I was drawn to the Urban Institute to engage in public-facing research that informs criminal legal policies and practices. I believe people who have been directly affected by the carceral state hold important insights about how systems operate and can be reformed. Working at the Urban Institute allows me to prioritize community-engaged research methods that center the lived experiences of people under supervision and their families.
Breanna (Bree) Boppre is a senior research associate in the Justice and Safety Division at the Urban Institute. She leads mixed-methods studies funded by federal and philanthropic organizations evaluating programs and policies related to prevention and corrections. She specializes in community-engaged participatory methods to engage people affected by the criminal legal system, particularly youth, women, and families. Boppre also serves as a community researcher training and youth engagement specialist for Urban’s Community Engagement Resource Center.
Over her career, Boppre has authored more than 70 publications, including 22 peer-reviewed journal articles in outlets such as Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, and Criminal Justice and Behavior. She is a nationally recognized expert for her scholarship on women and families affected by the criminal legal system, earning distinctions such as the American Society of Criminology Division of Feminist Criminology New Scholar Awardee and Western Society of Criminology Meda Chesney-Lind Awardee. Boppre supports the translation of research to practice, having collaborated with numerous correctional agencies, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations through applied research, interactive workshops and trainings, and hands-on technical assistance.
Before joining Urban, Boppre worked in higher education as an award-winning faculty member in the nation’s first Department of Victim Studies at Sam Houston State University. She continues to teach criminology courses as an adjunct professor for Colorado State University’s Department of Sociology.
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