Veronica “Ronni” Nelson is a fourth year PhD student. She received her B.A. in psychology and sociology with a concentration in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Tennessee. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted a content and discourse analysis of Blue Lives Matter Facebook posts through a critical race lens for her thesis. Before coming to Temple, she worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA on a My Brother’s Keeper literacy initiative in an effort to improve the reading proficiency of third grade boys of color in Knoxville, TN. During her time at Temple, she has worked on a number of research projects including a qualitative analysis of Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department focus group data with Dr. Belenko, an integrated data system initiative for youth gun violence prevention with Dr. Roman, and a study examining the role of mental health risk factors in predicting parolee performance within the community with Dr. Vilcica. She is also currently working with Dr. Wood and Dr. Belenko on a project exploring the impact of the JJ-TRIALS intervention on juvenile substance use treatment referrals. Ronni’s research interests include correctional policy, critical race theory, and criminal justice reform. Her current research is focused on visitation, particularly the use of video visitation in correctional facilities and its impact on the reentry and reintegration experience, as well as its potential role in perpetuating racial inequity and social disadvantage within the incarcerated population.

Faculty Advisor: Jamie Fader