Email: jed9632@nyu.edu
Program: PhD in Psychology and Social Intervention
Year entered Program: 2024
Research Interests: Adolescent criminal legal system contact, identity and social exclusion, youth violence prevention, resource scarcity
Principal Advisor(s): Dr. Erin Godfrey, Dr. Shabnam Javdani
Research Description/Bio:
Jarrell E. Daniels is a Doctoral student and National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow in Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. His research examines the social conditions driving youth violence, gang involvement, and adolescent criminal legal system contact. He explores how race, violence exposure, and resource scarcity shape identity and group belonging, aiming to uncover pathways that reduce legal system involvement. His current project is a multi-stage evaluation of the Project Restore gang intervention, which aims to disrupt cycles of violence and incarceration while investing in positive pathways out of street networks.
Prior to pursuing his PhD, Jarrell served as Project Director at Columbia University’s Center for Justice. He is the visionary Founder of the Justice Ambassadors Youth Council, a 12-week civic seminar that brings emerging adults, 18-25-year-olds from New York City’s most underserved neighborhoods, together with government officials to co-develop policy solutions. Jarrell’s journey from incarceration to academia is underscored by his TED Talk and commitment to driving community change. While incarcerated, his transformative path began when he enrolled in his first college course, Inside Criminal Justice, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and African American Studies from Columbia’s School of General Studies.