Our Staff.
Every member of the JIE Initiative contributes to our mission. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion across all of our work.
Our People at the SOF/Heyman
Eileen Gillooly
Executive Director, Society of Fellows and the Heyman Center for the Humanities
Eileen Gillooly is the Executive Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities and Society of Fellows and Adjunct Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
Neni Panourgiá
Academic Advisor
JIE Initiative
Neni Panourgiá is an anthropologist, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Prison Education Program, and Academic Adviser for the Justice-in-Education Initiative at Columbia University
Mia Ruyter
Education and Outreach Manager
SOF/Heyman
Mia Ruyter is the Education and Outreach Manager for the SOF/Heyman Center. She coordinates the educational programming offered by JIE in New York City jails.
Lindsey Schram
Associate Director
SOF/Heyman
Lindsey Schram is the Associate Director of the Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities.
Our People at the Center for Justice
Cheryl Wilkins
Senior Director of Education and Programs
Center for Justice
Cheryl Wilkins is committed to ending the nation’s reliance on incarceration, developing new approaches to safety and justice, and participating in the national and global conversation around developing effective criminal justice policy.
Geraldine Downey
JIE Co-Principal Investigator
Geraldine Downey is the Director at the Center for Justice and the Robert Johnston Niven Professor of Humane Letters in Psychology at Columbia University.
Cameron Rasmussen
Program Director
Center for Justice
Cameron Rasmussen, LMSW, has worked in program development, program management, and direct service with individuals, families, and communities impacted by incarceration for 5+ years.
Claudia P. Rincón
Associate Director of Operations and Evaluation
Center for Justice
Claudia is responsible for developing a framework for evaluation for the Center for Justice’s programs and initiatives and formulating, developing, and implementing strategies to ensure the sustainability of high-quality programs. She also manages the Prison Education Program.
Isaac Scott
Arts & Communications Specialist, JIE
Pastor Isaac Scott is a formerly incarcerated artist and activist. As the Program Director for The Confined Arts, he is a leader in promoting justice reform and prison abolition through the transformative power of the arts.
Our People at the Initiative for a Just Society
Bernard Harcourt
Professor of Law and Political Science
Columbia Law Professor Bernard E. Harcourt is the founding director of the Initiative for a Just Society at the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought, which brings contemporary critical theory and practice to bear on current social problems. He and his colleagues at the Initiative provide legal consultations when necessary.
Fonda Shen
Executive Coordinator at Center for Justice
Fonda Shen is the Executive Coordinator at the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought and the Program Coordinator at the Initiative for a Just Society.
William Oh
Public Interest/Public Service Fellow
William Oh is passionate about immigration justice, public defense, and economic justice, and is deeply committed to working towards a larger vision of abolition and full citizenship for all.
