In 2017, I earned a PhD in Criminology, Law, and Justice from the University of Illinois-Chicago, completing a dissertation related to how popular media portrayals work to frame justice ideologies. I have over 20 years of experience working as a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator for the U.S. Government, including conducting fraud, international, financial, gang-related, and national security investigations.
I’m also a U.S. Army veteran, having served nine years as an intelligence officer and deployed during the U.S. “Global War on Terrorism.”
I’ve been an Adjunct Professor with DePaul’s Criminology Department since 2020, teaching Crime and the Media, White Collar Crime, and Criminal Investigations courses.
I strive to be a teacher and scholar who balances the experience gained working as a justice professional with the knowledge obtained through empirical and evidence-based research.
I also believe in service. To me, working in this field is about being committed to the ideals of justice and improving our system through engagement and study. I try to help students think critically about how and why our system is the way it is, and what can be done about it.
My academic interests include how criminal investigation/law enforcement is applied differently in various communities, and the disproportionate impacts of that enforcement; the role popular media plays in depicting criminality and policing, such as portrayals of white-collar crime versus “street” crime; and transnational/international law enforcement, such as comparing how different "crimes" are defined and globally policed.