Dr. Robin LaBarbera
Scholar and storyteller bridging rigorous research with narratives of transformation from overlooked places.
From classroom teacher to university professor to independent evaluator — a 27-year commitment to measuring what matters in the lives of people society too often overlooks.
About Dr. LaBarbera
Researcher, author, and advocate.
Dr. Robin LaBarbera, PhD, DSW, is Professor Emerita at Biola University and President of LaBarbera Research & Evaluation, a program evaluation consulting practice. Her research focuses on human flourishing in hard places — particularly in correctional settings, reentry programs, and communities experiencing homelessness.
She has been doing assessment and evaluation work since 1998 — first as a teacher and learning specialist, then for 15 years as a professor and director of Biola University's Education Specialist credential program, and since 2021 as an independent program evaluator. That career-long commitment to measuring what matters shapes everything she writes and researches.
Her recent book, It's Changed What I'm Living For (Ethics Press, 2025), presents a multi-year study of 266 participants in prison-based theological education. Through rigorous mixed-methods research and compelling narrative portraits, Dr. LaBarbera challenges conventional rehabilitation metrics by centering the voices of individuals serving long or life sentences.
As a speaker and consultant, Dr. LaBarbera brings academic rigor and deep compassion to conversations about transformation, education, and second chances. She is available for speaking engagements, workshops, and program evaluation consultation.
Dr. LaBarbera holds two doctoral degrees — a PhD in Education and a DSW in Social Work — and has 15+ peer-reviewed publications.
Evidence-Based Insights on Justice and Transformation
What Changes Lives Inside Prison?
Dr. LaBarbera joins The Redemption Project podcast with host Brandon Burley to discuss what actually changes lives inside prison—and what only sounds good on paper. Drawing from years of firsthand research, she explains why transformation cannot be measured by recidivism alone, how faith-based education reshapes prison culture, and why well-being is a stronger indicator of successful reentry than conventional metrics.
Current work
World Impact History (in progress)
Currently, I'm writing a comprehensive history of World Impact's urban ministry work, documenting their decades-long commitment to community transformation in America's cities. This project reflects my ongoing interest in how faith-based organizations create conditions for human flourishing in under-resourced communities.
Address
1198 Pacific Coast Hwy.,
Suite #D230
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Contact
Telephone: +1 562.476.8166
E-mail: robin@robinlabarbera.com