CSW|Streisand Center‘s Zaia Hammond Featured for Work in Criminal Justice Reform

We’re proud to share that Zaia Hammond, a CSW | Streisand Center student worker, was recently featured by UCLA Newsroom, highlighting the work of UCLA professor Terence Keel and the BioCritical Studies Lab. The piece explores how the lab collaborates with impacted families and community organizations to critically examine death records of people who have died in custody, challenging official narratives and advocating for greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.

Zaia, a fourth-year undergraduate and senior lead in the lab, plays a key role in guiding student researchers through complex forensic and historical records. In the article, she reflects on how the work has shaped her understanding of humanity, justice, and public health, particularly for incarcerated people whose dignity is often denied. As a pre-med student interested in addressing health inequities, Zaia describes the experience as transformative—deepening both her academic interests and her commitment to social change.

“I’ve learned so much about not only what humanity means, but how we as society and the government can portray what it means to be human. For a lot of people who are incarcerated, that is stripped from them,” she’s quoted in the feature. “It’s made me a better person, understanding how our law enforcement system works and how everyday people can actually make a change about what’s going on that they don’t even realize.”

Zaia is a powerful example of how UCLA students are contributing to research that bridges scholarship, community partnership, and public impact. At the CSW|Streisand Center, she led the organization of our quarterly Books to Jails donation drive,  which donated over 150 books to the LA County Jails System in fall 2025. We’re thrilled to see her work recognized and grateful for the compassion she brings to critical research.