Deputy Director of Research
Elise White is the deputy director of research at the Center for Justice Innovation. Dr. White’s work focuses on qualitative research and ethnography with hard-to-reach populations, exploring their experiences with interpersonal, social, and historical trauma; the relationship of these to violence and the criminal justice system; and methods of resistance, resilience, and healing. Most recently, she has led participatory studies of sex trafficking and youth gun use, both focused on New York City. She is currently lead principal investigator of a five-city participatory action research study of the social and cultural contexts of youth gun use funded by the National Consortium on Gun Violence. Dr. White has worked on criminal justice reform and community organizing for the last 20 years. She is a member of the Center’s Institutional Review board. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.
