About Tony:
Tony (he/him/el) is from the Decoto district of Union City, CA., and a third-year graduate student in Sociology at Rutgers University with an emphasis on Crime and Social Control. He has ample research experience having been a Ronald E. McNair scholar at UC Berkeley, where he developed a qualitative study examining gang discourse and its effects on racialized communities in South Alameda County, California. He has one article pending publishing through the McNair scholars journal titled, “Marked for Death: The Necropolitics of Gangs”.
Currently, Tony is working on three research projects during his fellowship at Rutgers University. Through an interdepartmental grant, Gretel Weiss, he is examining the weaponization of classifications in California and New York state prisons. He is also a Research Assistant on a nationwide study examining the cumulative effects of COVID-19 in state correctional facilities. For his M.A., Tony is working with returning citizens in the tech industry to map out barriers and opportunities for employment in tech. Additionally, Tony brings nine years of community organizing, prisoner support, and academic mentorship to his work at Rutgers University.
Accolades:
- 2025 Ph.D. student Sociology—emphasis in Crime and Social Control. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
- B.A. Sociology, minor in Ethnic Studies. University of California, Berkeley (2018)
- A.A. Human development / A.A. Sociology. Ohlone Community College, Fremont, CA. (2016)
Scholarship/awards
- Rutgers Graduate TAship, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
- Rutgers Graduate Fellowship, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.(Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021)
- Research Intern, UC Berkeley Labor Center, Berkeley, CA.
- Gretel Weiss Research Scholarship, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
- Etha M. Rodkey Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
- The UC Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
- Ronald E. McNair Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
- Berkeley Grant, University of California, Berkeley, CA. (Spring 2018, Fall, 2017)
- Crank-start Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
- Berkeley Transfer Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, CA. (Fall 2016, Spring 2017)