The Research Team
The international and interdisciplinary research team behind the Scandinavian Prison Project work to examine and document the nature and impact of the changes at SCI Chester.
Synøve N. Andersen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo and a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Public Policy at Drexel University. Synøve’s research focuses on several broad topics related to crime and justice, including the intended and unintended consequences of punishment, pathways to desistance and/or recidivism, correctional professionals, and comparative justice. Synøve is the co-PI of SPP.
Sarah Castro holds a MS Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, and works as a Survey Analyst at Mathematica Policy Research. Her research interests include race and implicit bias in the justice system; societal and psychological factors that motivate crime; policies that can be implemented to reduce crime; and reforming sentencing and prison conditions. On SPP, Sarah works on prison climate survey data collection and data entry, and serves as a project liaison visiting the Little Scandinavia unit at SCI Chester regularly.
Aaron Chalfin is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a research affiliate at the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab. Aaron’s research focuses on the costs and benefits of policing, the preferences of police officers, place-based crime prevention, and the determinants of crime victimization. He is also interested in the advancement of social science research methods. On SPP, Aaron primarily supports the statistical analyses of administrative and outcome data.
Steve Chanenson is a Professor of Law at Villanova University. He is also the Director of the Villanova Sentencing Workshop, a gubernatorially appointed member of Pennsylvania's Homicide Review Team, and the former Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. His work broadly concentrates on issues of sentencing and corrections. Steve’s work on SPP touches on a range of different topics related to the theoretical, legal, and policy-focused implications of the reforms at SCI Chester and beyond.
Emily Greberman is currently a doctoral student at Rutgers University - Newark. Using comparative justice as a foundation for prison reform, Emily's research explores how the dynamics between correctional staff and incarcerated individuals influence one another's carceral experience. On SPP, Emily contributes extensively to both data collection and analysis using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Veronica Horowitz is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Veronica studies American criminal punishment broadly with sub-foci on gender and mercy. Veronica manages the collection and analysis of qualitative data on SPP, which thus far has included hundreds of hours of interviews with correctional officers, leaders, and prison residents, along with ethnographic observations.
Jordan M. Hyatt is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies and the Director of the Center for Public Policy at Drexel University. His research focuses on correctional research and reform, with an emphasis on developing rigorous evidence to support meaningful policy change. Jordan is the co-PI of SPP.
Hannah Nario-Lopez, MA
Hannah Nario-Lopez is a Ph.D. student at the University at Buffalo, under the Fulbright scholarship, and an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of the Philippines - Diliman. Her latest research focuses on relational coping strategies between persons deprived of liberty and staff who share the context of material deprivation, emotional labor in penal facilities, and the potential and plausibility of rehabilitative prison culture in the Philippines. On SPP, Hannah’s work centers on the first-hand experiences of the people living and working on the Little Scandinavia unit, with a particular emphasis on staff.
Britte van Tiem, Ph.D.
Britte van Tiem received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on prison conditions and in-prison programming. Britte has previously managed a large-scale peer support program in prisons in the UK and Ireland and served as an independent monitor of two immigration removal centers. Britte now manages the SPP's survey research on prison climate and the administrative data collection over the course of the project.
Chris Uggen is Regents Professor and Martindale Chair in Sociology, Law, and Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He studies crime, law, and inequality, firm in the belief that sound research can help build a more just and peaceful world. Chris’ work on SPP covers a broad range of topics, with a particular focus on comparative analyses.
Kiah Walsh is a recent graduate from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminology and justice studies and minors in sociology and psychology. Kiah is interested in criminal justice reform with a specific focus on the intersection of law and public policy. On SPP, she is engaged in primary data collection and records management.
We also wish to thank the invaluable contributions of former RAs and other current and previous team members:
Javeria Akram, Gunilla B. Brandt, Anna DalCortivo, Sara DiPasquale, Halvor Ingvaldsen, Patrick Nolan, and Julia Schoonover.
Our Advisory Board
We are fortunate enough to receive both guidance, support and critical questions from a generous and insightful advisory board comprised of both practitioners, policy makers and academics from the United States, Scandinavia and beyond. The advisory board includes:
Mark Bergstrom
Bob Boruch
Anthony Braga
K. Brett Bucklen
TaLisa Carter
Nicolette Cawley
Ben Crewe
Nora Demleitner
Kenneth Eason
Kim Ekhaugen
Martin Gillå
Marayca Lopez
Richard Frase
Are Høidal
Erin Kerrison
Marirosa Lamas
Kristian Mjåland
Brenda Robinson
Claire Shubik-Richards
Don Specter
Louise Starfelt
Michael Tonry
Thomas Ugelvik
Leif Waage
The SPP Partners
We collaborate with outstanding partner organizations who share our unwavering commitment to transforming the correctional system, working together to create positive change and improve the lives of individuals within the criminal justice system.
Norwegian Correctional Service (Kriminalomsorgen)
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC)
Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården)
Danish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalforsorgen)
State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Chester
Connect with the project
Public engagement is invaluable in helping bring an awareness of Scandinavian principles of integrity, rehabilitation, and hope to the American correctional system. Together, we can reshape the narrative around incarceration, giving individuals the chance to rebuild their lives, contribute meaningfully, and realize their full potential while also supporting people who work in prison.