Michele Deitch is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, where she holds a joint appointment at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the UT School of Law and directs the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab (PJIL), which is home to the National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight (www.prisonoversight.org). Professor Deitch is widely recognized as one of the leading experts in the U.S. on the issue of correctional oversight and prison reform, and has written and published extensively on these topics. She also advises policymakers and agencies around the U.S. on prison and jail safety issues and on the development of independent correctional oversight bodies. In 2019, the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) awarded her the Flame Award for her contributions to the field of prison oversight. 

Deitch co-chairs the American Bar Association’s subcommittee on correctional oversight and served as the original drafter of the ABA’s Standards on the Treatment of Prisoners. She also authored a book chapter on legal aspects of correctional health care. Prior to entering academia, she served as a court-appointed monitor of prison conditions in Texas.
Professor Deitch holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.Sc. from Oxford University, and a B.A. from Amherst College. 

Alycia Welch is the Associate Director and co-founder of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab (PJIL) at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, which is home to the National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight (NRCCO). Through the NRCCO, Alycia regularly advises policy makers and advocates on correctional oversight. She also co-instructs graduate courses on criminal justice policy research alongside Michele Deitch, who is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading experts on correctional oversight. Alycia’s scholarship focuses on the safe and humane treatment of people in custody, with a particular focus on women and individuals living with behavioral health challenges. She has authored numerous reports for state and local government officials, corrections administrators, and advocates that have been selected for inclusion in several publications and featured in major national news outlets. Before she entered academia, Alycia directed a transitional housing program for women exiting prison or jail, developed an alternative to incarceration program for young adults, oversaw a multi-state federally-funded initiative providing training and technical assistance on behavioral health and criminal justice issues, served as a policy analyst for members of the Texas House of Representatives, and designed multiple studies assessing the impact of community-based programs on those who are justice-involved. She holds a Master’s of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a Master’s of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.