At the Crisis and Recovery Enhancement (CARE) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, we are incredibly lucky to have a range of passionate and creative partners that bring incredible expertise and experience to our work with MHSA-funded counties. We hope you'll take a moment to learn more about these groups and their driving missions!



About Our Partner

Impact Justice is a national innovation and research center committed to fostering a more humane, responsive, and restorative system of justice in our nation. Impact Justice harnesses innovation, research, and policy ideas toward three goals: preventing more youth and adults from becoming involved in the justice system; improving conditions that ensure humanity and hope for those currently incarcerated; and helping formerly incarcerated people to successfully rejoin their communities. The Research and Action Center at Impact Justice partners with individuals, organizations, and communities to better understand overlapping problems of injustice and evaluate promising solutions, especially from the perspectives of those most impacted. Their studies, which are grounded in the ethics and practices of participatory research, are geared to connect the desire for change with informed action and to be useful to a wide array of stakeholders who have a role to play in meaningful and lasting change.

Learn more at https://impactjustice.org/innovation/research-action-center/

Meet the Team

Antoinette Davis (she/her), Vice President and Director

Antoinette Davis (she/her), MPA, is a Vice President and Director of the Research and Action Center. She has more than 20 years of experience studying criminal and juvenile justice and has designed multi-site, mixed methods research projects with intersectional frameworks and authored reports conveying the findings of studies. She has also researched, documented, and presented nationwide best practices, including to inform the work of commissions. Her research is centered on finding strength-based solutions to complex issues and systems in order to advance meaningful change.



Dani Soto (they/them), Associate Director

Dani Soto (they/them), PhD, is the Associate Director of the Research and Action Center and has more than a decade of experience in research and analysis of adolescent well-being and risk, with a focus on gendered and racial/ethnic inequalities. They graduated Cum Laude with her B.A. in sociology (juvenile delinquency emphasis) from the University of Montana, where they were a McNair Scholar. They received her master’s degree and Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in sociology/criminology. There they specialized in juvenile delinquency and minored in family studies and quantitative methods. Their master’s thesis looked at sexual minority youth and delinquent offending, paying special attention to the impact of sexual identity. Their dissertation examined Latino delinquency, looking at the differences in country-of-origin and generational status. After graduate school, Dani spent four years as an assistant professor, where they served as an advisor/mentor for many campus and community groups serving underrepresented students. Wanting to use their professional skills in research and analysis in an applied way, they made the transition to the non-profit arena. Recognizing that true justice requires attention paid to the intersections of race/ethnicity, sexuality and sexual identity, sex and gender expression, gender identity, and socioeconomic status, they frequently examine disparities in these areas.



Brandon Miller (he/him), Senior Researcher

Brandon Miller (he/him), MS, Senior Researcher, is an expert on reentry and community reintegration. Brandon brings a depth of learned knowledge and lived experience to reentry, community reintegration, and recidivism-related issues. His research includes examining family and support networks' saliency during the reentry and reintegration process for formerly incarcerated people, examining the public perception of formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as examining social influences on juvenile recidivism.



Devontae Springer (he/him), Research Analyst Fellow

Devontae Springer (he/him) is a Research Analyst Fellow with Impact Justice. Devontae participated in three California Justice Leaders (CJL) cohorts with Ameri-Corps and Impact Justice. His role as a CJL member allowed him to help increase awareness about the state’s honorable discharge petition process and provide re-entry support to youth transitioning from the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) back into their communities. Devontae is highly dedicated to improving the lives and outcomes for boys and men of color. In November 2020 he founded the non-profit organization Community House Activism (C.H.A), whose mission is to provide storytelling & advocacy training to system-impacted youth and young adults. Devontae Believes his personal and professional experiences working within his community will be beneficial to his role at Impact Justice.



Nimisha Narayanan (she/her), Research Analyst

Nimisha Narayanan (she/her) is a Research Analyst at the Research and Action Center at Impact Justice. Her previous research examined the intersections of noncommunicable diseases and systemic discrimination as well as environmental resource dependence and political stability. Before joining Impact Justice, Nimisha worked at RDA Consulting to evaluate public social safety programs, including alternative crisis response teams, diversion initiatives, and psychiatric health programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Health from the University of Southern California.



Samantha Tiscareño (she/her), Research Analyst II

Samantha Tiscareño (she/her), MPP, Research Analyst II, has significant experience collecting, managing, and analyzing data, providing technical assistance, and working with government stakeholders. As a Research Analyst for Impact Justice’s Research and Action Center team, Samantha’s duties include designing data collection tools, facilitating and managing data collection, data entry and quality assurance, preparing and analyzing large data sets, project management, and report writing. In her previous role as a research assistant with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, she developed data collection methods, managed partnerships with stakeholders, and aided in developing a final report. Before that she worked directly with systems-impacted youth and adults, and those experiencing homelessness to coordinate and provide resources based on their needs. Samantha’s personal experiences and commitment to community work fueled her educational choices, where she received a master’s in public policy degree with highest honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She also has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University, Los Angeles.

 Contact the Crisis and Recovery Enhancement TA Center

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://care-mhsa.org/