Our Team

Dr. James R. “Chip” Coldren, is the Co-Director of CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation, as well as the Co-Director for SPI. Dr. Coldren has worked in an applied research capacity for the last several decades, promoting evidence-based practices in all aspects of the justice system. He directs and advises several national justice system-oriented training and technical assistance programs.

Mr. Christopher Sun oversees the SPI program and provides technical assistance and support to grantee sites. Mr. Sun has over a decade of experience supporting and implementing research-practice partnerships. Prior to the SPI, he was the Deputy Director of the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia and oversaw the research and technical assistance agendas for Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia on topics such as school discipline and school reform. He also served as a lead coordinator for professional learning communities in criminal justice and education. 

Scott Decker is Senior Scientist at CNA, the Center for Naval Analysis in the Justice Research and Innovation Division. In this capacity, he advises CNA on the Strategic Policing Initiative, Project on American Justice, and Body Worn Camera Project. He provides input into research design and policy statements on numerous projects. He graduated from DePauw University with a BA in Social Justice and earned a Ph.D. in Criminology from Florida State University. He was formerly Foundation Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. Decker has served as an adviser or consultant to the National Institute of Justice, National Science Foundation, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Bureau of Justice Assistance, OJJDP, and Office of National Drug Control Policy. Professor Decker served as a Member of the Missouri Sentencing Commission for ten years and as a member of the Arizona POST Board for five years. Temple University Press will publish On Gangs in 2022. 

Ms. Hildy Saizow is a former Executive director of the Justice Research and Statistics Association. She has worked for over 20 years as a criminologist, public policy analyst, community partner, and consultant to non-profit and government agencies.

Tom Woodmansee is a Senior Advisor with CNA and has over 28 years of experience in policing. Tom works with numerous agencies around the country and specialized in providing TTA on violent crime reduction strategies, community policing practices, and addressing violent offenders. He has contributed to several articles, assessments, reports and webinars on policing best practices. 

Amada Bond is an expert in juvenile justice, community-police relations, and human trafficking. At CNA, she works on a variety of US Department of Justice initiatives, as well as organizational reform. Bond's recent research topics include data bias and predictive algorithms, extremism within the ranks of law enforcement, policing and homelessness, and systemic solutions for youth involved in the justice system. Bond has more than a decade of experience working with and examining the issues faced by disenfranchised youth in the court system, and over 5 years of experience in people, program, and project management. 

Prior to joining CNA, Bond served as a project manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where she managed several anti-human trafficking projects, and also worked on a congressional initiative that focused on enhancing community-police relations. 

DeAnna Sweeney is an expert in criminal justice and mass communication. Miss Sweeney supports various projects within CNA’s Safety and Security division, including the Smart Policing Initiative, Precision Policing impacts throughout COVID-19, Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance and the Public Safety Partnership through The Bureau of Justice Assistance. As an Analyst and Research Specialist on these projects, she maintains a detailed knowledge of site initiatives, supports strategic planning, and suggests TTA strategies to meet site needs. She also specializes in outreach work which entails creating the social media material for the SPI twitter and updating the SPI website with new resources and publications. 

Prior to joining CNA, DeAnna was a Senior Reviewer for ICF where she worked with USAC, a subset of the FCC, to get telecommunications funding approved for medical practices in rural areas. Miss Sweeney has a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University where she also minored in Mass Communication. She speaks fluent Patois.
 

Ms. Alexa Blondin is trained in the principals of human behavior and criminology and supports four Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) sites.  Ms. Blondin assists by reviewing site implementation plans, providing valuable resources to ensure each site’s success, documenting site progress, and facilitating site meetings. Ms. Blondin also identifies training and technical assistance needs, in addition to providing training and technical assistance as required.

Ms. Monique Jenkins supports multiple Smart Policing Initiative program sites by helping with action plan review, site visit planning, and project documentation. Monique coordinates with each law enforcement agency to identify unique TTA opportunities that will aid the site in their goals.

Dr. Rachel Johnston is the Deputy Project Manager for the BWC TTA project and a Senior Research Scientist for the Justice Research and Innovation Center at CNA. She has over 20 years of experience in research and analysis and project management. Her areas of expertise include policing organizations and policy, criminal justice systems reform, violence prevention, and justice systems collaboration. In addition to the BWC TTA project, Dr. Johnston supports the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Public Safety Partnership, Strategies for Policing Innovation, and the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. She works directly with law enforcement agencies and their stakeholders to coordinate and deliver TTA, guide analyses, share and document best practices, and evaluate program effectiveness.

Mr. Demetrius Whipple helps support CNA’s Smart Police Initiative as an analyst and research specialist, where he provides training and technical assistance, assists in reviewing action plans for project implementation, and provides organizational assessment for agencies.  Mr. Whipple has expertise in juvenile justice, detention reform, racial bias and disparity analysis, program evaluation, project management, and a diverse set of criminological and law enforcement topics. Prior to joining CNA, Mr. Whipple worked with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services in a variety of roles.