Jennifer Yang, Fellow

Jennifer Yang earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center, City University of New York. She holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in Criminology from Simon Fraser University. Her research centers on adverse childhood experiences, juvenile justice, and program evaluation, with a focus on applied, policy-relevant work. Prior to her current role, Jennifer served as a Senior Research Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice, where she led and contributed to research on postsecondary education in prison and initiatives to expand housing access for formerly incarcerated individuals. Jennifer is now an Applied Statistician at DLR Group, where she develops modeling and simulation frameworks that translate policy, demographic, and utilization assumptions into actionable insights for space, capacity, and workforce planning across sectors. She is also collaborating with Dr. Koetzle on a project evaluating residential community release programs in New Jersey.