She earned a B.A. in psychology from North Carolina State University, an M.A. in sociology/criminology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Delaware. Her primary research and teaching interests include victimology, gender/social inequalities, socio-legal studies, criminal justice institutions and organizations, criminal justice policy/law, and qualitative methods. She has conducted research on gender/gendered violence, law, prisons, restorative justice, and policing and is the lead- or co-author on numerous peer-reviewed journal articles appearing in journals such as Justice Quarterly, Children and Youth Services Review, and Journal of Applied Social Science.