Sofia Cavaness studies what it means to have a career in law enforcement in 2026. Her research studies the impact of the social environment for officers, law enforcement agencies, and the communities they serve. Her work asks: What does it mean to "be a cop" today? And why do changes in the career matter for public safety, officer wellbeing, and the future of policing?
Sofia Cavaness is a doctoral student in Organizational Communication. Her research examines how intergenerational interactions shape the way officers navigate organizational socialization in law enforcement, contributing to theory on identity formation, role negotiation, and knowledge transfer in high-reliability organizations.
Law enforcement offers a high-stakes window into a challenge facing many professions: how do organizations manage members who hold differing beliefs about what the work should demand of them, and how do those interactions shape organizational culture?
Grounded in fieldwork, Sofia currently studies how mentorship shapes law enforcement agency dynamics and how knowledge is passed from veterans to newer officers. She works collaboratively with law enforcement agencies, with her research designed to understand what shapes sustainable careers in policing, and what gets in the way.
B.A. (2021) University of California, Santa Barbara. Degree: Communication
B.A. (2021) University of California, Santa Barbara. Degree: Italian Literature