Bio

JANICE A. IWAMA is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology from Northeastern University. Her research primarily focuses on examining local conditions and social processes that influence hate crimes and racial profiling, particularly against Latino and immigrant populations. Dr. Iwama is currently serving as a Co-Principal Investigator on the 2014 Massachusetts Gun Violence Reduction Act assessment study funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to examine the impact of the new gun legislation across the state. She has previously served as a Co-PI or lead researcher in projects on hate crimes and racial profiling funded by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Unit, the National Institute of Justice, and state agencies. Janice was recipient of the 2014 American Society of Criminology Ruth D. Peterson Fellowship and 2014 Outstanding Student Award from the ASC’s Division of People of Color and Crime. Janice’s SRI paper is entitled “The Role of Community Context in Racially Motivated Hate Crimes.”  SRI Mentor: Eric Stewart (Florida State University); SRI Reviewer: Ryken Grattet (University of California, Davis); SRI Peer Mentor: Toya Like (University of Missouri-Kansas City).