Fellow_PublicPolicy_Headshot_YohrosAlexis

Alexis Yohros

Organization

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

Program

Rappaport Public Policy Fellow

Year

2019

Social Media

Website

http://informedjustice.org

There is no doubt that the Rappaport Fellowship changed the trajectory of my career. I am forever grateful for the mentorship, experiences, and opportunities I received.

Rappaport Public Policy Fellows spend 10 weeks each summer serving within the highest levels of state and municipal governments in the Greater Boston Area. The program includes students from graduate and professional programs at local universities.

Graduate School
Northeastern University

Undergraduate School
Florida State University

Mentor
Dan Kennedy, Northeastern University School of Journalism and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board Member

Agency
Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate

Supervisor
Melissa Threadgill, Director of Juvenile Justice Initiatives and Former Rappaport Policy Fellow

Description of Fellowship
At the Office of the Child Advocate, Alexis researched and presented on juvenile justice diversion models, analyzed a survey on community-based interventions for youth, and assisted with creating a public-facing juvenile justice data website. This work contributed to a legislative report on youth diversion in Massachusetts and continues to serve as a model for ongoing discussions on expanding and reforming youth diversion in the state.

This aims to be a public facing website where policymakers, members of the public, and other stakeholders can go to learn detailed information about the juvenile justice system in Massachusetts. In addition, she analyzed a community-based intervention survey, which examined referral gaps in evidence-based services for youth. As Massachusetts does not have standardized youth diversion practices in place, she also researched and presented on different diversion models from other states in the hopes of generating discussion on how these practices can apply to Massachusetts.

Finally, Alexis created a policy memo and presentation on how these evidence-based practices and diversion models can be funded at the state level. This was presented by her Supervisor Melissa Theadgill a Community-Based Interventions Subcommittee meeting. Alexis found her fellowship’s work and mentorship so meaningful that she continued working for the Office of the Child Advocate in the Spring of 2020 through an Experiential Research Fellowship awarded by Northeastern University.

Alexis is currently a doctoral student as well as being a founder and writer to a social media blog called Informed Justice that aims to bridge the gap between research, public policy, and the general public.