Racial Bias and Amelioration Strategies for Risk Assessment

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Zachary Hamilton, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justices and the Associate Director of the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. Originally from Iowa, he received his BA from the University of Iowa and his PhD from Rutgers University. Dr. Hamilton was previously employed as a Senior Research Associate at two non-profits in Manhattan – the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) and at the National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI). He then served as the Director of the Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice and was an employed as an Associate Professor at Washington State University through 2020. His main research focus is risk and needs assessment for justice populations. These assessment tools are used to identify the supervision level and programming needs for juveniles and adults, those in prison or on probation and parole, and his tools are currently used in more than a dozen states, including Nebraska. Dr. Hamilton was recently tapped by National Institute of Justice to create the risk assessment for the First Step Act (the PATTERN), which is part of the federal government’s criminal justice reform; providing early release for low-risk inmates to strategically reduce the federal prison population. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters and books on risk and needs assessment, evidence- based practices, and program efficacy. His achievements were recently recognized by the American Society of Criminology, awarding him the Distinguished New Scholar Award in 2018.

With 25+ years in the correctional industry, including three years spent as a chief probation officer in California, Marjorie Rist brings depth and breadth of experience to her role as Chief Solutions Officer of Vant4ge. Her extensive involvement with adult and juvenile facilities and working with justice-involved individuals in the community has given her first-hand experience in all decision-making points from pretrial to parole. Through her work, she exercises a deep understanding of how to balance science and technology with operational practice to support data-driven decision-making. As the co-founder and current advisor of Persevere, a non-profit that teaches justice-involved individuals to code behind prison walls, she helps bring hope, skills, and opportunity to people who need it most. She is an active member of the American Correctional Association (ACA), International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), International Corrections and Probation Association (ICPA), and the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA). She has a bachelor’s degree in management from St. Mary’s College of California.