Angelia Turner is the Senior Equity Lead in Justice for WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center.
She currently leads two WestEd projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). RWJF Project 1 centers on exploring structural racism within the justice system. RWJF project 2 examines health equity and its impact on the overall health and well-being of children and adults impacted by this issue.
Prior to joining WestEd, Turner served as Director of Health and Justice on a project funded by the U.S. Department of State and Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) program.
Turner began her career in criminal justice, serving as a Research Analyst with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). In this role, she examined and made recommendations on the feasibility of drug treatment in correctional settings. Turner’s work laid the foundation for expanding drug treatment within federal correctional settings. In addition, Turner has taught criminal justice courses at various colleges and universities across the United States and was selected as a Summer Faculty Fellow at Johns Hopkins University – National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) branch. She spent 20 years serving as CEO and Director of Turner Consulting, LLC, where she secured and managed over $24 million in grants and contracts. Turner has also provided training to law enforcement officers in the areas on de-escalation and mediation, conflict resolution, community policing, and report writing. She has worked with legislative bodies, non-profits, and advocacy groups to develop domestic violence legislation.
Turner received a Governor’s appointment to the Commission on Women, Mayor’s appointment to the Jacksonville Journey Criminal Justice Task Force, and served as a Peer Review Consultant on behalf of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) – Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
Turner earned her master of science in criminal justice and education from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor of science in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina.