She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas Woman’s University (2010). She has a M.A. in Women’s Studies (2006, Texas Woman’s University), and a B.A. in English (2004, Eastern Oregon University). Erin Rider offers courses on topics such as, race/ethnicity, deviant behavior, disasters, and immigration. Her research interests are: immigration of political refugees, armed conflict, and disaster recovery processes. She strives to connect theory and practice in the classroom settings by encouraging students to critically reflect on social issues, understand the influence of social structure and cultural ideology, and become involved in civic engagement. Tanya Sasser