CJ Appleton
Redemptive Journey Inspires Transformative Research
"13 years ago, at 27 years old, living under a bridge, is where my current academic journey began," CJ Appleton says. As a former D1 athlete, personal challenges derailed his life. Today, he walks through Duke’s gothic arches as an assistant professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, eager to bridge the gap between criminology scholarship and US policy.
Appleton earned his master’s degree in sociology from Portland State University, where he began studying criminal justice policy, particularly the relationship between probation officers and clients. That work connected him with a leading scholar in probation and parole, and brought him to George Mason University to pursue his Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society.
For the past six years, Appleton has been deeply involved in translational research (figuring out how to better connect policy and practice in criminal justice systems). His focus is on desistance, the process of ending a criminal career.
Celina Scott-Buechler
Cultivating Justice in Climate Policy
Celina Scott-Buechler has always been attuned to the ways environments shape lives.
Her childhood was one of movement—Arizona, Mexico, India, Washington, D.C., even a year in Germany—each place offering a different perspective on how communities adapt to shifting natural and social landscapes. What she noticed most was that change was not evenly distributed. Wealthier groups found ways to insulate themselves. Poorer communities were often left to shoulder the consequences.
That shifting landscape of homes impressed upon her the reality that no environment is static, and no community experiences change the same way. That early recognition would guide her path. She began by studying marine ecosystem degradation and its effects on coastal livelihoods in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Coral reefs became her first laboratory of observation, and her first heartbreak. “I soon realized that if broader climate change weren’t addressed, no amount of local ecosystem and livelihood protection would suffice to save the coral reefs and the ways of life that relied on them.”
The conclusion was unavoidable: the planet didn’t just need science. It needed policy.
Anne Washington
Finding Humanity in Technology
Anne Washington’s story begins, fittingly, in Washington, D.C. Surrounded by policy debates and the pulse of politics, she was drawn to the questions that now shape her career in data policy.
Today, Washington is the Rothermere/Harmsworth Duke Associate Professor of Technology Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy. She is a computer scientist trained in organizational ethnography who applies her expertise in digital innovation to issues of data governance. Her work explores how digital technologies intersect with governance and society, uniting technical expertise with qualitative research to better understand the role of data in public life.
Her scholarship considers how institutions adopt emerging technologies and how standards, rules, and regulations shape computational systems. She has been principal investigator on more than $1 million in grants, including the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She has testified before Congress on artificial intelligence in financial systems, advised federal regulators on digital assets, and chaired the international AIES Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society.
Washington is also a public voice for ethical data science. Her book, Ethical Data Science: Prediction in the Public Interest (Oxford University Press, 2023), examines how society can harness innovation while protecting fairness and accountability.