Vera Institute of Justice

Bea Halbach-Singh is a senior research associate for Vera’s Beyond Jails initiative, where she conducts research that helps shed light on the crisis of mass incarceration across the rural-urban spectrum. Bea has led research on how much money communities spend on jails and how poverty, homelessness, and substance use are criminalized in various communities. Bea also conducts research on the social and economic implications of investment in carceral systems and studies local jail, court, and budget data to help communities understand the impacts of incarceration.

Before joining Vera, Bea worked as an evaluation specialist with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, where she helped to conceptualize measurement strategies and evaluate the impact of the foundation’s grantmaking.

Bea holds a BA in economics and Asian studies with a minor in Mandarin from the University of Texas at Austin and an MPAff from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.