The Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison at the University of Utah works in collaboration with programs across the country to transform the landscape of prison higher education empirical research and collaboration. Connect with our team: researchcollaborativeHEP@utah.edu.
Research Collaborative Team:
Erin L. Castro, PhD: is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Associate Dean of College Access. She directs the Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison and serves as Co-Founding Executive Editor of the Journal of Higher Education in Prison.
Pamela Cappas-Toro, PhD: works in Higher Education in Prison, concurrently serving as a faculty member in the World Languages and Cultures Department. Dr. Cappas-Toro has worked in higher education across the U.S. promoting institutional practices, policies, and programming to best serve incarcerated, first-generation, and eHSI learners.
Cassie Knaff: is a Senior Research Associate for the Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison and a PhD student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin. She has 5 years of experience conducting research in nonprofit and higher education.
Lena Kondrashova: is a Research Manager for the Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison with a background in community partnership and social sciences. She managed project logistics providing leadership and operations support in advancement of educational equity.
Cydney Caradonna: is a PhD student at the University of Utah in the Educational Leadership and Policy department. She currently works as a graduate research assistant for the Research Collaborative, and supports the Journal of Higher Education in Prison.
Emily Kersten-Warneke: is a PhD student at the University of Utah in the Educational Leadership and Policy department. She currently works as a graduate research assistant for the Research Collaborative.
