Ashley G Blackburn is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Houston – Downtown. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (2000), Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology (2002), and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice (2006) from Sam Houston State University. Dr. Blackburn has been teaching ethics-related courses in the area of criminal justice for more than a decade. Her recent work has focused on sexual victimization in jails and prisons, the female inmate experience, and representations of women in the media. Dr. Blackburn has published in such journals as Prison Journal, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Journal of Criminal Justice, Women and Criminal Justice, and Deviant Behavior. She has also co-authored texts on victims’ rights and research methods and co-edited a text entitled, Prisons: Today and Tomorrow.
Irene Linlin Chen, Ed.D., is a Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Houston – Downtown. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in educational technology, Chen also served as the technology coordinator for the Department of Urban Education.
Rebecca Pfeffer is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Houston – Downtown. Her research focuses generally on the victimization of vulnerable populations, including victims with special needs and victims of human trafficking. Her current research focuses on public policies addressing prostitution, both in terms of the buying and selling of sex, and specifically investigates effective law enforcement response to the problem of prostitution. With a background in both criminology and education, she is also interested in how different pedagogies in criminal justice classrooms may impact the educational experience and the career trajectories of students. Dr. Pfeffer received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University, her M.S. in Teaching from Pace University, and her M.S. in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania.