Email: jed9632@nyu.edu
Program: PhD in Psychology and Social Intervention
Year entered Program: 2024
Research Interests: Gang Socialization, Community Violence Intervention, adolescent identity development
Principal Advisor(s): Dr. Erin Godfrey, Dr. Shabnam Javdani
Research Description/Bio:
Jarrell E. Daniels is a Ph.D. student in Psychology and Social Intervention in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt and a National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellow. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in African American Studies from Columbia University. His research examines the developmental trajectories of youth involved in street groups, framing gang affiliation as an adaptive response to chronic adversity, structural neglect, and systemic exclusion rather than individual pathology. Drawing on ecological systems theory and mixed-methods program evaluation, his current work centers on Project Restore, a community violence intervention for rival street-affiliated youth, and the Justice Ambassadors Youth Council, which he founded. He asks how familial, institutional, and structural forces shape identity formation, decision-making, and pathways into adulthood, aiming to translate this knowledge into evidence-based interventions and policy that advance youth wellbeing and community safety.