Elise White

Elise White is the deputy research director focusing on justice issues related to youth, human trafficking, and alternatives to incarceration. She is currently the principal investigator on the second phase of the Misdemeanor Assessment Project, a federally-funded, multi-site, multi-phase study of risks, needs, and targeted interventions across misdemeanor populations. She is also co-principal investigator on a federally-funded study of the characteristics, needs, and trafficking rates of people who exchange sex for money in New York City, and a senior researcher on a comprehensive study examining the impacts of school safety and positive climate and culture in New York City public schools on a range of school safety outcomes. Prior to this position, she served as deputy director at the Midtown Community Court, where she directed the court’s clinical operations, as well as its research and strategic planning projects; and as the director of youth and community justice at the Red Hook Community Justice Center, where she oversaw court, clinical, and program operations for youth 21 and under, planning projects and new initiatives for young people and the community at large. She holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. She teaches at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.