Data Science & Research

Bhavan K. Sodhi is the Chief Program Officer at the Innocence Project. In this capacity, she is responsible for the oversight, management, and supervision of all six programmatic departments: Client Intake and Evaluation, Post-conviction Litigation, Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, Social Work, and Public Policy Reform.

Prior to this role, she served as the IP’s Director of Intake & Case Evaluation. Bhavan comes to the IP with deep experience in innocence work, having served as the Legal Director at Innocence Canada, where she is now a member of its Case Review Committee and Executive Board. She was also the Executive Director of the Osgoode Innocence Project in Toronto and an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, teaching wrongful conviction and forensic science. Bhavan also co-founded and instructed the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law for many years.

Bhavan has served as a Board Member of the international Innocence Network and has experience working as both a prosecutor and defense attorney in Toronto. Bhavan has written extensively about criminal justice and wrongful convictions and regularly presents on these topics. She is deeply passionate about and committed to addressing injustice and the systems that foster it.

Dr. Jaime S. Henderson joined the Innocence Project in August 2022. As the Director of Data Science and Research, she leads an innovative and exciting department that strives to deepen the understanding of wrongful convictions, and determines the organization’s research strategy while fostering an ethical and responsible data culture. Prior to joining the Innocence Project, Dr. Henderson was immersed in criminal legal system transformation in the Philadelphia courts for over a decade where she led data-driven efforts to decrease the local jail population and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. She earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, an MA in Forensic Psychology at Castleton College, and a PhD in Criminal Justice at Temple University. Dr. Henderson also serves as the managing editor of the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior.

Vanessa Meterko is the Research Manager at the Innocence Project. She earned her M.A. in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of the City University of New York. Vanessa has conducted research and published on a variety of topics including health care, subtle discrimination, and wrongful convictions. She has also served as an advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual abuse in New York City.