The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful change to Minnesota’s criminal legal system through rigorous and community-centered research, education, and policy development.
We seek a criminal legal system that promotes public safety by being more equitable, accountable, and restorative in delivering justice.
Our organization is made up of individuals with a diverse range of expertise and experience with the criminal legal system including scholars, practitioners, students, survivors, and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Who We Are
MNJRC Staff
Justin Terrell
Executive Director
Community leader with a record of executing successful issue campaigns and is an expert in Criminal Justice and Democracy reform. Justin leads MNJRC’s efforts to build a balanced and rigorous research program aimed at equipping Minnesotans with information and tools needed to transform the punitive criminal legal system.
Will Cooley
Policy Director
Experienced researcher and policy advocate on issues of probation and parole, violence prevention, and policing strategies. Will serves as the lead for MNJRC’s “Re-Imagining Community Supervision in Minnesota” project. Will can be reached at will@mnjrc.org
Dr. Katie Remington Cunningham (She/Hers)
Research Director
Community-based researcher whose work spans the criminal legal system, youth development, and education. Katie leads MNJRC’s efforts to engage in participatory and collaborative community-led research. Katie can be reached at katie@mnjrc.org
Mabel Malhotra (She/Hers)
Communications Manager
Communications specialist, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and multimedia storyteller from Washington, DC. With a dual degree in Communication Arts (Radio/TV/Film) and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she is curious about social behaviors, human rights and flourishing, and narrative change as a tool for transforming our criminal legal system and beyond. Mabel can be reached at mabel@mnjrc.org.
Jana Kooren (She/Hers)
Associate Director
Experienced leader with a deep background in nonprofit management who has dedicated her 20-year career to advancing social justice causes, including criminal justice, democracy, abortion access, and immigrant rights. Jana graduated with a dual Social Justice and French degree from Hamline University. She most recently worked at Minnesota Freedom Fund, and before that, was with the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. She currently serves on the Board at ACER (African Career Education & Resource, Inc.
Contractors and Consultants
Our growing team of Leads, Assistants, and Consultants are on-the-ground designing evaluations, connecting with community members, analyzing data, advocating for policy change, and contributing to the creation of educational tools to sustain the transformative work long-term.
Zeke Caligiuri
Community Engagement Manager
Writer and organizer from South Minneapolis. He authored This is Where I Am (UMN Press, 2016), and contributed to several volumes on the school-to-prison pipeline. Zeke co-founded The Stillwater Writer’s Collective, the first all prisoner-created, all prisoner-run writer’s collective in the country. He is committed to the empowerment and re-humanization of currently and formerly incarcerated human beings. Zeke can be reached at zeke@mnjrc.org
Kayla Richards (she/hers), Oglala Lakota
"Just Lead" Leadership Fellowship Coordinator
Social Worker & PhD Student at U of M-Twin Cities, Social Work. Her research interests include the youth criminal legal system as a tool of social control, community and advocacy, workplace culture, and intergroup dynamics.
Dr. Sharhonda York Chea (she/her)
Research Assistant - Fines and Fees
Sociologist, corrections professional, and founder of OurFathersOurSons LLC, where she leads data-driven research and consulting focused on improving outcomes within the criminal justice system. With over a decade of experience in community corrections in Ramsey County, Dr. Chea brings deep practitioner insight into her work, specializing in reentry, family structure, and recidivism.
Janett Casillas (she/her)
Research Manager - Clean Slate, Confidential Informants, Fines and Fees
Graduate of Macalester College with a major in Geography and a minor in Anthropology, and will pursue a Master of Public Policy at the Humphrey School with a concentration in Advanced Policy Analysis. She has built a career in applied qualitative research and community-driven work, grounded in the belief that people are the best experts of their own lived experiences.
Alejandro Caceres-Aranda
Policy Assistant
Public policy specialist, 2nd year graduate student from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Alejandro supports MNJRC’s policy initiatives and research. Having 3 years of experience working with various nonprofit organizations, state agencies and one lobbying firm. Alejandro’s passions in policy include criminal justice reform advocacy and the collaboration of community led research with local and state governments via the state legislature.
Anna Hall (she/her)
Project Manager and Research Co-Lead - Pretrial Best Practices
Criminal defense attorney and researcher committed to building a legal system that is equitable and just and honors the dignity of all people. She leads MNJRC's Pretrial Best Practices project.
Dr. Ryan Larson (he/him)
Research Consultant - Pretrial Best Practices
Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Hamline University. His research examines the intersections of punishment, crime, and inequality, with a focus on quantitative methodologies and causal inference.
Interns
Andrew Fair (he/him)
Research Intern
Student worker with TREC and the REBUILD Initiative, as well as the
Sunshine Lady Foundation. While pursuing his graduate degree in Advocacy and
Political Leadership at Metro State University, Andrew centers his work on restorative
justice and community healing. He is dedicated to supporting justice-impacted
individuals, empowering incarcerated fathers, and strengthening family bonds to drive
meaningful prison reform and community growth.
Shannon Halen (she/her/hers)
Research Intern
Graduate student at the University of St. Thomas studying counseling psychology. She has a background in leading workshops in jail settings.
Andrew Lieberman (he/him)
Research Intern
Graduate student at Metro State University studying Advocacy and Political Leadership. Andrew is also a Sunshine Lady Foundation Fellow as well as a TREC student worker supporting Metro State in their goal to provide higher education to justice impacted individuals. Andrew is dedicated to bringing about real change in Minnesota’s criminal justice system. His focus is on equity within sentencing and community supervision.
Ryann Randale (they/she)
Summer Research Intern
Student at Macalester College studying Sociology with concentrations in Legal Studies, African Studies, and Global Indigenous Studies. Ryann is passionate about social justice for marginalized communities.
Avery Melton-Meaux (they/them)
Research Intern - Survivors of Sexual Violence Engagement Project
Student at Washington University in St. Louis studying English with a Creative Writing focus and Drama. Avery is passionate about telling the untold story of minority groups through creative writing, playwriting, and acting.
Our Research Steering Committee
The Research Steering Committee (RSC) is a group of researchers who advise on, support, and engage with our work. We are fortunate to have research scientists across varying fields from legal researchers, sociologists/criminologists, other social science researchers, and experts in community-based research working in collaboration with our team.
Dr. Christopher Uggen
Research Steering Committee
Regents Professor, Martindale Chair, and Distinguished McKnight Professor in Sociology, Law, and Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Studies crime, law, and inequality from a life course perspective, firm in the belief that sound research can help build a more just and peaceful world.
Dr. Michelle Phelps (She/Her)
Research Steering Committee
Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the U of MN. Her research is in the sociology of punishment, focusing on the punitive turn in the U.S with primary lines of ongoing research on mass probation, criminal justice transformation, and policing.
Dr. Ebony Ruhland (She/Her)
Research Steering Committee
Associate Professor of Criminology at Rutgers University Newark, School of Criminal Justice. Formerly the research director at the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice - U of MN Law School. She researches how criminal justice policies and practices impact individuals, families, and communities.
Dr. Robert Stewart (He/Him)
Research Steering Committee
Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. He studies the social, political, and collateral consequences of criminal legal involvement and the accumulating effects of criminal records on impacted people and communities.
Dr. Joshua Page (He/Him)
Research Steering Committee
Fink Professor of Liberal Arts at the U of MN, where he serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Faculty Affiliate in the Law School. He is currently focusing his studies on the bail bond industry.
Dr. Yohuru Williams
Research Steering Committee
Distinguished University Chair, Professor of History, and Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the U of St. Thomas
MNJRC Alumni
Our alumni have contributed to MNJRC’s research, education, and policy efforts in meaningful ways, from supporting studies and analyzing data to pushing for policy change and uplifting community education. See where they are now!
Sharin Park (she/her/hers)
Senior Director of Alumni & Public Policy at Jeremiah Program, where she leads initiatives that elevate alumni voices and advance policy efforts impacting single-moms and their families. Sharin will earn her PhD from the University of Minnesota in Spring 2027, with a dissertation focused on the experiences of BIPOC pregnant and parenting youth in high school settings.
Christopher E. Robertson
PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Minnesota. Chris's dissertation explores how racially restrictive covenants shape policing and neighborhood health in Minneapolis. In summer 2025, he will join RAND as a Summer Associate, studying gun violence and community well-being.
Marci Exsted
Research Coordinator for the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement and an Adjunct Professor for the Social Work program at St. Mary's University. Marci engages in applied, mixed-methods research projects across settings like early childhood care/education, mental/behavioral health services, and secondary education. She also serves as a Tri-Chair for the Pretrial Justice Council, focusing on pretrial success in Ramsey County.
Amy Dorman
Research Director for the Office of Justice Programs at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, overseeing research, evaluation, and the Statistical Analysis Center. Amy will earn her PhD from the University of Minnesota in May 2025, with a dissertation analyzing 35 years of intimate partner homicide discourse.
Caity Curry (They/Them)
Assistant Professor of Criminology at Hamline University, focusing on criminal court processes, indigent defense, and exacerbated racial/class inequities in the criminal legal system. Dr. Caity Curry's current research explores the role of public defense lawyers in criminal justice reform and transformation in the Southern U.S. They also collaborate with Minnesota organizations working to dismantle mass criminalization and support impacted communities.
Brieanna Watters
PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Minnesota, defending her dissertation in spring 2025. Brieanna researches rural and Indigenous justice systems, policing, and governance. She recently partnered with Alaska Legal Services Corporation on the CIVIC project, studying Community Justice Workers' role in access to justice.
