About

Joseph Branson

Memphis, Tennessee

jpbranson@gmail.com - 6013317202
jpbranson.rbind.io


Experience

Mississippi Office of the State Public Defender

June 2019 – March 2020

  • Data Analysis Consultant impact of House Bill 585 criminal justice reforms
    • Presented visualizations and key insights, working in close collaboration with State Public Defender
    • Provided technical support (querying, validating, and visualizing) to the Marshall Project for research on gang control and violent crime in state prisons
    • Performed exploratory and ad-hoc data analysis to assess potential impacts of criminal justice reforms passed in 2014
    • Evaluated regression, time series, and spatial (GIS) statistical models in R with accompanying visualizations and interpretations
    • Constructed novel datasets for MDOC daily prison population using R and tabulizer
    • Imported, cleaned, and validated circuit criminal case history with PEER data from FY 2010-2018 (>300,000 rows) using R

Mississippi Office of the State Public Defender

April – Aug. 2016

  • Data analyst intern on Caseload Standards Project
    • Collected criminal case dispositions for 2010 -2014 from MS Administrative Office of the Courts (>180,000 entries) and imported data into Excel
    • Cleaned data and categorized counts according to code section used for indictment
    • Assigned caseload weights (hours needed to try) based on study conducted by the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University
    • Gathered estimates for indigence rates by contacting county circuit clerk offices (92)
    • Performed calculations and provided final data included in report submitted to Public Defender Task Force
    • Participated in closed policy seminars related to alternative sentencing initiatives and indigent representation in termination of parent rights cases

Center for Advanced Hindsight – behavioral economics lab associated with Dr. Dan Ariely

Sept. 2014 - July 2015

  • Research assistant
    • Participated as facilitator (administrator and compatriot) in multiple lab experiments, both alone and as a part of a team
    • Assisted in transcribing experimental data to spreadsheets
    • Proofread, edited, and trial tested experiment protocols and elements
    • Provided content development for multiple programs and apps (Conscience+ and Attaboy!)
  • Assistant to Lab Manager
    • Consulted on design of lab program in local community
    • Canvassed possible donors and provided recommendations regarding lab expansion (startup incubator)

HYDRa - Univ. of Mississippi Men’s Club Ultimate Frisbee Team

Jan. 2017 - May 2019

  • Co-Captain and President
    Aug. 2017 – May 2019

    • Communicate with team and school administration to organize practices and team activities
    • Maintain compliance with Sports Clubs policies
    • Organize fitness program for team and coordinate four travel trips per semester to collegiate tournaments
    • Provide on-field leadership during games and tournaments

Newk’s Eatery

Aug. 2017 - Present

  • Front of House Partner
    • Assist customers through transaction process with attentiveness and efficiency
    • Serve food and satisfy any additional requests
    • Maintain professional decorum and a clean and sanitary environment

Education

University of Mississippi - Jan. 2017 – May 2019

Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Minor in Mathematics (May 2019)

Duke University - Aug. 2014 – Dec. 2016

Bachelor of Arts in Economics (transferred Dec. 2016)
- Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarship Duke University-managed academic merit-based scholarship, offered to those who exhibit exceptional intellectual ambition and curiosity
- Rothermere Quasi Endowment Fund Scholarship to spend a summer term at New College in Oxford, UK studying political philosophy