Nicole Bracy

Nicole is an accomplished community researcher with sophisticated training in both traditional and innovative quantitative and qualitative methods. She has dedicated her career to work that addresses the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly individuals who are incarcerated, at risk of being incarcerated, returning home from prison, or have been victims of crimes. Nicole is particularly skilled in partnering with community partners—from service providers to parents, youth, public servants, and funders—to conduct research and applying findings for the benefit of underserved communities. She has led some of our projects employing quasi-experimental designs and that use complex quantitative analytic techniques, such as propensity score matching. She also has deep experience with such qualitative methods as interviewing, focus group facilitation, and ethnography.

Before joining Harder+Company, Nicole worked as a researcher at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Delaware, overseeing studies on built environment, health outcomes, school violence, early childhood, and interventions for families who have experienced trauma. In addition to her work with Harder+Company, Nicole is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University, where she teaches in the Public Administration Graduate Program and the Criminal Justice Undergraduate Program. She is also an adjunct professor at Southwestern College, where she teaches statistical methods to sociology and psychology majors. When Nicole is not working she is doing reformer pilates or being bossed around by her young daughter.