From Broome County roots to Binghamton scholar

DeLaney Painter’s story is woven into the fabric of Broome County, from her Johnson City beginnings to her upbringing in Vestal and her academic journey, which began at SUNY Broome Community College. There, she pursued a liberal arts degree to explore a wide range of disciplines, developing interests in the arts, criminology, and math. SUNY Broome’s affordability and plentiful opportunities made it feel like the perfect place to start.

“I appreciated being close to home while laying a strong educational foundation," she said. “But I knew I wanted to continue my studies at a school that offered even more options.”

Transferring to Binghamton University was a logical next step. Its programs, reputation, and welcoming community were exactly what she was looking for. However, transferring came with challenges. As a junior living at home, Painter often felt disconnected from campus life and peers who had already established relationships at Binghamton. She admits that it took some time to find her footing and learn how to navigate a new academic and social environment. But she was also determined to see these challenges as opportunities for growth.

Painter embraced the changes and found a supportive community in the Department of Human Development at the College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA). There, she took part in collaborative research and gained valuable internship experience.

Painter explains how these internships significantly influenced her academic and career interests. Working with the Upstate New York Policing Research Consortium (UNY-PRC) under Associate Professor Laura Warren Hill, Painter gained experience in research, digital archiving, and policy work focused on policing and incarceration. Her internship at ACCORD, a non-profit dedicated to dispute resolution, provided hands-on experience in mediation and conflict resolution, allowing her to work directly with individuals facing everyday conflicts. Through this role, she developed skills in accountability, mediation, and non-punitive resolution, deepening her understanding of programmatic work.

“Over the past two years, I have watched DeLaney grow from a curious and engaged student into a principled and deeply committed researcher,” Hill said. “Her work reflects careful research practice, curiosity, and a strong sense of responsibility to the communities she studies. DeLaney approaches her work with a seriousness that is rare and demonstrates a strong independent research agenda.”

Painter says that conducting research helps her understand the complexity of the world, particularly in the social sciences, while keeping her connected to the human aspect of her work. Her research with Arise Event Services, which emphasizes community-centered approaches to safety, and her involvement with restorative histories through UNY-PRC, where she engages with self-authored narratives, continue to shape her approach to research and the systems she aims to influence.

“What I love about research is that it aligns with how I want to move through the world: informed, critical, and curious. I have learned that the process of conducting research can be just as instructive as reading others’ work.”

Not only have these experiences deepened her understanding of how these systems affect communities, strengthening her research, writing, and analytical skills, but they have also inspired her to continue her graduate studies at CCPA.

Painter recently attended the Innocence Network Conference in Chicago, Illinois, which brings together impacted individuals and advocates from legal, forensic, social work, policing, and storytelling fields. The conference encouraged her to engage with professionals and peers nationwide, broadening her understanding of innocence and justice work.

“A particularly impactful aspect of the conference was the presence of individuals who had been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated,” Painter notes. “Their perspectives added depth and accountability, grounding discussions in lived experience and emphasizing the real-world implications of the issues being discussed.”

Painter will continue her graduate studies in the 4+1 Master of Public Administration program at CCPA this fall. She is dedicated to maximizing opportunities in graduate school and remains open to further academic work as her interests evolve. She is especially focused on research with practical applications, including administrative and programmatic aspects of justice-related work and the development and maintenance of initiatives over time. Most of all, she is committed to aligning her academic pursuits and professional endeavors with her core values.

“I want to be involved in work connected to innocence and justice, or more broadly, to contribute to efforts aimed at making societal systems more equitable, just, and responsive.”