Staff
Erin E. Harbinson, PhD, Executive Director
Prior to joining CJRI, Dr. Erin Harbinson was a research scholar for the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Minnesota Law School where she led projects studying community corrections, authored several technical reports, and secured funding for research. Dr. Harbinson has worked as a policy analyst for the Council of State Governments Justice Center conducting technical assistance for states implementing justice reinvestment legislation. She received her PhD in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati and worked for the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute. While there, she conducted trainings on risk assessment and evaluated correctional programs.
Her research interests include criminal justice policy, risk assessment, and improving the measurement of performance metrics and outcomes in criminal justice. Dr. Harbinson has been invited to speak on evidence-based practices, applied criminal justice research, and cybercrime. She has published research on parole, corrections, risk assessment, white-collar crime, and cybercrime in journals such as Criminal Justice and Behavior, Journal of Crime and Justice, Criminal Justice Studies, and European Journal of Probation.
Aerielle Reynolds, MSCJA, Research Analyst
Aerielle Reynolds is a PhD candidate in criminal justice at Capella University, and has received her MS in criminal justice administration and her BS in criminology and criminal justice from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Her research experience includes her time as a research fellow at Yale University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and at Purdue University’s Summer Research Opportunities Program.
Her research experience includes quantitative analysis exploring the role of prison-based substance abuse treatment programs in preventing post-incarceration substance use among clinic clientele and qualitative analysis exploring the role of gender among community court staff and clients and its impact on compliance rates. Her research interests include plea bargaining, corrections, recidivism, rehabilitative programming, alternatives to incarceration, and issues related to race and gender in crime.
Samuel Choi, PhD, Research Analyst
Dr. Samuel (Sam) Choi is a legal psychologist. He earned his MS and PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Wyoming. At the University of Wyoming, he was a member of the Psychology and Law lab, where he conducted studies on a broad range of criminal justice and psycho-legal topics, such as plea bargaining, jury decision making, policing, and hate crimes.
Sam’s work has been interdisciplinary as he has published research in both criminal justice and psychology journals, including Psychology, Psychiatry, and Law, Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Criminal Justice Review, and Race and Justice. In addition, he has orally presented his work at multiple professional conferences across the US.
Mariah A. McCaskill, Secretary
Prior to moving to Hawai’i, Mariah managed an environment exclusively designed for the facilitation of events that helped client teams navigate large-scale complex business challenges at a global consulting firm specializing in technology services and digital transformation.
Mariah earned an A.S. in paralegal studies from Kapiolani Community College in 2020 and completed undergraduate studies in administration of justice and political science at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo in 2023. Mariah’s academic experience includes internships with the Hawai`i Innocence Project and the Hawai`i State Legislature.
Pamela Oda, Undergraduate Research Intern
Pamela Oda is currently an incoming fifth-year undergraduate student pursuing her Bachelor of Science in criminology and criminal justice and data science, analytics, and visualization from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Pamela is also highly involved in extracurricular activities on campus, as the President of the Chaminade Student Government Association, Club President of the Restauranteeres Club, Treasurer of the Psi Chi Chaminade Chapter, as well as an Institutional Ambassador for the University’s Strategic Plan Steering Committee. Her research experience includes her time as a student researcher and Mentor with the Supporting Pacific Impact through Computational Excellence (SPICE) Data Science Summer Institute, as well as a research student with the REU Program at Chaminade University of Honolulu.
Her research experience includes sentimental analysis of COVID-19 pandemic tweets in the State of Hawai`i and thematic analysis of disciplinary offenses and outcomes within a major metropolitan police department. Additionally, her experience includes coding and data visualization in Excel, R Studio, SQL, Python, and Tableau.
Board of Directors
Judge Matthew J. Viola, CJRI Board Chair
Senior Family Court Judge, Judiciary
Judiciary
Nicole C. Fernandez
Offender Services Section Administrator, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Governor’s Office
Representative Scot Z. Matayoshi
Hawai’i State Representative – District 49
House of Representatives
Peter Wolff
Federal Public Defender (retired)
Senate
Francis Young
Intake Service Centers Division Administrator, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation