People

 
Ntasha Bhardwaj is a Criminologist with over a decade of experience shaping research and policy on gender, crime, and justice across South Asia, Africa, and the U.S. She is currently building Suraksha Lens, an AI-enabled initiative that maps climate-induced displacement and trafficking risks in South Asia. This project integrates field research, geospatial mapping, and digital surveillance to create early-warning tools for prevention and protection in six high-risk regions across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. As Founder of the South Asian Institute of Crime and Justice Studies, Ntasha leads research on gender-based violence, women’s incarceration, and justice reform, while also strengthening regional research capacity through trainings. Previously, she consulted for UN Women and advised India’s Ministry of Women & Child Development during its G20 Presidency on gender equality and protection strategies. Her work has been published in Feminist Criminology, the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, the Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency, and the European Journal of Criminology. In addition, she has authored op-eds for Swaddle, Scroll, and Groundviews.

Education

Ph.D. in Criminal Justice- Rutgers University, Newark (2022)
M.A. in Criminal Justice- Rutgers University, Newark (2014)
MSW in Criminology & Criminal Justice- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (2011)
B.A. in English Literature- St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (2008)

Jody Miller is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology (ASC); Co-Editor of the ASC’s flagship journal, Criminology; and 2017 ASC Vice President. She is Co-Director of the National Science Foundation-sponsored Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN) and coordinator of the RDCJN’s Research Experience for Undergraduates initiative. Miller’s research utilizes qualitative methods to investigate how inequalities of gender, race, sexuality and place shape participation in crime and risks for victimization, with concentrations in the United States and South Asia.

Her books include Getting Played: African American Girls, Urban Inequality, and Gendered Violence (NYU Press, 2008)—winner of the American Sociological Association’s Race, Class and Gender Section Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award (2010) and finalist for the C. Wright Mills Award (2009)—and One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender (Oxford University Press, 2001). Dr. Miller has published dozens of articles and book chapters, including in Criminology, Gender & Society, Signs, Theoretical Criminology, and British Journal of Criminology. She is past recipient of the American Society of Criminology Mentor Award (2015), the Coramae Richey Mann Award from the ASC Division on People of Color and Crime (2009), the ASC Division on Women and Crime’s Distinguished Scholar Award (2010) and New Scholar Award (2001), and the ASC’s Ruth Shonle Cavan Young Scholar Award (2001).

Aanchal Modani is a doctoral candidate at the Silver School of Social Work, New York University. A native of India, she studies the impact of violence and marginalization on help-seeking behaviour, barriers and facilitators in access, community engagement and reintegration, and healthcare system organisation. Her dissertation focuses on utilising qualitative inquiry to explore the pathways of care and safety among women survivors of domestic violence in North India. She currently serves as a qualitative research consultant at The George Institute for Global Health, India, where she's working on a multi-country project called "Gender-responsive Research and Advocacy through CEDAW" (GRACE) in India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Kenya.

With a background in clinical psychology, Aanchal has previously worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Division, contributing to an NIMH grant investigating neuropsychological and biological markers of suicide and depression. Additionally, she was involved in a mental health needs assessment study of home-based female sex workers in rural India, further igniting her dedication to supporting women facing violence and discrimination, which often leads to adverse mental health outcomes.

Aanchal has published research in the Community Mental Health Journal and Handbook on Sex, Gender, and Health: Perspectives from South Asia. She has presented her work at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, the Society for Social Work & Research, the Annual Reducing Inequality Network Event, and the American Psychological Association Convention. She has also received an NYU Urban Doctoral Fellowship and is a grantee of the NYC Reducing Inequality Network. She has also served as the editorial assistant of the Archives of Suicide Research (2017-2019). 

Education

M.A. in Clinical Psychology - Teachers College, Columbia University (2017)
M.A. in Psychology - The IIS University, Jaipur (2015)
B.A. in Applied Psychology - Gargi College, University of Delhi (2013)

Bushra Ali Khan is an anthropologist and journalist specialising in border security, geopolitics, and international human rights. Her expertise lies in analysing how political, social, and economic factors intersect to shape government policies and global security challenges. Through a postcolonial lens, she explores how race and gender influence policymaking, highlighting systemic inequities embedded in both domestic and international enforcement.

Her work spans field-research in refugee camps, collaborations with international think tanks and NGOs, and research presentations at global conferences, seminars, and roundtables across the US, UK, Canada, India, Germany, France, Japan, and Kenya. She is skilled in synthesising complex research into clear, accessible narratives, enabling evidence-based policymaking and impactful communications.  The author of several publications, she divides her time between London and New Delhi.