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Working on criminal justice topics gives me a very different perspective on the Kochs than my equally-liberal friends & family have. @ckochfoundation & @CKinstitute are perhaps the most important funders of research related to criminal justice policy & reform. 1/n
They also frequently host conferences that bring top-notch researchers and practitioners together in one room — a chance to meet everyone else who’s working in this space. In other words, they throw great parties — sounds trivial but this is super important & helpful! 2/n
.@ckochfoundation has funded my own work related to prisoner reentry and I am deeply grateful for that as well as their broader support of my research. My contacts there & @CKinstitute are the first I call if I’m looking for practioner contacts. They know everyone! 3/n
As funders they are extremely hands-off — to a degree that is almost funny. I think they know people are watching them closely for missteps so are super careful. But most funders in this space have strong opinions abt what you should study & what you should find. They don’t. 4/n
Koch Industries for a long time was a major proponent of Ban the Box policies. When my research on BTB (which they did not fund) came out, showing detrimental effects, they were eager to hear about it & engage w the results. I really appreciated that. 5/n
To my fellow liberals that love to hate the Koch brothers, I simply say: the story is more complicated (as always, right?). Charles Koch in particular is enabling & supporting evidence-based CJ reform in red & blue states alike, and that is something we should all appreciate. 6/6
PS1: I think it is a big problem that we’re so quick to demonize people who disagree with us politically (see many comments below). I’m glad my CJ work has given me a chance to find much common ground with people & groups whose politics are otherwise quite different from mine.
