Staff
Robert E. Worden, Ph.D.
Phone: (518) 456-6323 ext. 14
rworden@finninstitute.org
Dr. Worden is the Director of the Finn Institute. He is also an associate professor of criminal justice and public policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York, on whose faculty he has served since 1990. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with specializations in public administration and public policy. More…
Sarah J. McLean, Ph.D.
Phone: (518) 456-6323 ext. 11
smclean@finninstitute.org
Dr. McLean is the Associate Director and the Director of Research and Technical Assistance at the Finn Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University at Albany, with a specialization in policy and process. At the Institute she is involved in research that examines the effectiveness of strategic and programmatic crime reduction initiatives, such as gun interdiction patrols, wireless video surveillance, truancy abatement programs, and chronic offender initiatives. More…
Jessica L. McCormick
Phone: (518) 456-6323 ext. 10
jmccormick@finninstitute.org
Ms. MCormick is a Research Assistant with the Finn Institute. Ms. McCormick holds a B.S. in Community and Human Services with a concentration in Criminal Justice from SUNY Empire State College and is working on her M.S. in Criminal Justice with the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include reducing recidivism, effective alternatives to incarceration, and early intervention programs.
Andrew Wheeler
Phone: (518) 456-6323 ext. 12
Mr. Wheeler is an adjunct research analyst at the Finn Institute and a doctoral student in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany. Mr. Wheeler holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with a double minor in Statistics and Sociology from Bloomsburg University. His research interests include proactive police interventions, the spatial distribution of crime, offender reentry, and the use of informational databases in decision making for the police.
Akousa Bempong
Ms. Bempong is a crime analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center (OCAC). Ms. Bempong is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy with an M.S. in Intelligence Analysis, with her Master’s thesis focusing on The Critical Infrastructure of the Rail System in the United States . At OCAC, she specializes in robbery pattern analysis and assists in maintaining an electronic reporting system for secondhand dealers. Prior to joining the OCAC, Ms. Bempong was an intern with the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center in Lansing, MI.
Anne-Laure Del Cerro
Ms. Del Cerro is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Albany Crime Analysis Center. Ms. Del Cerro holds an M.A. from the University at Albany, where she was the recipient of the 2007 Lt. John F. Finn Scholarship.
Jessica L. Durham
Ms. Durham is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Albany Crime Analysis Center. Ms. Durham holds an M.S. in intelligence analysis from the University of Detroit Mercy. She is the recipient of the Excellence in Intelligence Scholarship. Her research focuses on the behavior of deviant leaders, counterterrorism, and homeland security.
Paula F. Fisher
Ms. Fisher is a Senior Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center (OCAC) in Syracuse. Ms. Fisher holds an M.S. from the University of Cincinnati. At OCAC, she is responsible for assisting/coordinating analysts in identifying crime patterns and the development of pattern bulletins, implementing techniques to increase analyst efficiency, organizing and completing special projects, and preparing the Weekly Crime Summary for the SPD Operational Meeting.
Jennifer L. Grella
Ms. Grella is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site in the Troy Police Department. Ms. Grella holds an M.A. from the University at Albany, where she was the first recipient of the Lt. John F. Finn Scholarship in 2005.
Kyleen E. Luy
Ms. Luy is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site in the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center. Ms. Luy is a graduate of Michigan State University with an M.S. in Criminal Justice and certificates in Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis as well as Homeland Security. At OCAC, she specializes in burglary pattern analysis and assists in maintaining an electronic reporting system for secondhand dealers. Prior to joining the OCAC, Ms. Luy was employed by the Takoma Park (MD) Police Department as a Crime Analyst.
Leslie Ann Morris
Ms. Morris is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Albany Crime Analysis Center (ACAC). Ms. Morris holds an M.S. in criminal justice from Bowling Green State University, where her specialized area was police brutality. At the ACAC, she analyzes a variety of violent crimes. Her work focuses on sexual assaults, aggravated assaults, domestic violence and shots fired incidents, which includes shootings. She also maintains a database on recovered crime guns and ballistic links to these guns from recovered shell casings.
Kara L. Nyamuomba
Ms. Nyamuomba is a Crime Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center in Syracuse. Ms. Nyamuomba holds an M.S. in criminal justice with a concentration in law enforcement intelligence analysis from Saint Joseph ’s University. At the Center, she specializes in robbery analysis, vehicle crime analysis and stolen vehicle analysis. In addition, Ms. Nyamuomba is one of the two analysts responsible for implementing and maintaining the electronic reporting system for secondhand dealers within the city of Syracuse.
Swathi Annamalai
Ms. Annamalai is a Senior Crime Analyst in Information Technology and works on-site at the Albany Crime Analysis Center (ACAC). She holds a Master’s in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. Ms. Annamalai’s background is in software, database and website development, testing and maintenance. At the ACAC her primary responsibilities include using Visual Analytics software, automating work procedures for crime analysts, developing databases, and assisting in special projects – most of which involve website development and testing as well as local database scripting and testing.
