Lydia is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Award, which provides three years of funding to pursue independent doctoral research. Lydia’s research interests include causal analyses of criminal court phenomena using judicial leniency instrumental variables methods. She previously worked as a policy analyst for the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy and has collaborated with several prosecutors' offices on projects related to racial disparities in criminal courts, including offices in Montgomery County and Baltimore City, Maryland and Philadelphia, PA. Lydia is currently collaborating with Dr. Brian D. Johnson on research related to the use of cash bail in pretrial detention, as well as prosecutorial decision-making for firearm offenses.
Areas of Interest
- Criminal Courts & Sentencing
Degrees
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Degree TypeBADegree DetailsCriminology, Villanova University
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Degree TypeBADegree DetailsSociology, Villanova University
Awards
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2022-05-05Edwin Sutherland Medallion of Excellence in Criminology, Villanova University
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2022-05-12Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Inductee, Villanova University
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2024-08-01National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Conferences
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A Textual Analysis of Online Police Forums - Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference
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Exploring the Link Between Police Officer Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Attachment - Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Conference
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Trends in Pretrial Detention - European Society of Criminology Annual Conference
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Understanding the Impact of a Maryland Cash Bail Reform - American Society of Criminology Annual Conference
