Biography
Jesse is a PhD candidate in Sociology in Tulane’s City, Culture, and Community program. Her research focuses on the intersections between labor and education and she is currently working on a project about the impact and privatization of teachers’ unions in the South. In addition, Jesse is a founding member of Ubuntu Village, a non-profit organization that works with young people impacted by the juvenile justice system and their families, and a core organizer of Nola to Angola, a fundraising bike ride collective that raises money for Louisiana families to visit their incarcerated loved ones. Jesse holds a Masters in Teaching from Fordham University and a BA in Anthropology from Barnard College.
Research
This research project was designed to gain the perspectives of parents, families, and other stakeholders on the state of juvenile justice in New Orleans. The research was conducted using a participatory model in collaboration with the community organization Ubuntu Village. I worked with staff members of Ubuntu Village to recruit and train parents of court-involved youth in qualitative research methods and then we co-developed our specific research agenda with those parents. We developed and administered a survey to 71 family members waiting in the juvenile courthouse and then compiled and analyzed the results. Next, we conducted focus groups with 19 of those parents. Finally, we convened a nine-member parent research team to help us analyze the both the survey results and the focus group transcripts. These parents received a quick primer on the nature of quantitative and qualitative research and were encouraged to also share their own perspectives and experiences. Together, Ubuntu Village staff and our parent researchers designed and wrote report titled Families Fighting for Youth Justice.
The report distills the core issues currently facing the Orleans Parish Juvenile Courts and also includes our recommendations for improvement, presented as four potential solutions. We are hosting a press conference and report release in mid-February to publicize the report and pressure policymakers to adopt our recommendations. We hope to now develop a new research agenda with our parent team and continue to promote research conducted by and for those most impacted by the juvenile justice system.
