Susan Nembhard is a senior research associate in the Justice and Safety Division at the Urban Institute. She has nearly a decade of experience working directly with, or on research projects related to, victim-survivors of different forms of violence. Her work takes a mixed-methods approach to understand experiences of harm, explore perceptions of safety and justice for different populations, and evaluate strategies to address community safety needs. Nembhard conducts mixed-methods research on victimization, community safety and policing, and crime reduction, with a focus on racial equity and community-based approaches to safety.

Before joining Urban, Nembhard was a police misconduct investigator in Washington, DC. She has also conducted research as a part of Seattle University’s evaluation of the Micro-Community Policing Plans project with the Seattle Police Department. Nembhard received her bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her master’s degree in criminal justice with a victimology specialization from Seattle University. She is a criminal justice PhD student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York Graduate Center.