Nicolas Gutierrez III is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California. He is a USC Provost’s Fellow, USC Sociology W.E.B. DuBois & Ida B. Wells-Barnett Graduate Scholar, and USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) Graduate Community-Engaged Research Fellow. He earned an M.S. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from San Diego State University (SDSU) and a B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). 

Nicolas researches the criminalization of homelessness, encampment sweeps, policing, mutual aid, and civic action. His work has been published in the International Journal on Homelessness, Public Integrity, and Scholars Strategy Network. His research has also been featured in the Voice of San Diego, CBS 8, NBC 7, inewsource, and Televisa Californias.

Nicolas has also been a CSU Sally Casanova Scholar, Public Administration Theory Network Fellow, and participant in the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty’s 2024-25 Professional Development Training Series on Poverty and Economic Mobility Research. He was born and raised in West Adams, where he continues to live and advocate for housing and mobility justice. As a lifelong Angeleno, he loves his city, acknowledges its flaws, and dedicates his research career to advancing his vision of Los Angeles as a truly “just city” for all. In his free time, Nicolas enjoys watching Dodgers games and eating his way through LA.