My story

I am a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at WCU. My research on sentencing inequality has been published in journals such as Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. I co-authored Social Justice, Criminal Justice (Routledge Press), which examined how the law has historically been used as both a tool for oppression and a vehicle for social change.

In addition to my academic endeavors, I have extensive field experience in the criminal justice system, including working as a legislative analyst for the Florida Legislature’s Commission on Capital Cases, as a crime intelligence analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ( assisting the Career Offender, Sexual Offender/Predator, and Missing and Endangered Persons Units), as an expert witness on criminal sentencing, and as an academic instructor in both male and female correctional institutions. 

As part of my mission to serve as a liaison between the criminal justice system and the university, I serve as a subject matter expert and consultant for the Western Carolina University Police Department (WCUPD). As such, I work closely with WCUPD to help increase trust and transparency between the campus community and the agency. 

In the larger community, I serve on the Board of Directors for the Center for Domestic Peace, the domestic violence agency that serves Jackson County, North Carolina. In 2019, I received a grant to train a therapy dog for assisting me in my work as a domestic violence advocate. Atlas, my long-haired red and black German shepherd (pictured above), sits with families in the Center for Domestic Peace offices and escorts victims to the Jackson County Courthouse for both civil and criminal court proceedings. 

My work as a consultant affords me the opportunity to combine my passions; teaching, training, and helping individuals and communities realize their goals. With two decades of experience in both academia and community agencies, I understand what it takes to articulate an idea, create a plan, execute it, and translate the results in a way that makes sense to all of the stakeholders.