Hi everyone!  A little about my professional background: I am the recently retired Assistant Chief of Operations of the Tampa, Florida Police Department.  I worked my way through the ranks and have experience in most areas of the department including Patrol Commander, Detective Commander, Field Training Officer, Narcotics Officer, and Economic Crimes Detective.  I led the department’s communications section and forensic units.  I served as the Commander of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau.  This unit participated in the FBI's joint terrorism task force, and, in conjunction with members of the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service, we supervised large scale tax fraud investigations.  These investigations had a tremendous positive impact on numerous victims in the Tampa area.  During my time as the Patrol Commander in East Tampa, I assisted in building strong community partnerships that the agency still relies upon to make Tampa safer.

Now about my educational philosophy: In today’s society, much emphasis is placed on higher education to maximize your career potential, improve your station in life and to appreciate the diverse makeup of our population.  The drawback to this line of thought is making that real-life connection to a person just eager to get into the workforce.  This is especially true for law enforcement careers.  Having already graduated from college prior to entering the Tampa Police Department, I can recall seasoned detectives and administrators telling me that being a “college girl” didn’t mean I would be a good cop.  To a certain degree, no pun intended, that line of thought is correct.  Having to learn the job of an effective police officer was never something I learned in college.  However, my degree did make me much more competitive when I began to seek promotional and career advancement.  By seeking that organization upward mobility, my salary increased as did other benefits like my retirement salary.  Finally, the collaboration of my “hands-on” police experience with my college experience made me appreciate the cultural and cognitive differences of the people I encountered.  It was also very beneficial in my critical thinking and leadership development as well.

I prescribe to the notion that pedagogy today must demonstrate a clear nexus to real-life/practical application in order for it to have legitimacy and value to our students.  I don’t recall many of my college professors having extensive hands-on experience that would help me see the practical application of the concepts that I was learning.  Over the years, both in training sessions I have attended in the workplace and college courses I have taught, I have seen first-hand how my life experience enhances the college student’s involvement in the classroom.

Students are more engaged, inquisitive, and overall involved in the classroom discussion and interaction with others when real-life stories are intertwined into the theories and lessons being taught.  I have the unique ability to share how the criminal justice field has changed over the past two decades with my students.  I can teach above and beyond the academic material, tailoring lessons to scenario based situations.  I have a love of teaching and sharing my knowledge with others.  I enjoy taking the time to learn about each student as an individual and help them achieve their goals, both personally and professionally.  My goal in any teaching setting is to give students a welcoming environment that encourages personal growth, expands their thought process and fosters learning and love of the criminal justice system and how all if its components work together to achieve common goals. 

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration from St. Leo University.  I serve on the board of directors for RISE Tampa, the Tampa Police foundation.  I also serve as a special advisor to the board of NAWLEE, National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. 

I am married to my husband of twenty years, Keith, a Tampa Police Major, and I have two children, Ryan, 16 and Natalie, 11.