Rachel Stephenson Email & Phone Number

Washington D.C. Metro Area

I currently serve as the Project Director for the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice's (NIJ) CrimeSolutions Intervention Assessment and Content Development Services contract. I helped to win the initial CrimeSolutions contract (for $5M over 5 years); re-competed and won the same contract 2 more times.CrimeSolutions encompasses over 740 evidence-based programs & practices in corrections, courts, crime prevention, drugs, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and victims' services. In this role, I provide strategic direction to CrimeSolutions project decisions while overseeing the work of all current project staff, which includes 5 Senior Researchers, 3 Senior Research Analysts, 5 Research Assistants, 2 Editors, and 40+ Expert Reviewers.My work involves identifying and conducting research program evaluations and meta-analyses to determine if they qualify for program or practice review. Furthermore, I synthesize data from reviewed studies and meta-analyses to create and upload program & practice profiles to the CrimeSolutions.gov live site. In addition, I manage program nominations and public information requests while working with IT staff to create and maintain an internal Program & Practice Database to store all information on studies found through the ongoing literature review. Throughout this project, I developed research protocols, criteria, standards, and content for the site. I have been in charge of CrimeSolutions projects through three administrative changes involving flexibility and constant changes concerning topic focus.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Model Programs Guide (MPG) is a resource for assessing evidence-based juvenile justice & youth prevention, intervention, delinquency prevention, child protection, and reentry programs. I serve as the Project Director for the DOJ, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide. As the Project Director, I manage all significant project activities, including recommending subjects for literature studies and implementation guides. I also lead all project staff and workflow, including coordination with internal Senior Researchers and offsite Study Reviewers. Moreover, I supervise the work of Research Associates and delegate staff assignments to ensure adherence to projects' timelines and metrics. I also develop literature reviews on juvenile justice topics for publication on the Model Programs Guide live site. Lastly, I manage consultant subject matter experts' internal and external assessment of Model Programs Guide products.Model Programs Guide encompasses over 430 evidence-based programs & practices in juvenile justice In this role, I provide strategic direction to MPG project decisions while overseeing the work of all current project staff, which includes 2 Senior Researchers, 5 Research Assistants, and 15+ Expert Reviewers.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

As the Social Media Coordinator for Development Services Group, I am responsible for posts to DSG's social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), which highlight company gatherings, critical research in our fields of study, and the great work of our employees. I also developed guidelines and policies for social media posts.

I maintain and update (as needed) the IRB organization (IORG) registration through the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections. Additionally, I facilitate policy compliance by supervising government- and privately-funded research reviews to promote compliance with ethical, regulatory, legal, and institutional guidelines.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

I served as a safe harbor legislation research analyst for the OJJDP Field Initiated Research and Evaluation (FIRE) program in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In this position, I developed a successful proposal employing a mixed-method approach, including quantitative and qualitative studies, to evaluate the effect of the safe harbor legislation on protecting juvenile victims of commercial sexual exploitation. In addition, I located state-level safe harbor statutes and related sex trafficking legislation. I also analyzed state laws and policies about sex trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children and assisted in the legal coding of legislation passed by various states.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

As an Assistant researcher for the OJJDP FIRE project on disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system, I identified research that explored DMC or race-related inequalities in the juvenile justice system. Furthermore, I coded more than 120 articles into a customized matrix for inclusion in the annotated bibliography and drafted the annotated bibliography.I also contributed to the creation, revision, and completion of the annotated bibliography (unpublished final report). I also interviewed experts in jurisdictions that have effectively decreased DMC for a case study. Lastly, I assisted in the preparation of an article on racial inequalities in referrals to mental health and drug misuse services within the juvenile justice system (published article using data from the project).

I served as a Research Assistant for the statewide evaluation of disproportionate minority engagement in the Juvenile Justice system of Virginia. The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) of the Commonwealth of Virginia financed the study. In this role, I assisted with in-person interviews of juvenile justice staff personnel in Richmond, Norfolk, and Fairfax County. I then compiled and arranged quantitative and qualitative information for the DCJS final report and participated in training sessions with juvenile justice personnel in Richmond and Norfolk to discuss the final report's findings.

College Park, Maryland

I was a Research Assistant for a full-time professor at the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department. I provided administrative and academic support to a full-time professor in this role. I also proctored examinations, coached undergraduate students, edited manuscripts, and researched academic publications. I also transcribed interviews of juveniles for the longitudinal Research on Pathways to Desistance Study (RPDS), which entailed working with sensitive and confidential interview material.

Alexandria, Va

As the Principal Investigator for Leadership in Police Organization Program Evaluation (LPO), I developed research methodology (quantitative and qualitative survey methods) to examine the effects of the LPO training program on law enforcement leadership skills.Moreover, I designed survey questions for an online survey administered to more than 400 former program participants. I also collected and analyzed responses from more than 300 questionnaires while organizing and observing focus groups of 10–40 past program participants (conducted in Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; and Athens, GA). Additionally, I examined information and responses shared during the focus groups and produced an internal, final report of findings entitled "Leadership in Police Organization (LPO) Program Evaluation," presented to the IACP Board of Directors.

Sheridan, Wyoming

I served for a year as the Parent Education Program Coordinator for Wyoming Children's Access Network (WyCAN) via the National Corporation for Community Service, Americorps*VISTA Program. Additionally, I oversaw the administration of the "Parent Education for the Bi-Nuclear Family" program. I supervised 10-12 volunteer program facilitators, accounted for the program's funds, arranged weekly course attendance, developed course materials, obtained classroom facilities, revised the course instruction booklet, and updated the manual for future program coordinators. I also organized three pieces of training for parent education facilitators, doubling the number of volunteer facilitators and expanding lessons to three other Wyoming towns.

Ma, Criminology And Criminal Justice

Activities and Societies: Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society, Criminal Justice Honor Society, PROMISE: Maryland's Alliance for Graduate.

Ba, Political Science, Criminal Justice

Activities and Societies: Epsilon Sigma Alpha International Service Sorority, Health Outreach Peer Educators (HOPES), Voices for Choices.

International Politics, International Organizations, Shakespeare

Activities and Societies: Model European Union (role as Prime Minister representing the United Kingdom).Studied a semester abroad.