curriculum vitae
Education
PhD, Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, England, 2003.
MSc, Criminology with honors of distinction, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, England, 1998.
BA, Black Studies, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, 1992. Graduated magna cum laude.
Professional experience
2011 to 2025. RTI International. Senior Fellow (2022 to 2025); Senior Research Sociologist (2011 to 2022).
2000 to 2011. Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Adjunct Assistant Professor (2007 to 2011), Specialist (2002 to 2007), Assistant Public Administrative Analyst (2000).
publications and research projects
See separate pages (linked above)
Invited presentations: International
2024 “Sudden Storms and Slow Droughts: Conceptualizing Carcerality as Weathering for Women With Incarcerated Loved Ones.” University of Sheffield, Centre for Criminological Research. March 7 (invited talk)
2020 “Exacerbating Inequity: Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Families with Incarcerated Loved Ones in the United States.” Opening conference for the Centre for Criminological Research, University of Alberta, Canada, November 17–19 (invited talk, with Keeonna Harris)
2015 “‘A Twenty Hour a Day Job’: The Repercussive Effects of Frequent Low-Level Criminal Justice Involvement on Family Life.” Prisoners’ Families, Punishment, and Social Inequality, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, June 25–26 (invited talk)
2014 Journées Sexualités et Enfermement, Université de Lille, Lille, France, December 12 (invited talk, given in French)
2013 Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile, October 15 (invited talk)
2013 Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile, October 14 (invited talk)
2012 The Australian Sociological Association (TASA), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, November 29 (plenary panel presentation)
2012 Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, July 17 (invited talk)
2012 Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3, France, April 12 (invited talk)
2012 University of Amsterdam Research Center for Gender and Sexuality, Netherlands, March 16 (invited talk)
2011 Punishment & Society: Politics & Culture Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 12 (invited talk)
2010 Maison Européenne des Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société, Lille, France, June 1 (invited talk, given in French)
2009 Els Fantasmes de l’Exclusió: Ordre, Representacions, I Ciències Socials a La Ciutat Contemporània, Barcelona, Spain, November 20 (oral presentation)
2009 CLAT 5: 5th Latin Conference on Risk Reduction, Porto, Portugal, July 2 (session chair and oral presentation)
2008 Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto, Canada, November 25 (invited talk)
2008 Séminaire LabToP, Université de Paris VIII, Paris, France, June 23 (invited talk, given in French)
2007 Encuentros de comunicación, intercambio y reflexión crítica con profesores e investigadores, Grupo de Estudios sobre Sistema Penal y Derechos Humanos del Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 5 (invited talk)
2007 Ethnografeast: Ethnography and the Public Sphere, Centro de Estudos de Antropologia Social (ISCTE), Lisbon, Portugal, June 22 (invited talk)
2005 Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, September 27 (invited talk)
2005 Estratégias de Redução de Danos: Sistema Penal e Drogas, Universidade Federal Fluminense e Instituto Carioca de Criminologia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 29 (keynote address)
2005 A Prisão, a Psiquiatria e a Rua, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, June 6 (oral presentation)
2004 Prisons 2004, London, England, June 23 (oral presentation)
2004 Aquém e Além da Prisão, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal, November 17 (oral presentation)
2003 Contre la Peine de Mort, Centre Lacordaire, Montpellier, France, June 26 (invited talk, given in French)
invited presentations: national
2025 “Growing up in the Shadow of the Carceral State: Youth and Families Facing Incarceration Across the World.” The Petey Greene Program. October 30 (invited panelist)
2024 “Caring Costs: Women with Incarcerated Loved Ones.” Institute for Humane Studies, George Mason University, research discussion on The Economic and Human Costs of Incarceration, May 1 (invited talk)
2021 Book Forum: Remaking a Life: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Confront Inequality. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, virtual, August 6–10 (invited panelist)
2020 Book launch for Digital Punishment: Privacy, Stigma, and the Harms of Data-Driven Criminal Justice. Virtual forum hosted by Rutgers University, July 20 (invited discussant)
2019 Division on Women & Crime Policy: “Women’s Reentry to the Community,” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 13–16 (invited panelist)
2019 “Ethnographies of the Carceral State,” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 13–16 (invited discussant)
2017 “It Was Like Rescue, Not Arrested: Experiences of Correctional Treatment Services by Prisoners and Their Families,” 41st Annual AMERSA National Conference, Washington, DC, November 2–4 (invited plenary presentation)
2017 “Remarks on Punishment,” conference on Tommie Shelby’s Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform. University of Pittsburgh, PA, October 26–27 (invited presentation)
2017 “‘The System in America Isn’t Interested in Assisting People of Color’: How Repeated Institutional Failures Shape Beliefs about the Criminal Justice System among Heavily Policed Groups,” conference, Policing the City: Violence, Visibility, and the Law, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, March 29–30 (invited talk)
2017 Ethnography Incubator, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, March 9–10 (invited visit)
2017 “Beyond the Peer-Reviewed Article: Making Research Relevant for Community Stakeholders and Policymakers,” Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, March 7 (invited presentation)
2017 “Funding Qualitative Research: Approaches and Strategies for Grant-writing,” sponsored by the Scholars Strategy Network, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, March 7 (invited talk)
2016 Research for Justice Reform (conference sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, May 13–14 (invited presentation)
2016 “Integrating Methods to Study Dis-Integrated Systems,” University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Stice Lecture series, May 4 (invited presentation)
2015 “‘A Twenty Hour a Day Job’: The Repercussive Effects of Frequent Low-Level Criminal Justice Involvement on Family Life,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science conference, Tough on Crime, Tough on Families?: Criminal Justice and Family Life in America, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, July 17–19 (invited presentation)
2015 “Embedded Social Work and Ethnography: A Hybrid Approach to Studying Hypermarginality in Institutional Contexts,” American University, Washington DC, Center for Health, Risk, and Society, April 8 (invited presentation)
2014 “Integrating Clinical Social Work and Ethnography with Hypermarginalized Populations,” Severe Deprivation in America, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, NY, October 30–31 (invited presentation)
2014 “Integrating Clinical Social Work and Ethnography with Hypermarginalized Populations,” University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Learning Community on Poverty and Inequality, October 10 (invited presentation)
2013 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation symposium on Mass Incarceration and Its Effects on Population Health and Health Disparities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, April 4–5 (invited presentation)
2013 The Laurel School, Shaker Heights, OH, February 7 (invited talk for ninth and tenth graders in the rubric of Perspectives: Power, Privilege, and Poverty—A Local, National, and Global View)
2011 New York University, Crime, Law, and Deviance seminar, New York, NY, November 11 (invited talk)
2011 Yale University, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, New Haven, CT, November 10 (invited talk)
2011 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Scholars Program, Ann Arbor, MI, October 27 (invited talk)
2011 University of Texas, Austin, Poverty and Marginality in the Americas: An Ethnography Workshop, Austin, TX, March 31 to April 2 (invited talk)
2010 University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 30 (full-day workshop)
2010 University of Texas, Austin, Sociology Department, Austin, TX, February 25 (invited talk)
2009 Sociologists’ AIDS Network pre-conference, San Francisco, CA, August 7 (invited talk)
2003 Cornell University, Gender, Race, and Incarceration: Activism and Scholarship conference, Ithaca, NY, April 18 (oral presentation)
2002 Smith College, Sociology Department, Northampton, MA, February 22 (invited talk)
regional and other invited presentations
2019 University of California, Berkeley, Social Justice Fellowship program, Intersections of Sociological Research and Advocacy Work, May 3 (invited talk)
2018 Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, September 18 (invited talk)
2018 UCSF’s Bay Area Health Disparities Symposium, Berkeley, CA, March 23 (panel moderator)
2017 Office of the Public Defender, San Francisco, CA, March 29 (invited talk)
2015 Restorative Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, Reentry Conference and Resource Fair, San Francisco, CA, September 26 (keynote speaker)
2015 San Francisco Department of Public Health, Scientific Working Group, San Francisco, CA, August 4 (invited talk)
2013 Tenderloin Health Research Center, UCSF, March 5 (invited participation on panel of experts)
2011 Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, University of California, Berkeley, CA, September 14 (invited talk)
2010 Ann Lucas Lecture Series in Law & Justice, San Jose State University, CA, December 9 (symposium on book, Doing Time Together, with three discussants)
2010 Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality, San Francisco State University, CA, December 6 (invited talk)
2010 CAPS Town Hall, San Francisco, CA, October 8 (invited talk)
2010 CAPS Qualitative Working Group, San Francisco, CA, September 7 (invited talk)
2008 CAPS Town Hall, San Francisco, CA, May 9 (invited talk)
2008 UCSF Drug User Research Seminar, San Francisco, CA, February 6 (invited talk)
2005 CAPS Community Briefing, San Francisco, CA, May 12 and Oakland, CA, May 13 (invited talk)
2004 CAPS Town Hall, San Francisco, CA, October 8 (invited talk)
2004 CAPS Qualitative Working Group, San Francisco, CA, February 3 (invited talk)
1997 San Quentin Prisoners’ Peer-Educator Training, San Quentin State Prison, CA, April 15 (invited talk)
1996 Centerforce Directors’ Conference, San Diego, CA, August 26 (invited talk)
guest lectures
February 2022 (virtual), University of Notre Dame, course on mass incarceration
February 2021 (virtual), RTI Virtual “PHield” Trip, panel discussion on Public Health, Mental Health, and Racial Equity
December 2020 (virtual), University of Toronto, course on punishment theory and practice
October and April 2020 (virtual), Cornell University, course on mass incarceration and family life
October 2020 (virtual), Duke University, course on incarceration and inequity
April 2020 (virtual), San Francisco State University, undergraduate course on the architecture of incarceration
March 2020 (virtual) and April 2017, University of Pittsburgh, undergraduate course on introduction to sociology
November 2019, December 2018 and 2017, UCSF, elective course for medical students on the health of incarcerated populations
March 2018, Rutgers University, School of Criminal Justice, Center for Law & Justice, seminar on research methods
March 2017, Cornell University, Department of Sociology, seminar on confinement
January 2017, Brown University Clinical and Community-based HIV/AIDS Research Training Fellowship program webinar
March 2015, February 2014, various 2003–2011, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, behavioral and policy science in HIV treatment and prevention seminar
October 2010, UCSF, Department of Sociology, Social and Behavioral Sciences/Institute for Health & Aging Colloquium
June 2010, UCSF, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, traineeship in HIV prevention studies postdoctoral fellows program
May 2010, UC Berkeley School of Law, punishment, culture, and society seminar
April 2009, San Francisco State University, AIDS as a contemporary health crisis undergraduate class
Summers 2006–2008, UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program, first-year introductory seminar
May 2008, San Francisco State University, sociology by the bay undergraduate class
April 2008, UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, “Tips, Tricks, and Ethics: How to Be an Effective and Ethical Researcher and Colleague” training seminar
October 2004, UC Davis School of Law, judicial process seminar
poster and panel presentations
Lorvick, J., Hemberg, J., George, M., Piontak, J.R., Browne, E.N., Comfort, M. (2024, June 15–19). Risky polysubstance use among people who use opioids: A community-based ecological momentary assessment study. College on Problems of Drug Dependence conference, Montreal, Canada.
Ali, R., Comfort, M., Lorvick, J., Hemberg, J., Goode, L. S., & Ramaswamy, M. (2024, March 13–16). The complexities of COVID-19 vaccination choices among Black women in Alameda County, CA. Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Tibaduiza, E., Embry, V. V., Comfort, M., Sheppard, M., & Wright, Y. (2023, November 15–18). ‘A common thread’: Building cross-agency collaboration in local criminal legal systems through decisions about implementing the PSA. American Society of Criminology, Philadelphia, PA.
Hemberg, J., George, M., Comfort, M. L., Piontak, J. R., & Lorvick, J. J. (2022). Hold the phone: Lessons learned conducting an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of polysubstance use among people who use opioids. Polysubstance Use Symposium, New York, NY.
Hemberg, J., Comfort, M., Hall, A., & Lorvick, J. (2020). Making research reachable: Engaging criminal legal system involved women in community-based research. Virtual panel participant at American Public Health Association Conference 2020.
Hemberg, J., Comfort, M. L., Hall, A., Agodi, A., & Lorvick, J. J. (2019). Healthcare access, utilization, and contraceptive use among women under community supervision. Poster session presented at American Society of Criminology, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2018, November 16). “I’m the man and he’s the woman!”: Gender dynamics among couples during and after prison. Panel presentation at the American Society for Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Lorvick, J., Comfort, M. L., Kral, A. H., Lambdin, B. H., & Browne, E. (2018). Opioid and benzodiazepine co-use among women associated with binge drinking. Presented at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence annual meeting, San Diego, CA.
Kral, A., Lambdin, B., Comfort, M., Powers, C., Cheng, H., Lopez, A. M., Murdoch, R., Neilands, T., & Lorvick, J. (2018). Impact of a strengths-based case-management intervention on HIV viral load among people who use drugs in Oakland, California. Presented at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence annual meeting, San Diego, CA.
Lorvick, J., Comfort, M., Kral, A. H., & Lambdin, B. H. (2017, November 2). Association of accumulated criminal justice involvement with health outcomes among women who use illicit drugs. Presented at the 41st Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA), Washington, DC.
Lorvick, J., Lambdin, B. H., Comfort, M. L., & Trudeau, J. V. (2017, July). Community supervision and mental health needs in a community-based sample of women who use drugs in Oakland, CA. XXXVth International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Prague, Czech Republic.
Comfort, M. (2016, August 22). Policing, incarceration, and community responses: The role of public health. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in Seattle, WA.
Comfort, M. (2015, August 23). “A twenty hour a day job”: The repercussive effects of frequent low-level criminal justice involvement on family life. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, Chicago, IL.
Comfort, M., & Wildeman, C. (2015, March 20). Prison as primary care: How correctional healthcare experiences could inform community healthcare access. Oral presentation at the 8th Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, Boston, MA.
Comfort, M. (2014, November 22). My brother’s keeper—and doctor, and social worker: The repercussive effects of incarceration on family health and well-being. Oral presentation at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2014, November 21). Discussant for panel on “Prisoners’ Families: An International Perspective” at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2014, November 19). Critic on panel of “Author Meets the Critics for Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality,” written by Sara Wakefield and Christopher Wildeman, American Society of Criminology annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Wenger, L., Kral, A., Lopez, A. M., & Comfort, M. (2014, October 14). Staying within my lane: Enacting harm reduction behind bars. Presented at the National Harm Reduction conference, Baltimore, MD.
Lorvick, J., Jenkins, T., Muhammad, A., Powers, C., Comfort, M., Krebs, C., & Kral, A. (2014, September 1). Health and criminal justice involvement among drug users in Oakland, CA. Presented at the Alameda County Drug Use Symposium, Oakland, CA.
Comfort, M. (2014, August 16). Discussant for panel on “Extreme Poverty” at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Lorvick, J., Comfort, M., Krebs, C., & Kral, A. (2014, June). Heightened vulnerability associated with criminal justice involvement among women who use drugs. Presented at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence annual meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Comfort, M. (2013, November 22). Crime and the punished. Discussant for panel at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Comfort, M. (2013, August 12). Betwixt and between: Navigating HIV treatment through cycles of incarceration. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, New York, NY.
Comfort, M. (2013, July 10). Couples and incarceration: The structural production of unknowing practices. Oral presentation at the International HIV Social Science and Humanities conference, Paris, France.
Comfort, M. L. (Invited Speaker). (2013, March). The health of women with incarcerated partners. Presented at Health Issues in Incarcerated Populations: Lessons from Research and Clinical Practice, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2013, February). How incarceration affects families and social inequality. Presented at Perspectives: Power, Privilege, and Poverty, A Local, National, and Global View. Cleveland, OH.
Howell, B. A., Guydish, J., Kral, A., & Comfort, M. L. (2012, October). Smoking patterns among parolees in the San Francisco Bay area. Presented at the 140th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2012, August). “I’m the man and he’s the woman!”: Incarceration, masculinity, and intimate relationships. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, Denver, CO.
Comfort, M., Turney, K., & Wakefield, S. (2012). “People on parole have found jobs”: Unemployment and relationship tensions following men’s release from prison. Panel presentation at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting, Chicago, IL.
Khan, M., Epperson, M., & Comfort, M. (2012). Criminal justice involvement and HIV risk model: A novel conceptual model that describes the influence of arrest and incarceration on STI/HIV transmission. Poster presentation at the American Public Health Association conference. San Francisco, CA.
Howell, B. A., Guydish, J., Kral, A., & Comfort, M. (2012). Smoking patterns among the formerly incarcerated in the San Francisco Bay area. Poster presented at the American Public Health Association conference. San Francisco, CA.
Cocohoba, J. M., Comfort, M., Greenblatt, R. M., & Johnson, M. O. (2012). Community pharmacy adherence support services: Patient and pharmacist perceptions. Poster presentation at the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care 7th International Conference on HIV Treatment and Prevention Adherence. Miami, FL.
Frank, J. W., Wang, E. A., Nunez-Smith, M, & Comfort, M. (2012). Discrimination attributed to criminal record and healthcare utilization. Poster presentation at the Society of General Internal Medicine meetings. Orlando, FL.
Kramer, K., Bowers, M., Comfort, M., Labiner-Wolfe, J., Zack, B. (2011, August 15). HIV prevention for women partners of incarcerated men: An overlooked part of the discussion. Oral presentation at the National HIV Prevention Conference. Atlanta, GA.
Comfort, M. (2011, August). “It was basically college to us”: Incarceration, rehabilitation, and intimate relationships. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
Comfort, M., Birder, M., Hagan, J., Woodford, J., Elster, J., Elster, M., & Anderson, T. (2010, November 17). At the intersection of confinement and the free world: The personal, social, and political repercussions of visiting incarcerated family members. Documentary film screening and facilitated panel discussion at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Lopez, A. M., Knight, K., Riley, E., Comfort, M., & Cohen, J. (2010, October). Urban space and place: Contextual mechanisms that amplify poor health among indigent women residing in single room occupancy hotels in San Francisco. Poster presented at UCSF Health Disparities Research Symposium, San Francisco, CA.
Ramos, J., Balls Organista, P., Comfort, M., Grinstead Reznick, O. (2010, August 12). Empowering women: HIV prevention for partners of recently incarcerated men. Poster presentation at the American Psychological Association meetings, San Diego, CA.
Comfort, M., Myers, J., Koester, K., Knight, K., Bourgois, P., & Grinstead Reznick, O. (2010, July 20). HIV risk among male prisoners, formerly incarcerated men, and their female partners. Poster presentation at the International AIDS conference, Vienna, Austria.
Ramos, J., Balls Organista, P., Comfort, M., & Grinstead Reznick, O. (2010, May). The power of sexual communication: HIV prevention for the female partners of incarcerated men. Poster presentation at the Association for Psychological Science annual convention, Boston, MA.
Comfort, M., Hoover, M., Ramos, J., Reznick O, Rodriguez, T., Smith, C., & Stewart, W. (2010, April 23). Incarceration and health disparities: Possible connections, emerging questions. Oral presentation at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M., Hoover, M., Ramos, J., Rodriguez, T., Smith, C., Stewart, W. (2009, October 30). Observations from the field: HIV prevention for male-female couples after incarceration. Oral presentation at the U.S. Conference on AIDS, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. & Eason, J. (2009, August 8). Prison towns and prisonized families: Mapping the proliferation and reach of state correctional institutions. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M., Reznick, O. G., & Neilands, T. B. (2008, October 7). HIV prevention for women visiting their incarcerated male partners. Oral presentation at the NIMH Annual International Research Conference on the Role of Families in Preventing and Adapting to HIV/AIDS: Meeting the Needs of Families in the Mental Health and Criminal Justice System. Providence, RI.
Comfort, M., Grinstead, O., McCartney, K., & Neilands, T. B. (2008, September 6). HIV prevention for women with incarcerated male partners at a California state prison. Oral presentation at the International Sociological Association meeting, Barcelona, Spain.
Comfort, M., Grinstead, O., McCartney, K., & Neilands, T. B. (2008, May 30). HIV prevention for women visiting incarcerated men: The HOME Project. Oral presentation at the Society for Prevention Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2007, August 14). ‘I looked at this as a beautiful experience’: Mass incarceration and the secondary prisonization of intimate relationships. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting. New York, NY.
Comfort, M. (2006, November). “We share everything we can the best way we can”: The dualization of the convict body. Oral presentation at the American Society for Criminology annual meeting. Los Angeles, CA.
Comfort, M. (2006, August 13). ‘It’s a lot of good men behind walls!’: Mass incarceration and the transformation of romance. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting, Montreal, Canada.
Comfort, M., Allen, A., & Regan, T. (2008, April 18). Research to program: Pathways to sustainable HIV Prevention with women visitors at San Quentin state prison. Oral presentation at the CAPS Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2006, April 21). The HOME Project: HIV prevention for women visiting men at San Quentin state prison. Oral presentation given at the Fifth Annual Center for AIDS Prevention Studies Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2005, June 6). “It’s a lot of good men behind walls!”: Mass incarceration and the transformation of romance in the United States. Oral presentation at the A Prisão, a Psiquiatria e a Rua conference, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Comfort, M. (2005, September 29). Papa’s house: The prison as domestic and social satellite. Keynote address given at the Estratégias de Redução de Danos: Sistema Penal e Drogas conference, Universidade Federal Fluminense e Instituto Carioca de Criminologia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Comfort, M., Grinstead, O., Fierro, X., & Jordan, S. (2004, September 13). Visiting 101: The experiences and needs of the visiting community. Invited talk at the Centerforce Summit, Millbrae, CA.
Comfort, M., & Grinstead, O. (2004, August 16). HIV/AIDS, incarceration, and communities of color. Oral presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2004, April 16). The HOME Project. Oral presentation at the Fourth Annual Center for AIDS Prevention Studies conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M. (2003, April 4). The HOME Project. Oral presentation at the Third Annual Center for AIDS Prevention Studies conference, San Francisco, CA.
Comfort, M., & Grinstead, O. (2003, October 20). The HIV prevention needs of women visiting incarcerated men. Oral presentation at Centerforce Summit, Millbrae, CA.
Grinstead, O., & Comfort, M. (1997, May 27). Developing HIV prevention services for women visiting incarcerated men. Poster presentation at the National Conference on Women and HIV, Los Angeles, CA.
Comfort, M. (1996, August 1). HIV and women visitors: What’s the connection? Presented at the Centerforce Directors conference, San Diego, CA.
media and communications
2021 “Promoting COVID-19 vaccination equity.” Harvard Medical School. https://info.primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/blog/promoting-covid-19-vaccination-equity
2019 “How the Prison System Creates ‘Absentee Dads’ – and Hurts the Kids They Leave Behind.” Op ed in The Crime Report posted October 17: https://thecrimereport.org/2019/10/17/how-the-prison-system-creates-absentee-dads-and-hurts-the-kids-they-leave-behind/
2019 Contributed to the Punishment & Society’s blog post “Are You a Criminologist or a Sociologist?” Posted February 8: https://punishment-society.blogspot.com/2019/02/are-you-criminologist-or-sociologist.html
2018 Participated in the webcast “HIVE Online: Caring for Women Impacted by Incarceration,” hosted by UCSF. Broadcast July 31: https://hiveonline.org/caring-for-women-impacted-by-incarceration/
2018 Interviewed by Frank News for “Because She’s Powerful: In Conversation with Endria Richards, Hedy Lee, and Megan Comfort.” Published on June 28: http://www.franknews.us/interviews/137/137
2017 Quoted in “Behind Bars, Beyond Means: The Crushing Expense of Loving Someone in Prison,” a feature article in The Guardian by Lisa Riordan Seville and Zara Katz, published April 20: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/20/philadelphia-bridging-the-gap-van-service-prisons
2017 Interviewed for “Doing Translational Research,” a podcast recorded by the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Interviewed on March 7.
2016 Guest appearance (with Andrea Lopez) on North Carolina Public Radio program The Measure of Everyday Life for a segment on methodological innovations in studying hypermarginalized populations. Interviewed by Brian Southwell, podcast posted on January 13.
2015 Guest appearance on WGXC (Albany, NY) radio program Prison Voices Project for a segment on family members of prisoners. Interviewed live by Alexandra Cox, July 23.
2014 Guest appearance on North Carolina Public Radio program The State of Things for a segment on families and incarceration. Interviewed live by Frank Stasio, October 24.
2011 Interviewed for “Office Hours,” a podcast featured on “The Society Pages,” an online social science project housed in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Sociology. Podcast posted on August 26.
2010 “Black Men in Prison and the Women Who Love Them.” Guest appearance on BlogTalkRadio program, Date Smarter, Not Harder. Interviewed live by Deborrah Cooper, September 11.
2009 BBC Radio 4, “Thinking Allowed.” Interviewed live by Laurie Taylor, January 14.
2009 Newstalk 106–108FM (Ireland), “The Moncrieff Show.” Interviewed live by Sean Moncrieff, February 6.
2009 “Entrevista: Megan Comfort. A prisão deles podes resultar na quase prisão delas.” Publico (full-page article in Portuguese daily newspaper), August 13, p.6.
2008 Tattered Cover Bookstore. Denver, CO, August 11 (invited talk and book signing)
2008 “Author Makes a Study of Prisoners’ Partners.” The Denver Post, August 10, 5B–6B.
2008 Clear Channel of Colorado, “Focus.” Interviewed by Irene Rawlings, broadcast August 17.
2007 Radio France Culture, “A plus d’un titre.” Interviewed live in French by Jacques Munier, September 14.
2003 BBC Radio 4, “Thinking Allowed.” Interviewed by Laurie Taylor, broadcast September 17.
2000 “Family Ties: A Conversation with Megan Comfort.” SQTV (San Quentin Television), San Quentin State Prison, CA, filmed September 8, broadcast repeatedly.
1997 “SQ in Focus: A Formula for Success.” SQTV (San Quentin Television), San Quentin State Prison, CA, filmed July 24, broadcast repeatedly.
1995 “Services for Your Family at The House at San Quentin.” SQTV (San Quentin Television), San Quentin State Prison, CA, filmed October 13, broadcast repeatedly.