- Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1994
BIO
I retired from the University of Vermont in May 2024, after 30 years on the faculty. I came to UVM right after finishing my Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. I also received my Master’s degree in Sociology from Berkeley. While there I worked with David Matza, Troy Duster, and Michael Burawoy, focusing on the study of “deviance” and qualitative research methods. I remain research-active; my substantive areas of interest are prison conditions, programs, and reform. My methodology is qualitative research, most recently having used Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods with incarcerated individuals and correctional staff. Throughout my career, I have mostly studied intervention programs, such as my dissertation topic, which was about an HIV prevention program for injection drug users. I have long been interested in the application of sociological research for social change, as well as the unintended consequences of social problems interventions.
Research:
I was a partner in the Justice Research Initiative (JRI) with Professor Abby Crocker from Math/Statistics). In 2020, we became part of the Urban Institute Prison Research Innovation Network (PRIN), as the research partners for the Vermont Department of Corrections. In this effort, we (and four other states) used participatory research methods with incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, to transform prisons in Vermont. See more information about PRIN. JRI is also the research arm of the National Center on Restorative Justice (NCRJ), which is located within Vermont Law School: National Center on Restorative Justice and funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Center is a national platform for training and education in making all aspects of the justice system more restorative.
Teaching:
My proudest achievement is the University teaching award I received in 1999, the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award. At UVM I taught courses at all levels, but in my upper-level seminars, I focused on community-engaged approaches, or sometimes service-learning. Since my courses addressed criminal justice, corrections, and punishment, in the past, we partnered with Department of Corrections to collect data for them within prisons, and have brought UVM Sociology students into a facility to take classes alongside incarcerated students. In addition, UVM students have participated as volunteers inside the local women’s prison. For years, I served as faculty advisor to the SGA club, The Prison Partnership. In 2017, I created the UVM Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP), which I directed until 2024.
In my spare time, I like to drink coffee with friends, play pickleball (of course!), read, sample dark chocolate, and plan my family’s next adventure. Oh, and chat about criminal justice reform.
Area(s) of expertise
Corrections, justice reform, applied research, reintegration
Bio
I retired from the University of Vermont in May 2024, after 30 years on the faculty. I came to UVM right after finishing my Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. I also received my Master’s degree in Sociology from Berkeley. While there I worked with David Matza, Troy Duster, and Michael Burawoy, focusing on the study of “deviance” and qualitative research methods. I remain research-active; my substantive areas of interest are prison conditions, programs, and reform. My methodology is qualitative research, most recently having used Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods with incarcerated individuals and correctional staff. Throughout my career, I have mostly studied intervention programs, such as my dissertation topic, which was about an HIV prevention program for injection drug users. I have long been interested in the application of sociological research for social change, as well as the unintended consequences of social problems interventions.
Research:
I was a partner in the Justice Research Initiative (JRI) with Professor Abby Crocker from Math/Statistics). In 2020, we became part of the Urban Institute Prison Research Innovation Network (PRIN), as the research partners for the Vermont Department of Corrections. In this effort, we (and four other states) used participatory research methods with incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, to transform prisons in Vermont. See more information about PRIN. JRI is also the research arm of the National Center on Restorative Justice (NCRJ), which is located within Vermont Law School: National Center on Restorative Justice and funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Center is a national platform for training and education in making all aspects of the justice system more restorative.
Teaching:
My proudest achievement is the University teaching award I received in 1999, the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award. At UVM I taught courses at all levels, but in my upper-level seminars, I focused on community-engaged approaches, or sometimes service-learning. Since my courses addressed criminal justice, corrections, and punishment, in the past, we partnered with Department of Corrections to collect data for them within prisons, and have brought UVM Sociology students into a facility to take classes alongside incarcerated students. In addition, UVM students have participated as volunteers inside the local women’s prison. For years, I served as faculty advisor to the SGA club, The Prison Partnership. In 2017, I created the UVM Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP), which I directed until 2024.
In my spare time, I like to drink coffee with friends, play pickleball (of course!), read, sample dark chocolate, and plan my family’s next adventure. Oh, and chat about criminal justice reform.
Areas of Expertise
Corrections, justice reform, applied research, reintegration