USC.edu
Department of Sociology

Nicolas Gutierrez III

Ph.D. Student
Nicolas Gutierrez III
Pronouns He / Him / His Email ng73047@usc.edu

Biography

Nicolas Gutierrez III is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Captive Money Lab. He is also a USC Provost’s Fellow and USC Sociology W.E.B. DuBois & Ida B. Wells-Barnett Graduate Scholar. He earned an M.S. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from San Diego State University and a B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine.

His research focuses on the intersection of unsheltered homelessness, criminalization, and mutual aid in Los Angeles, CA. Nicolas has published in the International Journal on Homelessness, Public Integrity, Scholars Strategy Network, and USC ERI Blog. His research has also been featured in the Voice of San Diego, CBS 8, NBC 7, inewsource, and Televisa Californias.

Nicolas was previously a USC Equity Research Institute Graduate Community-Engaged Research Fellow, CSU Sally Casanova Scholar, Public Administration Theory Network Fellow, and UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty’s Professional Development Training Series on Poverty and Economic Mobility Research trainee. 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.

Education

  • M.S. San Diego State University
  • B.A. University of California, Irvine

  • Research Keywords

    unsheltered homelessness; criminalization; policing; mutual Aid; civic action; urban sociology; social movements; qualitative methods

    • Criminal Justice: Law and Punishment: Fighting Crime or Controlling the Poor?: The Criminalization of Poverty & Homelessness University of Southern California, 2025-2026
    • Sociology of Poverty: Understanding How Policing Drives System Avoidance Among Vulnerable Populations University of North Carolina, Pembroke, Fall 2024
    • Criminal Justice: Law and Punishment: Fighting Crime or Controlling the Poor?: The Criminalization of Poverty & Homelessness University of Southern California, 2023-2024

  • Journal Article

    • (2022). Black Lives Experiencing Homelessness Matter: A Critical Conceptual Framework for Understanding How Policing Drives System Avoidance among Vulnerable Populations. Public Integrity. Vol. 25 (3), pp. 285-300.
    • (2023). Community Acceptance of, and Opposition to, Homeless-Serving Facilities. International Journal on Homelessness. Vol. 3 (2), pp. 1-28.

    Research Report

    • (2021). Community Acceptance and Opposition to Homeless-Serving Facilities. Social and Economic Vulnerabilities Initiative.

    Other

    • (2022). Understanding Community Acceptance of and Opposition to Homeless-Serving Facilities. Scholars Strategy Network.
    • (2025). DUI to Deportation: What H.R. 875 Could Mean for Immigrant Communities. Equity Research Institute (ERI) Blog. Link

  • Committees

    • Chair, Race and Gender Committee, USC Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2025 –
    • Member, Colloquium Committee, USC Department of Sociology, 2024 –
    • Co-Chair, Race and Gender Committee, USC Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2023 – 2025

  • Professional Memberships

    • American Sociological Association, 2022 –
    • Scholars Strategy Network, 2022 –
    • American Society of Criminology, 2021 –
    • Latina/o/x Criminology, 2021 –
    • Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2020 –