Pamela Ruiz Analyst, Central America Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role As analyst for Central America, Pamela conducts research on people who commit crime, conflict and violence in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Immersed in Central American realities, she reports nuanced perspectives on evolving criminal trends and derives practical policy solutions for a variety of audiences. Professional Background Pamela holds a PhD in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice/The Graduate Center, CUNY; an MA in Social Science with a concentration on Demography and Social Analysis; and BAs in Cognitive Psychology and Chicano/Latino Studies from the University of California, Irvine. She was a Fulbright fellow to El Salvador, a Dean K. Harrison fellow to Honduras and Guatemala, and a postdoctoral fellow at New York University’s Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research. She has experience working in the private sector on projects for the Department of Defense, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and USAID. Areas of Expertise Gangs Organised crime Governance Drug trafficking Extortion Violence Mixed-methods Languages English Spanish