About
When I was a graduate teaching assistant and doctoral candidate at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), along with assisting in research projects, I was involved in designing and delivering courses in criminology and sociology for undergraduate students. Now, as of May 2024, I have graduated with a PhD in Criminology, after completing a MS in Applied Sociology, and a BA in Criminology from UTD. While at UTD, I consistently sought out additional learning opportunities, earning multiple certifications on drugs, drug use, drug policy, program evaluation, effective teaching practices, and emotional intelligence in the workplace.
My doctoral dissertation, "We've got a 4/20 in progress": Effects of Dallas Cannabis Policy on Police Productivity, took me down a fascinating journey of understanding the history of drug policy in the United States and across the world. My predominant research focus is on advancing evidence-informed drug policies and our understanding of negative addictions. However, I have participated in several collaborative research projects covering various topics related to substance use, drug policy, mental health, and other niche topic areas in criminology. As of now, I have two co-authored publications, with another two under review. The first, with Dr. Jordan Riddell (MSU), discussed the impact of various cannabis policies on cannabis-alcohol substitution published in Substance Use and Misuse. The second, alongside Dr. John Worrall (UTD), on the influence of open access criminology and was recently published in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.
