Daniel Macallair with Scholar’s Strategy Network (SSN) board member, EJ Dionne, and the SFSU SSN Chapter.
We are pleased to announce that CJCJ’s Executive Director Daniel Macallair has been appointed co-leader of the Bay Area chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network (SSN). He joins his San Francisco State University colleague Dr. Carina Gallo, Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice Studies, in leading the regional chapter.
Macallair has taught at San Francisco State University for 30 years, where his teaching and research have focused on criminal and juvenile justice reform. Along with Dr. Elizabeth Brown, an SFSU Associate Dean and member of CJCJ’s Board of Directors, Macallair helped develop the university’s minor in Juvenile Justice Studies. The interdisciplinary program provides students with a deeper understanding of the juvenile justice system, its historical development, and the policies and practices affecting young people. His SSN appointment builds upon decades of work connecting academic research, public policy, and community-based reform.
The Scholars Strategy Network is a national organization of university-based researchers dedicated to improving public policy and strengthening democracy. SSN connects scholars with policymakers, journalists, civic leaders, and community organizations to ensure that public debates and policy decisions are informed by credible research and evidence. Its regional chapters build relationships between researchers and policymakers while promoting practical responses to social problems.
Established in 2010, the Bay Area chapter brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars from colleges and universities throughout the region. The chapter focuses on translating academic research into effective public policy and increasing meaningful civic engagement, with particular attention to poverty, inequality, immigration, and the quality of government.
In June, Macallair and Gallo attended SSN’s national convening in Washington, D.C., where they met with members of Congress and congressional staff to promote federal legislation that would assist state and local jurisdictions seeking to convert vacant or underused juvenile detention facilities to non-carceral community purposes. Macallair and Gallo, together with SFSU graduate intern Gabriel Simon, are leading an effort to develop and advance this policy initiative. Their work seeks to create a federal framework offering technical assistance, planning support, and potential funding to communities interested in transforming obsolete juvenile halls into facilities that address pressing local needs, including housing, health care, education, youth development, and community-based services. The initiative reflects CJCJ’s longstanding commitment to advancing social reforms that strengthen communities and reduce involvement with the criminal justice system. It highlights the financial and social costs of maintaining underused correctional institutions while promoting investments that advance social well-being.Macallair’s appointment will further strengthen the longstanding partnership between CJCJ and San Francisco State University and expand opportunities for Bay Area scholars to contribute research and expertise to local, state, and national policy discussions.