I am the newest member of the Creighton Soc/Ant community, but I am not new to CU. I received my B.S. in Sociology from Creighton in 1996 and have been teaching as an adjunct for the past two years. I received both my MA (2002) and PhD. (2005) in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I specialize in the area of criminal justice, with a particular focus on urban structures and their effect on crime. I have also researched juvenile justice and drug issues in the Midwest.I am a member of several organizations, both academically and within the Omaha community. I am an active member of both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and have presented at their annual conferences for a number of years. I am a member of a new Restorative Justice Coalition, which brings together community members, criminal justice professionals, and academics to discuss restorative options within Nebraska. I have also spent the last year working with the Juvenile Justice Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where I helped develop a database tracking juvenile pretrial diversion programs across the state of Nebraska.