Ainsley Frederick is a Senior Research Analyst for the Research and Action Center at Impact Justice. She has experience conducting quantitative analyses on many different areas of public policy, including criminal legal reform, reproductive rights, urban planning, and climate change. Prior to Impact Justice, Ainsley was a two-time Summer Research Fellow at the University of Tampa’s Criminology Institute for Research and Training where she conducted research with Dr. Nathan Connealy on the criminogenic effect of safe-consumption sites in Toronto, Canada. Her research was published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology in February 2025, and it contributed to the ongoing conversation regarding harm reduction drug policy in the United States and abroad. Her experience also includes a research internship at the Democratic National Committee in summer 2024 and a congressional campaign in her hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska in 2022.
Ainsley attended American University, where she earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in social policy. She also has a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Justice and Law from American University. Her coursework and research largely focused on criminal legal reform including transformative justice initiatives, research methods, and decriminalization drug policy.