She earned Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and spent three years as an intern for the St. Louis City Family Court-Juvenile Division. Dr. Urban has written articles about juvenile sentencing practices and evaluations regarding the effectiveness of juvenile court programs. Current research interests include juvenile justice and policy, program evaluation, and juvenile perceptions and cognition of the legal process. She is currently a member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the Justice Research and Statistics Association, and the Missouri Restorative Justice Coalition.