Bio

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I serve as the Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University. I earned my B.S. in Sociology from Oregon State University and my M.S. and Ph.D. in Criminology from Florida State University. My research centers on juvenile delinquency and young adult offending, with current work concentrated in three primary areas. First, I examine self-control, including its developmental origins and its implications for behavior across adolescence and young adulthood. Second, I investigate the behavioral and health consequences of insufficient sleep among teenagers. Third, my recent scholarship explores racial and ethnic disparities in school discipline and juvenile justice sanctioning.

My work has appeared in leading outlets such as Criminology, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, Journal of Experimental Criminology, Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Crime & Delinquency, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Sleep Health, Intelligence, and Preventive Medicine. In recognition of my contributions, I received the 2016 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences New Scholar Award. During my time as a faculty member at Florida International University, I was also honored as a 2016 Top Scholar for Research and a 2019 Top Scholar for Student Mentorship.

I recently completed consultancy work on a multi-year evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program in Central America, funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. While the GREAT program has been evaluated extensively in the United States, our team was the first to assess its effectiveness among youth in Central America, providing important insights into the program’s applicability across cultural and national contexts.

Outside of academia, I enjoy weight training, kickboxing, and traveling to destinations such as Egypt, Greece, Peru, Spain, and Italy. I have also developed an interest in storm chasing and had the opportunity to observe five tornadoes during a 2024 chase across the Midwest.