. Sophia began a research assistantship at the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice in September of 2019. Her research interests include cybercrime, organized crime, and restorative justice reform. In the future, Sophia would like to work with the intelligence community and analyze international crime relations.

 

Lauren Weisner

Lauren is from Woodridge, Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI (2015) and a Master of Arts from Loyola University Chicago in Criminal Justice and Criminology (2018). Ms. Weisner worked as a research assistant for the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice from June 2018 to December 2018. She currently works as a Research Analyst in the Center for Violence Prevention and Intervention Research at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA). She also serves as ICJIA’s Institutional Review Board manager. Ms. Weisner has written several publications, including a study on Illinois police department use of Naloxone, probation department drug testing practices in Illinois, and several literature reviews related to Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) funding priorities. Her research interests include the intersection between criminal justice and public health, criminal justice policy, and program evaluation.