ARS also works with a wide array of subject matter experts across the criminal justice system. Our talent pool is deep and we strive to ensure that every project team includes the right mix of innovative thought leaders, practitioners, and statisticians.
John Speir is a Co-Founder and Principal of ARS. John relies on quantitative methods and data mining to guide criminal justice legislation and policies. John leads the team to build computer simulation models to forecast institutional and community supervision populations to inform sentencing legislation, parole policies, and predict institutional capacity. John has applied these methods in several states, including California, Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Canada. More recently, Dr. Speir leads a project to reduce violence in state prisons using data mining methods and predictive analytics. Before co-founding ARS, Dr. Speir was an assistant professor at Georgia State University before serving eight years as a Special Agent with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Dr. Speir has a Ph.D. in criminology from Florida State University.
Dr. Baldwin is a clinical psychologist with a dual emphasis on research and forensics. He has directed federally-funded research projects, authored over a dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has both designed and evaluated substance abuse treatment programs. Dr. Baldwin authored the U.S. DOJ SMART Office’s publication entitled “Sex Offender Risk Assessment” (available for download at: http://www.smart.gov/SOMAPI/sec1/ch6_risk.html). Dr. Baldwin is also Director of Forensic Services at the Highland Institute, an Atlanta outpatient clinic specializing in the assessment and treatment of persons with sexual behavior problems. He performs forensic examinations for state and federal courts and probation/parole authorities, serves as an expert witness in both juvenile and adult courts, and has worked in both inpatient and community-based mental health settings. Dr. Baldwin is a frequent presenter at regional and national conferences and has provided training and technical assistance to treatment and court staff in a variety of settings. Dr. Baldwin earned his Ph.D. at Georgia State University, after completing an adult forensic internship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Sharon manages and supports a variety of ARS research projects. Recently completed projects include an evaluation of Georgia’s Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative and the largest national study to date of Veteran’s Courts. Sharon focuses on process and implementation research, spending much time in the field collecting data, training, interviewing practitioners, conducting focus groups, and understanding field realities to improve implementation practices. Sharon is a skilled trainer that enjoys making data and research accessible and relatable to practitioners. She is a certified Trauma-Informed Response Trainer through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to joining ARS, Sharon worked in law enforcement. She was a Police Officer for the Morrow Georgia Police Department and a Public Safety Coordinator for the Floyd College Regional Police Academy. She has also worked in legal and marketing research. Sharon has a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Georgia State University.
Jyotsna serves as the Lead Data Scientist at ARS. She is completing her Ph.D. in Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia (UGA). Jyotsna earned her MS in Statistics and an MS in Applied Economics at UGA, as well as a BA in Economics and Sociology. Jyotsna has extensive experience in a wide range of predictive analytical methods, including different machine learning algorithms. She has published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and the Agricultural Finance Review, applying her statistical and analytical skills to the complex investigation of the impact of housing and living situations on mental health during COVID-19, and unfair lending terms among minorities. Her analytical and economic backgrounds provide our clients with new criminal justice research opportunities.
Becky manages the financial/business operations for ARS. She retired from the State of Georgia with 30 years of creditable service in August 2017. The last position held was Chief Financial Officer for two different departments and for over 8 years combined. Before being appointed CFO, she held several other financial-related positions within several different departments. She has served as President of the Georgia Fiscal Management Council, member of the State Training Advisory Council as well as serving on other boards and project-related panels. Becky holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from Columbus State University
Tammy Meredith is a Principal and Co-Founder of Applied Research Services, a public policy research firm located in Atlanta, GA. Her research efforts focus on quantitative methods of predicting violent behavior. Tammy was a student of C. Ray Jeffery, who developed the theory of “crime prevention through environmental design,” an epidemiological public health approach to reducing violence. She served on a multidisciplinary team to help colleges and universities to identify environmental strategies to prevent sexual assault. Dr. Meredith leads the ARS efforts in Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research (APPR), a project of the National Partnership for Pretrial Justice, dedicated to achieving fair, just, and effective pretrial practices, every day, throughout the nation. Dr. Meredith has led numerous U.S. Department of Justice Studies and currently serves as curriculum advisor and instructor for the Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Suite Researcher Practitioner Fellows Academy. She has instructed college courses and led professional research seminars for various agencies including The National Institute of Justice, The FBI’s National Academy, The Bureau of Justice Statistics, and The Justice Research & Statistics Association. She received her MA degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a Ph.D. from the School of Criminology at Florida State University.
Dr. Hawk primarily contributes to projects at ARS via data management and analyses. She has experience conducting research throughout the criminal justice system with a focus on evidence-based policy and practice development. Dr. Hawk has overseen data collection using mixed methods, worked on a variety of secondary dataset types, and is trained in a range of statistical techniques. Additionally, her award winning research and evaluation efforts focus on policing and violent crime. She is a consultant for several Atlanta-area police departments working on grants such as the Strategies for Policing Innovation and Project Safe Neighborhoods. Those policing efforts aim to reduce repeat and retaliatory shootings, gang violence, and community trauma. Other projects include understanding violent-incident reporting to the police, recurrent and poly victimization of violence types, and the risk factors for violence in prisons. She is an active committee member of the Homicide Research Working Group and on the Homicide Studies Editorial Board. She has also been involved in dozens of study presentations at universities, conferences, and justice agencies across the United States and internationally. Dr. Hawk completed her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal justice at Georgia State University. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice; and a Masters in Sociology from the University of Arkansas.