Dr. Jorja Leap
Jorja Leap, Ph.D., MSW has been a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Luskin School of Public Affairs since 1992. As an anthropologist expert in gangs, violence, and trauma, she has worked both nationally and internationally in violent and post-war settings all of her career. Dr. Leap applies a multi-disciplinary, community-based approach to her research and developmental efforts. Her current work focuses on gangs and youth development in multi-cultural settings, criminal justice and prison reform, and the dilemmas faced by individuals reentering society after incarceration, including women, a group often overlooked. She is also the Executive Director, Health and Social Justice Partnership and serves as policy adviser on Gangs and Youth Violence for Los Angeles County, and serves in numerous roles for the city and state. Her first book was Jumped In: What Gangs Taught Me about Violence, Love, Drugs and Redemption and her latest is Project Fatherhood.
