Affiliate Members

Spencer G. Lawson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor within the Law & Psychiatry Program in the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) at UMass Chan Medical School. Dr. Lawson is also an affiliate member of the EJS Lab. He received a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Michigan State University. Dr. Lawson’s career mission is to manage and prevent behavioral health conditions among people across multiple points in the criminal justice system through implementation and deployment-focused research of data-driven risk screening and assessment and risk-need-responsivity approaches. He has used multiple research methodologies such as community-based participatory research approaches, systematic reviews, and observational studies that include integrating large data systems to conduct a number of sophisticated statistical strategies. Currently, Dr. Lawson is a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow and Principal Investigator on an early career award from the National Institute of Justice to work with the Massachusetts Department of Correction on assessing racial and ethnic disparities within their objective prison classification system. 

Carmen L. Diaz, M.S., is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Indiana University Bloomington. She earned a Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Public Safety from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University Indianapolis in 2019. As an affiliate member of the EJS Lab, Carmen has collaborated on research investigating the effects of pretrial risk assessments in practice and the long-term impact of probation revocations on future criminal justice involvement. Broadly, her research interests include issues related to race, ethnicity, and class in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on pretrial and prosecutorial decision making. Outside of the EJS lab Carmen is a co-investigator on an Arnold Ventures grant in which she works with Indiana prosecutors and the Monroe County Indiana Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to examine racial and ethnic disparities in prosecutorial decision-making. Her recent work has appeared in the Journal of Criminal Justice, the Journal of Experimental Criminology, Corrections, and Crime & Delinquency. 

Madeline (Maddie) McPherson is a lab affiliate by way of George Mason University's Department of Criminology, Law & Society. She currently serves as the Vice President for Research, Policy, & Innovation for Keystone Restituere Justice Center, a non-profit organization founded by former Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel. KRJC is geared toward providing accessible and translatable data-driven solutions to the field of criminal justice. Maddie is a volunteer in the EJS Lab, providing support across projects, where needed, and assisting with report and article preparation. Maddie has previously worked in public policy and legislative affairs for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Her research interests include corrections, reentry, criminal justice administration, and mechanisms for legal mercy. She has a dual Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Duquesne University and a Master of Science in Justice, Law & Criminology from American University. 

Ashley E. Rodriguez is a second-year criminology doctoral student at the Pennsylvania State University and an affiliate EJS Lab member. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University (GMU). Her research interests focus on judicial decision-making, courtroom workgroups, pretrial processing and outcomes, and disparities in the criminal-legal system. Previously as an EJS Lab member, Ashley assisted with projects on systemic racism in the criminal justice system, pretrial risk assessment validations, pretrial sanctions and incentives, and racial disparities in pretrial supervision. Outside of the EJS Lab, Ashley participated in a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of South Carolina where she studied disparities in virtual bond hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, GMU’s Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) funded Ashley’s study on risk perception and communication from the perspective of pretrial court actors. 

Rafi (he/him) graduated from Georgetown in 2023 with a BA in Psychology, with Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude honors. As an undergraduate student, Rafi's research interests grew to focus on the intersection between psychology and the legal system, and he authored an honors thesis on the use of videoconferencing for criminal pretrial hearings. In addition to his research interests, Georgetown fostered a love for teaching, and Rafi is spending the 2023-24 academic year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Berlin, Germany. Meanwhile, Rafi is assisting the Early Justice Strategies lab with its peer recovery services project. When he's not working, Rafi is thinking primarily about food—both cooking and eating it. Rafi has uncovered a haven for vegan fast food in Berlin, and most of his extra dollars are directed there. He also enjoys running and rock climbing, both of which reduce the stress of the masters applications he's submitting this year. He hopes to earn a masters in criminology and pursue a career in academia. If that doesn't work out, Rafi might fall back on his COVID hobby as a career: Rubik's speedcubing.