Biography
Kayla Howell is a graduate student in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice from Texas State University in 2023, graduating cum laude. Her research focuses on prisons, prison programming, and reentry, with particular attention to how correctional interventions address the needs of incarcerated women.
Education
MS 2025, Michigan State University
BS 2023, Texas State University
Publications
Cobbina-Dungy, J. E., Gibbs, C., De Biasi, A., Hug, T., Howell, K., & Hankins, S. (2025). “All [the] violence that happened was dudes”: Gendered perceptions of neighborhood safety and strategies to stay safe in a small to mid-sized city. Feminist Criminology.
Howell, K., & Dungy, J. E. (2026). Choice and constraint behind bars: A thematic analysis of women’s experiences in voluntary and mandatory prison programs. Feminist Criminology.
Research and Grants
Currently working on her thesis titled “How Do Prison Programs Address Incarcerated Women’s Needs?”