Gretchen Cusick

Dr. Gretchen Cusick is a Research Fellow at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Her research aims to support the transformation of youth-serving systems, to improve the responses to and experiences of youth involved with the legal system, and to inform community-based services and strategies. She is currently collaborating on a study of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s transformation efforts and on an evaluation of deferred prosecution for juveniles. Cusick has experience with program evaluation, mixed-methods studies, administrative data analysis, and randomized controlled trials. She also brings to her work a rich experience building partnerships, which informs her collaborative approach to research and evaluation.

Cusick previously operated a consulting firm aimed at building data and analytic capabilities of not-for-profit and other social impact organizations. She also served as the Director of Investments for Chicago Beyond, where she oversaw a portfolio of postsecondary education and violence prevention efforts. As the Research Director at the University of Chicago’s Crime and Education Labs and in her former research role at Chapin Hall, Cusick conducted evaluations of violence reduction and educational support programs. Her research has focused on multi-system involvement of youth, the transition to adulthood among vulnerable populations, public system responses to youth affected by trauma, and the reentry into communities of formerly detained youth. Cusick has taught an MBA course on Decision Strategy at the Baumhart Center within Loyola University’s Quinlan School of Business, masters-level courses in Data for Policy Analysis and Management at the University of Chicago, and courses in research methods and juvenile delinquency.

Cusick obtained a PhD in Sociology with an emphasis in Crime, Law, and Justice from The Pennsylvania State University in 2004 and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Miami University in 1998.

*Educational Credentials *

PhD in Sociology and Crime, Law, and Justice, The Pennsylvania State University

Master of Arts in Sociology, Cleveland State University

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Criminology, Miami University