Research Assistants
Erin Afana obtained her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from California State University East Bay in 2018. She completed her M.S. Justice Studies in Summer 2021 with the thesis: Perception correction: Addressing social stigmatization around BDSM and mental health. Erin’s research interests are in juvenile justice, victimology, social psychology, mental health, and trauma. She has recently utilized quantitative methods to provide support on the creation of a child sexual exploitation biometrics tool to detect offenders’ facial and voice recognition. Her current research focuses on giving voice to individuals of non-normative sexuality (BDSM) communities by examining practices relating to mental health and trauma to reduce stigma and promote acceptance from the larger society.
Omar Arauza is a graduate of the Department of Justice Studies program at San Jose State University, majoring with a concentration in criminology and minoring in forensic studies. Omar has explored crime sentiments in media and has researched crime trends in Santa Clara County as an intern for the District Attorney’s Office. His interests include rehabilitative justice and prosecutorial discretion. He has co-authored a book chapter with Dr. Bryce Westlake on the ethics of automated data collection in criminological research. He currently works in legal and reentry services and plans to pursue law school.
Allyson Cruz-Galan received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from San Francisco State University in 2020. She completed her M.S. Justice Studies in Summer 2022 with the thesis: Experiences of transgender people who navigate the criminal justice system. The purpose of her thesis was to give the transgender community a space to tell their story and describe their own experiences with the three elements of the CJS. This was achieved by conducting interviews with 10 transgender participants to better understand how their experiences navigating the CJS have impacted their lives. Allyson Cruz-Galan is now pursuing a law degree.
Francesca Fanucchi earned her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology at the University of Sussex in England. She returned to the Bay Area to complete her M.S. Justice Studies at San Jose State University in Spring 2023 with the thesis: The promotion of extremist ideologies within online incel communities that reinforce ideals of aggrieved entitlement. Francesca’s thesis utilized longitudinal data to examine the role of echo-chambers in facilitating rhetoric within online incel communities. This involved using automated language analysis and group-based trajectory modelling to determine the change in negative sentiment in 5,224,307 posts by 23,434 users on a popular online incel community between April 2014 and May 2020. She is continuing her career working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Enrique Guerra graduated from Regis University in 2019. During undergrad, Enrique double majored in Criminal Justice and Philosophy. He completed his M.S. Justice Studies in Spring 2023 with the thesis: Crawling the Dark Web: Structural attributes of child sexual abuse websites on the Dark Web. His thesis examined the structural and naming patterns of websites hosting CSAM on the Dark Web, to identify new, complimentary, detection methods. Data were collected from 1,197 Dark Web websites using a customized web crawler. In total, 179 unique CSAM hash values, found in 3,641 locations, were analyzed. His research has been published in Child Abuse and Neglect and in Forensic Science International: Digital Investigations.
Alexandrea O’Neill completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California Berkeley in 2019. During her time at Berkeley, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a minor in Journalism. Alexandrea’s passion for addressing social issues led her to San Jose State University, where she currently is studying to obtain a Masters of Science degree in Justice Studies. Alongside Dr. Westlake, Alexandrea is now working to publish a quantitative research paper that addresses the perceptions of police held amongst different demographics within BDSM communities. Her research interests include examining consent, assessing structures that manage non-consensual infractions, and transformative justice. Alexandrea plans to pursue a doctorate degree in criminology upon graduating from San Jose State University in the Spring of 2024.
Jai Mica Vaca completed a Bachelor of Science in Spring 2019, double majoring in Forensic Science (Chemistry) and Justice Studies. He completed his M.S. Justice Studies in Summer 2022 with the thesis The impact of policy uncertainty on SJSU deferred action for childhood arrivals students: Their use of mental health services. His thesis investigated how DACA university students manage mental health and well-being, the factors that contribute to them seeking or not seeking assistance, and the services that are available and used by students. To examine this, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with DACA undergraduate and graduate students at San José State University (SJSU). Five themes emerged. 1) the role of culture in knowledge, perception, and practice of mental health; 2) the DACA student self-identity crisis; 3) how policy instability manifests into toxic uncertainty; 4) the impact of proposed DACA program rescinding on mental health and well-being; and 5) the exit plan. Jai is currently a doctoral student at the University of California Merced, where he continues his research exploring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students.