Rebecca Bretz
PhD Student
Criminology, Law, and Justice
Pronouns: She/Her
Contact
Building & Room:
BSB 4075D
Email:
About
Rebecca (Wilson) Bretz (she/her) is an organizer, facilitator, researcher, and PhD student in Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago. For twelve years, she has organized in Chicago and nationally across issues, including police murder and torture, public conviction registries, US militarization, parole, prison conditions, and sexual violence prevention.
She has held leadership roles as Director of Organizing at the Chicago Torture Justice Center, Lead Organizer of the Coalition to Decarcerate IL, and Lead Organizer of Parole Illinois. In addition to her organizing work, she has coordinated educational programs inside Cook County Jail and Stateville Correctional Center, including collaborative initiatives that contributed to the development of legislation. She is currently supporting a research project on gender-based police violence at the Invisible Institute, called Beneath the Surface.
Her work examines non-carceral approaches to addressing sexual violence, public conviction registries, and the relationship between violence, the law, and social control through an abolitionist lens. Her research draws on community-engaged and collaborative approaches grounded in her experience as an organizer.
Education
MA, Loyola University
BS, DePaul University