Presentations

On this page, you’ll find details about my professional presentations, CLE offerings, invited lectures, and published scholarship—reflecting a commitment to translating rigorous research into practical tools for justice system reform and community empowerment.
Applying Social Geography to Structural Mitigation in Capital Defense

Applying Social Geography to Structural Mitigation in Capital Defense

This project advances the use of social geography and spatial data to support structural mitigation in capital defense. Through mapping and measuring community-level disadvantage, segregation, and disinvestment, we provide objective, legally admissible evidence of how place-based factors shape life outcomes relevant to culpability and sentencing.

social-geography structural-mitigation capital-defense spatial-analysis forensic-geography environmental-justice law
Evaluating Child Fatality Reports using Structural Topic Models

Evaluating Child Fatality Reports using Structural Topic Models

This project applies structural topic modeling (STM) and natural language processing (NLP) to strengthen structural mitigation in capital defense. By analyzing unstructured narrative records from child death reviews, STM identifies hidden thematic patterns that illustrate how exposure to poverty, violence, systemic neglect, and environmental disadvantage shapes developmental trajectories relevant to culpability and sentencing. This approach generates objective, place-based, legally admissible evidence consistent with Ohio law and ABA mitigation standards.

social-geography structural-mitigation capital-defense spatial-analysis forensic-geography environmental-justice law
Real Help–Real Hope: Where Do We Go From Here? A Community-Based Approach to the Opioid Crisis

Real Help–Real Hope: Where Do We Go From Here? A Community-Based Approach to the Opioid Crisis

This keynote presentation by Dr. Gia Elise Barboza-Salerno outlines a public health approach to addressing the opioid crisis in Georgia. It critiques punitive drug policies and advocates for data-driven, community-centered strategies focused on prevention, harm reduction, and addressing structural inequities.

opioid-crisis harm-reduction public-health georgia addiction-policy structural-inequities