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