J.P. (He/Him) is a Husky through and through, earning both his undergraduate and PhD at UW. As a political scientist, J.P.’s research investigates the ways legal systems reinforce racial and other inequalities, and his work has been published in academic journals including Law and Social Inquiry and Law & Policy. J.P. taught in UW’s Law, Societies, and Justice Department as a graduate instructor before joining the faculty of San Diego State’s political science department in ‘21, where he held classes covering constitutional law, law & politics, and drug policy. Missing the Northwest, J.P, and his family moved back to Seattle where J.P. joined UW’s American Ethnic Studies department as a teaching professor in the Integrated Social Sciences Program. Care for students is at the heart of J.P.’s academic career. As someone who started their own “non-traditional” journey in higher education at age 29, J.P. seeks to provide support and understanding for students facing challenges to completing their degree, including parenthood, full work schedules, active-duty military service, mental and physical health barriers, and anything else life might throw at people daring enough to be critical thinkers and knowledge seekers in their own unique way.