Jorja Leap

Jorja Leap, MSW, PhD, is on the faculty of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she also serves as the executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership. She is a nationally recognized expert in gangs, community violence, and prison reentry whose most recent work includes a five-year study of Homeboy Industries, which focuses on the life histories of program participants as they encounter the dual challenges of leaving gang life and reentering mainstream society. Dr...See more

Jorja Leap, MSW, PhD, is on the faculty of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she also serves as the executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership. She is a nationally recognized expert in gangs, community violence, and prison reentry whose most recent work includes a five-year study of Homeboy Industries, which focuses on the life histories of program participants as they encounter the dual challenges of leaving gang life and reentering mainstream society. Dr. Leap has also been the recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award. She is the author of highly acclaimed books, including Jumped In and Project Fatherhood . See less