Hello, thanks for visiting my webpage. I am an Assistant Professor at UMass-Lowell in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies. 

Prior to joining the UML faculty I was a research assistant at the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute and received my Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice.

My research career began by evaluating the effectiveness of drug treatment programs in juvenile drug courts and rehabilitation programs in adult prisons. My doctoral dissertation looked at the predictive capabilities of various prison classification systems, and this work led me to examine prison violence more closely.

I traveled around the United States visiting prisons so I could speak to wardens, correctional officers, and inmates to better understand violence in prisons. After interviewing several people who committed murder in prison, I wrote two books (Avenging Child Sex Abuse and Prison Homicide). I am currently researching suicides in prison and the approaching moral crisis of euthanasia in prisons.

Before seeking an academic career I was employed as a children's services caseworker and I mentored at-risk youth in various settings. These experiences inspired my long-term research goal of improving justice system responses to child abuse and neglect.