Isabella Castillo

Dissertation working title: “The Hidden Strain: Understanding the Health Implications of Policing on Families with Autistic Loved Ones”

Isabella E. Castillo, M.A., is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She earned her master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland and bachelor’s degrees in international studies and Italian from Indiana University. During her doctoral studies, she was selected as a Health Policy Research Scholar, Watts College Inclusive Design Scholar, and International Summer School for Policing Scholar. As an interdisciplinary criminologist, her research aims to understand why police-disability interactions go awry and how these experiences impact people with disabilities and their loved ones’ sense of safety and well-being. Her dissertation uses an original survey to explore these complexities, examining the potential stress that family members and caregivers of autistic loved ones experience—individually and as a family unit—related to police safety. Leveraging her expertise and familial background, she is passionate about centering community perspectives and fostering cross-sector collaborations that advance disability-specific knowledge and evidence-based solutions.