She received her bachelor’s in Psychology from Grinnell College, her master’s in Criminal Justice from Loyola University New Orleans and her doctorate in Criminology from the University of Cambridge. While obtaining her master’s and doctorate degrees, she developed two distinct teaching and research interests, crime and disaster and offenders with mental illness. Her work on these topics has appeared in the journals Criminal Justice Policy Review, the International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, the Natural Hazards Observer, the American Journal of Economics and Sociology and American Behavioral Scientist. She is also the co-editor of all three editions of the book Crime and Criminal Justice in Disaster, as well as the co-author of both editions of the textbook Fundamentals of Criminology: New Dimensions.