Amy E. Lerman

Amy E. Lerman is the Michelle Schwartz Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Political Science and Director of the Possibility Lab at The Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a political scientist who studies issues of race, public opinion, and political behavior, especially as they relate to punishment and social inequality in America.

Lerman is the author of two books on the American criminal justice system—The Modern Prison Paradox and Arresting Citizenship (awarded a best book award from the Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association). Her recent book, Good Enough for Government Work (awarded both the Woodrow Wilson Award and the Gladys Kammerer Award from the American Political Science Association) examines how perceptions of government shape citizens’ attitudes toward privatization.

Lerman’s scholarship can be found in a variety of journals, including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Psychology, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and Punishment and Society.

In addition to her academic work, Lerman served as a speechwriter and communications consultant for national nonprofits and members of the United States Congress, a community organizer in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and an adjunct faculty member of the Prison University Project at San Quentin State Prison. She consults widely on issues related to prison reform, violence reduction, access to higher education, and law enforcement mental health.