Staff

Andrew Krebs received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin (2020). Andrew’s research interests include the structural connections between criminal justice and mental health systems. His dissertation research explored the occupational role and experience of mental health professionals working in various justice-oriented settings (e.g. pre-arrest diversion, corrections, and re-entry). Prior to receiving his PhD, Andrew graduated with a MA in Sociology from DePaul University (2012) and a BA in Sociology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2010). He is also a proud graduate of Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, OH.

Ashleigh is a PhD candidate at Michigan State University. She previously received her MS in criminal justice from UNC Charlotte (2016), her MEd in mental health counseling from Winthrop University (2015), and her BA in justice and law from American University (2013). Her primary research interests include the impact and experience of higher education in prison, prison programming, and individuals’ experiences with incarceration and reentry. Her work can be found in Criminology & Public Policy, Crime & Delinquency, and Justice Evaluation Journal.

Chris D'Amato is a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice. He has worked with UCCI for over five years and is currently a research associate with the institute. Chris’ research focuses on examining the validity and reliability of criminogenic risk assessments, the effects of criminal justice involvement on various life outcomes, effective correctional policy, and criminal sentencing. His professional goals center around using research to help the correctional field continue to make advancements around the treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration of justice-involved individuals. Chris previously graduated with a MS in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati (2017) and a BS in criminal justice from Xavier University (2016). 

Eric Willoughby received his M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2008.  He currently serves as a Junior Research Associate for the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute.  Eric has over eight years of clinical experience while working at River City Correctional Center (RCCC) in Hamilton County, Ohio.  During his tenure at RCCC, Eric provided several treatment services while working individually with inmates applying the Principles of Effective Intervention through individual sessions and group facilitation.  Eric has years of experience facilitating various treatment groups which includes Thinking for a Change and Cognitive Behavioral Interventions in Substance Abuse.  In his last two years at RCCC, Eric served as the Quality Assurance Coordinator and completed multiple audits through group and individual session observations and file reviews ensuring the staff upheld various ACA and ODRC standards.  Eric also served as RCCC’s liaison to the Sex Offender program, a PREA SART team member and as the lead training coordinator for the entire facility.

Jaime Bonecutter is a Junior Research Associate with UCCI. She earned a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2017 from UC after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from UC in 1999. She has worked in the field of Corrections for over 21 years. At UCCI, she is a trainer in the ORAS, OYAS, LS/CMI and the YLS/CMI risk assessments, various Cognitive Behavioral Interventions curricula, and the Correctional Program Checklist. During her time at UC, she has assisted with the development of the CBI-IFR and CBI-IPV curricula and has served as a project manager.

Jennifer joined the staff of the Corrections Institute (UCCI) in July of 2012.  As Program Director, she leads daily operating functions of UCCI business, oversees communication and marketing initiatives, and supports collaboration opportunities with criminal and juvenile justice agencies at local, state and national levels. In addition to serving as Principle Investigator on training grants, Jennifer serves as UCCI liasion to the University’s Office of Innovation, the UC Research Institute (UCRI) and all product automation partnerships with the Information Technology Solution Center (ITSC) in UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH).

Lauren Kenney is a Research Associate with the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute (UCCI), joining the team in March of 2022. Lauren holds a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree in Criminal Justice and Public Safety from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Prior to joining UCCI, Lauren worked for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, overseeing case management practices at the five prisons in Wyoming. Lauren is especially passionate about risk assessments (particularly in the realms of continuous quality improvement and agency implementation), Motivational Interviewing, and program integrity and fidelity.

Maggie Schweitzer has been working for UCCI since 2014.  First as a contract employee in the role of Training Coordinator for 3 years before becoming a staff member in January, 2017 as a Program Manager.  In 2019, Maggie transitioned into her current role as Business Manager.  Maggie now handles the financial aspects of the Corrections Institute, mainly by helping to create and manage the budgets on all of our projects.  As part of a special project, she served as the Project Manager on our Criminogenic Need and Violent Behavior Program curriculum development project for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO). Maggie earned her Bachelors of Business in Supply Chain Management from Miami University and, prior to working at UCCI, worked as a Material Coordinator in the automotive manufacturing industry.

Myrinda Schweitzer Smith received her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and is a Sr. Research Associate and Deputy Director at the Corrections Institute in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Schweitzer's research interests include the assessment of correctional programs, the science of implementation and knowledge transfer, and more generally correctional treatment and rehabilitation. She has co-authored several publications, presented nationally and internationally on correctional interventions, and served as a project director for over 200 correctional projects. Specific topics of research and service include a state-wide correctional treatment program evaluation, the development and implementation of cognitive-behavioral programs for general delinquency, criminality, substance abuse, employment, and sexual offending, as well as recent initiatives to implement effective practices for community supervision and support.

Natasha is a post doc fellow at UCCI. Her research interests include desistence from crime, reentry and rehabilitation of justice involved individuals, and cross-cultural application of criminal justice research. She is focused on using data driven solutions to support agencies and practitioners in efforts to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement. She is interested in working with agencies to design and evaluate correctional interventions, practices, and policies. By doing so, she hopes to contribute to the development of a more effective, equitable and humane criminal justice system. She is currently working on an evaluation study to test the effectiveness of a CBI curriculum for reentry. Natasha earned a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University. Her research has been published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence and Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology.  

Stephanie Spiegel earned her Ph.D. degree from the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. She has research experience in program implementation and evaluation, evidence-based practices in corrections, qualitative analyses, and disproportionate minority contact (DMC). She currently manages the Targeted RECLAIM (TR) project, one of Ohio’s key initiatives to reduce youth recidivism and custodial placement, funded by the Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS). As part of this effort, she provides on-going training, coaching, and implementation support to community agencies across the state.  This technical assistance has been especially critical since many corrections professionals continue to experience considerable challenges related to “how to make it work” in their agencies. In addition to her work on TR, Stephanie is working on the Criminogenic Need and Violent Behavior Program curriculum. The goal of this curriculum is to support the Criminal Law Committee and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) efforts to utilize evidence-based practices in the supervision of federal offenders in order to produce the greatest reduction in recidivism.

Tammy Dean is the Practice and Implementation Coordinator and a Research Associate with the University of Cincinnati’s Corrections Institute. Mrs. Dean has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell and has worked in the field of corrections since 2006.