Skip Links

Find an Expert View All Stories

Topic: Criminal Justice/Criminology

LiYing Li

By

Dr. LiYing Li is a professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology and M.S. in Demography. Her primary teaching interests are criminal behaviors. Currently, she teaches serial killers, sex offenders, introduction to criminal justice systems and corrections. She has also taught in the past classes such as statistics, research methods, crime mapping and criminological theories. From the ground up, Dr. Li has played an essential role in creating the B.S. in Cybersecurity program and developing the Cybersecurity curriculum.

Tricia Hudson-Matthew

By

Tricia Hudson-Matthew, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Human Services and director of the Center for Addiction Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She teaches about Legal and Ethical Issues in the Helping Profession, Family System, Motivational Interviewing Conflict Resolution, and Decision-making Skills.

Hudson-Matthew performs clinical work at a private practice with individuals with substance abuse, couples counseling, and children ages 5 and up as a certified play therapist. Prior to joining MSU Denver, she worked as a therapist and clinical case manager at the Mental Health Center of Denver. Hudson-Matthew was also the clinical director and child and family therapist at the Council on Substance Abuse and Mental Health.

Her scholarly interests are in ethics between therapists and clients, mental health, and addictions. She has given presentations and published her work about mental health, ethics, domestic violence, self-esteem, addiction, grief and loss, and motivational interviewing techniques.

Hudson-Matthew received her educational doctorate in Counseling Education and Supervision from Argosy University in 2012, a master’s in Clinical Behavioral Healthcare from the University of Northern Colorado in 2004 and a bachelor’s in Human Services from MSU Denver.

April Hill

By

April Hill, Ph.D., is a professor and program director of Criminalistics in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has conducted research on water quality analysis, forensic chemical analysis, archaeochemistry and science education for the visually impaired.

During her graduate research, Hill completed 12 flights aboard NASA’s microgravity aircraft, affectionately known as the “Vomit Comet.” She then completed a post doctorate in education and outreach at Penn State University’s Center for Nanoscale Science, where Hill developed a passion for creating hands-on science experiences for the blind. Her work in this area has been published in the Journal of Chemical Education and was awarded a ChemLuminary Award from the American Chemical Society.

As a dedicated proponent of increasing minority participation in STEM fields, Hill serves on the steering committee for MSU Denver’s CO-WY AMP Program and as the academic advisor for the Women in Science student organization. Her current research efforts include projects in archaeochemistry, chemical education for students with visual impairments and forensic chemistry. She has collaborated with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on several projects, including analyzing residues in ancient Mayan beer vessels to recreate an authentic Mayan beer and performing a demonstration of the Marsh Test for arsenic which was featured in the recent Poisons exhibit.

Hill received her doctorate in analytical chemistry and a graduate certificate of forensic science from Iowa State University in 2007. She completed her bachelor’s in chemistry and became ACS certified from Central College in Iowa in 2002.

Stacey Hervey

By

Stacey Hervey, MSSc, is an associate professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She specializes in school safety, extremism, hate crimes/group violence and issues affecting juveniles.

Hervey has worked in Victim Services and spent a short time as a patrol officer before deciding to teach full time. She is a mayoral appointee to the City of Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission and in 2009 received the FBI Director Leadership Award for her contributions to the community. Hervey has also received the Mile High Teacher Award and Distinguished Teacher Award. She is a member of the Rocky Mountain Association of Identification and has worked with Homeland Security and the Attorney General’s office to develop training resources for parents on internet safety and has presented throughout the United States.

In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses for Metropolitan State University of Denver, Hervey also teaches courses for University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with her primary role being a high school teacher for Denver Public Schools. She is most proud of her work advocating for marginalized communities and introducing law enforcement careers to underrepresented populations.

Hervey received a master of social science in Criminal Justice from University of Colorado Denver and bachelor of arts in Sociology and Deviance from University of Colorado Boulder. She also holds a Law Enforcement Certificate from Arapahoe Community College and a Teaching Certificate from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

William Gaines

By

William Gaines, M.S., is a lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Gaines has worked as a patrol officer, a field investigator and a criminal justice instructor. He has received extensive training in the areas of criminal investigation, narcotic identification, DUI prosecutions, advanced homicide investigation, active shooter response and mobile field force. His research interests include racial profiling, biased policing, immigration control and destructiveness of low self-control.

Gaines received a master of science in public administration from Florida International University in 2016; and a master’s and bachelor’s in criminology and criminal justice from Florida State University in 2012 and 2010. He is currently completing his doctorate in criminal justice and criminology from Nova Southeastern University.

Andrea Borrego

By

Andrea Borrego, Ph.D., is the chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

She worked as a graduate research assistant and faculty associate at Arizona State University before coming to teach at MSU Denver in 2015. Borrego is involved in many MSU Denver committees and is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology. She served as a panel chair on Media Reporting of Crime for the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Conference in 2016.

Borrego co-authored an article for The Criminologist: The Official Newsletter of the American Society of Criminology titled “The advantages and disadvantages of original data collection for doctoral students.” She also co-authored a chapter in Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice: Critical issues and directions, and has several other publications in the works. Her research focuses on fatal-police citizen encounters and LGBTQ victimization.

Borrego received her doctorate and masters in criminology and criminal justice from Arizona State University in 2015 and 2011 and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 2009.

Meg Bertoni

By

Meg Bertoni, Ph.D., is an affiliate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her courses taught include Criminal Justice and the Social Structure, Criminological Theories, Institutional Corrections, Introduction to Corrections and Criminal Justice System, Juvenile Justice, Victimology, Research Methods and Statistics, Punishment and Society, White Collar Crime, Undergraduate Capstone in Cybersecurity and graduate-level Theories of Cybercrime.

Bertoni has spent nearly three decades working in higher education. She has taught courses and seminars in multiple disciplines, from humanities to social and behavioral sciences, to STEM and specializes in cross-disciplinary theory and methods. Her areas of research are in transnational crime, international security (including cybersecurity) and applications of nonlinear dynamics to problems in the social and behavioral sciences. She has conducted research projects about everything from policy issues and voting behavior, to national hurricane insurance, traffic patterns, how people make investment decisions, stranded energy assets and optimal orchard design.

Bertoni received her Ph.D. in international relations from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 2007, her master’s in world religion and conflict resolution from Harvard University in 1994 and her bachelor’s in literature and publishing from Emerson College in 1992.

Brian Bagwell

By

Brian Bagwell, Psy.D., is a professor in the Department of Human Services at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

He previously had a 20-year career as a firefighter/paramedic. Bagwell spent five years in New York City, part of which was spent working with a team providing psychological services to members of the New York Police Department following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. In addition to teaching, Bagwell coordinates MSU Denver’s Fire and Emergency Response Administration degree program. He is also a member of the Emergency-Preparedness Committee, a task force member of the Campus Climate Survey Committee and council member of the Service Learning Program Advisory. Bagwell received the Faculty and Staff Award for Exceptions Achievement in Community Engagement from MSU Denver in 2016.

He has presented locally and nationally on topics that include workplace violence, critical incident stress management, trauma, treating claustrophobic firefighters and perception of threat and de-escalation of violence strategies for first responders, employers and mental health clinicians.

Pamela Ansburg

By

Pamela Ansburg, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her specialty is in experimental psychology.

Ansburg has been in the academia field for over two decades. She taught at as an assistant professor at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro and Slippery Rock University for almost four years before joining the Department of Psychology at MSU Denver in 1999. She was one of the founding faculty associates for the Undergraduate Research Program at MSU Denver, a highly successful campus-wide research conference. It was Ansburg’s vision and leadership that defined the program and she remains active on its advisory council. Her other professional affiliations include Society for Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) and Association for Psychological Science. Ansburg is also on the editorial board for the Student Journal of Psychological Sciences at MSU Denver.

Her research focuses on understanding the cognitive processes involved in remembering and using knowledge. In particular, Ansburg investigates how both task demands (task familiarity, working memory load, etc.) and individual differences (age, attentional focus, etc.) can impact the ability to learn, access, and apply information. Her most recent work was published in Educational Gerontology titled “Myth-Busting is a Bust for Patient Education: Making Salient Older Adults’ Misconceptions about Osteoarthritis Fails to Lead to Lasting Corrections.”

Ansburg received her doctorate in cognitive psychology from University of Illinois, Chicago, a master’s in psychology from University of Nevada, Reno and a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California, Riverside.

;