Jaspal Bhatia

Jaspal Bhatia is a program officer with the AIR Equity Initiative. In this role, he defines and implements the programmatic goals for the Justice in Public Safety and Policing grant program and sets strategic initiatives that generate and use research to advance equity in the U.S. criminal-legal system. In addition, Bhatia supports the programmatic work within the Educational Equity portfolio working to promote integration and build inclusive learning environments.

Prior to joining AIR, Bhatia served as the senior manager for justice reform at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund, where he executed the team’s programmatic and policy agenda on behalf of a broad coalition of civil and human rights organizations.

Previously, Bhatia worked for The Pew Charitable Trusts, advancing research-driven, evidence-based juvenile justice reforms, and led the project’s efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems. He also held positions at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and Advancement Project, where he advocated for criminal-legal and education reform policy priorities at the federal, state, and local levels.