Omair Gill

Omair Gill is a Research Fellow at the California Policy Lab and a PhD student at the Goldman School of Public Policy. Prior to starting his PhD, Omair worked as a research associate at CPL, where he conducted data analysis and provided technical assistance on criminal justice administrative datasets as part of CPL’s work with the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code  (CRPC).

Omair’s first experience working in criminal justice research was a gun violence prevention study at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, where he worked with the participant data and conducted research on similar re-entry programs. This experience helped ignite his interest in programs and policies (like pre-trial diversion programs) that are alternatives to incarceration and that seek to increase public safety in communities through investing in and supporting some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Omair hopes to create meaningful impacts in the communities he grew up in. Through CPL’s close partnership with the CRPC, he is able to see how CPL’s research is informing policies impacting Californians throughout the state. He has co-authored several CPL reports on criminal justice, including an analysis of how crime trends changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and on sentencing practices in California.

In his free time, he enjoys watching basketball, especially the Warriors, and trying new restaurants. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UC Davis.