Juan Carlos Meléndez-Torres is a Research Analyst whose work at ISLG employs qualitative and quantitative methods to turn big data into actionable insights through the organization’s criminal legal system projects. A strong believer in the power of storytelling, he contributes to the crafting of an evidence base that enables community partners to better understand their path to the present and inform their decision-making toward a more equitable future.

Juan Carlos initially worked at ISLG as an intern through CUNY’s Public Policy Pathways Internship program. Before pivoting to the policy world, he worked in the music industry as a royalty analyst at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and as a public defense investigator at the Bronx Defenders. He holds a BA in International Studies and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; he is currently working towards a MS in Statistics at CUNY’s Baruch College. He also completed four years of doctoral work in ethnomusicology at Cornell University, where he trained as an educator and ethnographer. In his spare time, Juan Carlos is an avid concertgoer and leatherworker.