Professional Introduction

My name is Stephanie Waldron. I am currently attending Walden University, where I am a clinical psychology doctoral student.  I have two bachelor's degrees in criminal justice with a concentration in forensic science and psychology, both obtained from California State University, Stanislaus. I have also completed all coursework for two master's degrees in criminal justice from California State University, Stanislaus and psychology, from Santa Clara University, before transferring to Walden University to pursue my PhD. I am currently a member of several organizations including the Alternatives to Violence Project, where I am a team coordinator, the American Evaluation Association, the Association of Criminal Justice Research, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and Golden Key International Honour Society.

I have held multiple positions that have allowed me to gain a well-rounded background in the fields of criminal justice and psychology. I started my career at the Coroner's Office in Stanislaus County assisting with autopsies and making death notifications, where I worked for three years. This position taught me the fragility of life and how to work with families to connect them to resources after the loss of a loved one. I also taught college English at San Quentin State Penitentiary and facilitated several creative conflict resolution groups in various prisons throughout the State of California, with the Alternatives to Violence Project. I did this for approximately a decade. For the past twelve years I have also been working with and ultimately for the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, networking and planning their annual conference. At the same time, I have held several positions with and am now the Executive Director of a research and evaluation company, managing several contracts and analyzing data for various criminal justice and behavioral health related programs. I am also an on-call crisis worker helping those in mental health crisis situations. My goal is to become a forensic psychologist, working in the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice.