I'm Zofia Stanley, an applied mathematician (PhD) and Director of Research at QSIDE. I use quantitative methods to advance racial justice and criminal legal reform, through research, expert testimony, and data tools for defense attorneys, nonprofits, and local governments.
I led technical development of the RJA Disparity Screener, a free tool built with the California Office of the State Public Defender that generates court-ready reports on post-conviction racial disparities.
About
I began my career in weather and climate modeling at NOAA. Wanting work that felt closer to people's lives, I moved to QSIDE, where I now lead research on criminal legal reform. Working with large, complex climate datasets prepared me for the messy administrative data of the criminal legal system.
My favorite part of the work is translating between technical and legal domains. I explain findings in plain language, a skill I developed teaching in middle school and university classrooms.
I have worked with the California Office of the State Public Defender and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, and my work has been funded by the Walmart Foundation and Arnold Ventures. My peer-reviewed publications, in climate modeling and criminal legal policy, are listed on Google Scholar.