Established in 2014

YIJ Welcome: Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice (YIJ)


Welcome to the website for the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice (YIJ).  Although this lab is physically located at Virginia Tech, we share, promote, and disseminate local, national, and global research findings conducted by scholars at Virginia Tech as well as other universities and research institutions.  

People 
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Anthony A. Peguero
Lab Research Director

CV
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Anthony A. Peguero is an associate professor of sociology and criminology. Dr. Peguero is also the Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justiceand research affiliate of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Preventionat Virginia Tech. His research interests involve youth violence, socialization and marginalization, schools, and the adaptation of the children immigrants. He currently serves as associate editor for Race and Justice and editorial board member for the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and Sociology of Education. He is also a National Institute Justice W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow; 2018 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Minority and Women’s Section, Becky Tatum Excellence Award; 2018 Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award; 2015 Virginia Tech Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Fellow; 2014 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Tory J. Caeti Outstanding Young Scholar Award Winner; and, 2013 American Society of Criminology Coramae Richey Mann Award Winner. Dr. Peguero is also a member of the Racial Democracy, Crime, and Justice Network (RDCJN) and Latina/o/x Criminology(LC) which hold the goals of advancing research on the intersection of race, crime and justice and of promoting racial democracy within the study of these issues by supporting junior scholars from under-represented groups. 

Address: Department of Sociology, Virginia Tech, 560 McBryde Hall (0137), 225 Stanger Street Blacksburg, VA 24061
Email: anthony.peguero@vt.edu
Office Phone: 540-231-2549
Personal Website
Citations
Research Gate

Jennifer M. Bondy
Associate Director

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Jennifer M. Bondy received her PhD in Curriculum Theory and Cultural Studies from Miami University (OH). She joined Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor in 2013 and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2019. Dr. Bondy’s research focuses on three interrelated lines of inquiry: (i) Latina youth citizenship formations; (ii) school socialization of the children of immigrants; and, (iv) White women pre-service teachers’ understanding of immigration and documentation status. Her research can be found published in journals such as Race, Ethnicity and Education; Journal of Latinos and Education; Teachers College Record; and, The High School Journal. Dr. Bondy is currently co-chair for Division K, Section IV: Marginality, Equity, and Justice in PK-16 and Community Settings for the American Educational Research Association. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board for Race, Ethnicity and Education, the Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, and Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education. Dr. Bondy is the recipient of numerous teaching awards and honors at Virginia Tech, and she taught high school for four years before becoming an academic.
 
Address:  Department of Sociology, Virginia Tech, 560 McBryde Hall (0137), 225 Stanger Street Blacksburg, VA 24061 
Email: jmbondy@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-7617
Personal Website 
Citations 
Research Gate

Jun Sung Hong
Associate Director

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Jun Sung Hong received his Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He joined Wayne State University School of Social Work as an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor (tenure) in 2019. He has also been an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Sungkyunkwan University (summer) in Seoul, South Korea since 2015. He is currently the Co-Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice (in Virginia Tech). For the past several years, Hong has primarily conducted research on factors associated with bias-based bullying and peer victimization of racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, LGBTQ, juvenile justice involved and economically disenfranchised adolescents and young adults in the U.S. and in South Korea. He has also collaborated with scholars in South Korea, Taiwan, Sweden, Scotland, Switzerland, Spain, and Brazil on research projects. In 2017, he was a keynote speaker in Sweden and Taiwan. His research has been published in major peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Criminal Justice; Journal of Youth & Adolescence; Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health; Journal of Interpersonal Violence; Psychology of Violence; Child & Youth Care Forum; American Journal of Orthopsychiatry; Journal of Adolescence; Violence & Victims; Trauma, Violence & Abuse; Child Abuse & Neglect; Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice; School Psychology International; and Youth & Society. In addition, he has been a guest editor for the Journal of Child & Family Studies, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Journal of School Violence, and Journal of Family Violence. He is currently serving on the editorial board for the Journal of Youth & Adolescence, Psychology of Violence, Journal of Family Violence, and Journal of Child & Family Studies. He is also co-authoring a book entitled, School Bullying, Diversity, and Disparities: Investigating Youth Vulnerability, Marginalization, and Victimization (with Dr. Anthony A. Peguero in Virginia Tech) He has also conducted interviews with several news media and consulted with school districts on bullying and school violence. Most recently, his research was cited by NBC News. He was a past Fulbright recipient, and more recently, he received the Alberti Center Early Career Award and the Wayne State University Academy of Scholars Junior Faculty Award.
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Address: School of Social Work, Wayne State University, 4756 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI  48202
Email: fl4684@wayne.edu
Personal Website 
Citation
LinkedIn

Lindsay L. Kahle
Research Assistant Professor

Dr. Kahle's CV
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Lindsay L. Kahle received her BA in Psychology and her MA in Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, before pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology from Virginia Tech. Her preliminary areas of specialization are in Criminology and Women’s and Gender Studies. Thus, her research interests focus on the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation in youth inequality, and violence and victimization. Her dissertation, entitled: Examining Victimization in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Youth, assessed the effects of bullying, homophobic bullying, dating violence, and sexual assault on school avoidance, substance use and poor mental health outcomes in LGBQ youth. In May 2017, Dr. Kahle finished her degree at Virginia Tech and served as the postdoctoral fellow for the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice (YIJ), as well as an Instructor in the Department of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies. While at Virginia Tech, Dr. Kahle was awarded the 2018 William E. Snizek Undergraduate Teaching Award for the Department of Sociology.   Dr. Kahle is now a Teaching Assistant Professor of Criminology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University. Her teaching areas include: school violence and juvenile justice, introduction to criminology, and women, gender and crime. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as: Criminal Justice Studies, Journal of Child and Family Studies, Victims and Offenders, Sociological Spectrum, Violence and Victims, Gender, Place, and Culture, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Criminology, Sociology Compass, Encyclopedia of Research Methods and Statistical Techniques in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and The Handbook of Race, Ethnicity, Crime, and Justice. 

​Address: 307 Knapp Hall, PO Box 6326
Phone: (304) 293-3325
Email: lindsay.kahle@mail.wvu.edu
​Research Gate

Joong Won Kim
Graduate Research Associate and Webmaster

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Joong Won Kim received his BA in Sociology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and MA in Sociology from DePaul University with distinction. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech.  Joong Won's research interests are: racialization/ethnicization and language use, gender, culture, and Asian/Asian American studies. Overall, Joong Won's research is informed by his perspective as a 1.5 generation Korean immigrant. In addition to serving as a graduate research associate for the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice (YIJ), Joong Won also serves as a webmaster for the YIJ Virtual Laboratory. 

Address: 555 McBryde Hall, 225 Stanger Street, Blacksburg, VA, 24061
Department Phone: (540) 231-8971
Fax: (540) 231-3860
Email: jkimsy@vt.edu
Linkedin
Research Gate

Kay S. Varela
Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate ​

Dr. Varela's CV
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Kay S. Varela is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Southern California's Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She received her PhD in Sociology from Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on theories of race and ethnicity, crime and punishment; the intersections of race, class, and gender and their impact on public and personal safety and risk assessment; and juvenile justice. Her research can be found published in journals such as Sociological Spectrum; Urban Education; and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. 
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Email: kaysarai@usc.edu

Melissa Blythe Ripepi
Graduate Research Associate ​

CV
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Melissa Ripepi is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociology at Virginia Tech. Prior to that, she earned her B.A. from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture in Urban Affairs and Planning with a concentration in public policy. Her research interests are in: social stratification and inequality; race, ethnicity, and immigration; education; and youth violence. In addition to her role as a graduate research associate for the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice, Melissa serves as web designer and administrator of Latina/o/x Criminology’s website. 
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Email: mblythe@vt.edu

Amy M. Ernstes
Graduate Research Associate ​

Amy M. Ernstes is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech and a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Her research interests involve social inequalities, race and racism, pedagogy, and Black feminisms. In addition to her role as graduate research associate for the Laboratory for the Study of Youth Inequality and Justice, she is also the assistant managing editor for the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. She received her Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Master of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago and Master of Arts in Sociology from UNCG. 
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Email: ernstes@vt.edu
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