Robert E. Worden, Ph.D.

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. He previously served on the faculties of the University of Georgia and Michigan State University. He has conducted basic research on the forces that shape police decision-making and behavior, and applied research on police strategies, programs, and reforms. His scholarship has appeared in a number of academic journals, and his research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, and a number of local governments. In 2000, he was appointed to serve on the National Research Council’s Committee to Review Research on Police Policies and Practices. In 2001, he was appointed by New York’s governor to serve on the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Council, on which he continues to serve. He also now serves on the City of Albany’s Gun Violence Task Force.

Sarah J. McLean, Ph.D.

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. Dr. McLean’s research has focused on domestic violence, policing, and juvenile justice with an emphasis on the application of research to policy and practice. She was previously a research associate at the University at Albany, and prior to that a research associate at the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) where she oversaw a national study of juvenile diversion and reintegration programs and a multi-site prevalence study of mental health and substance abuse needs and services for youth in contact with the juvenile justice system.

Heidi S. Bonner

Ms. Bonner is an adjunct senior analyst at the Finn Institute and a doctoral student in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, where she is a research assistant in the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center. Ms. Bonner holds an M.S. from San Jose State College and an M.A. from the University at Albany, where she was the recipient of the Walter M. Francis Policing Award. Her research interests include the study of decision making in policing, the application of judgment and decision making theories and methodologies as a means to explain police behavior, and evaluation of criminal justice policies and programs.

Tara L. Garmley

Ms. Garmley is an analyst at the Finn Institute. She holds an M.A. in criminal justice from the University at Albany, with a specialization in process and policy and an emphasis on the nature of crime. Ms. Garmley’s research has focused on inmate prison relations and the sex offender registry.

Caitlin Anne Hickin.

Ms. Hickin is an adjunct analyst at the Finn Institute. She holds a B.A. in political science, with a concentration in American politics, from Columbia University. Currently, she is working on her M.P.P. at the Rockefeller School of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, with a concentration in crime and justice policy. She was the recipient of the 2008 John F. Finn Scholarship. Upon completion of her M.P.P. degree, she will continue her studies toward a M.A. in criminal justice from the University at Albany.

Jennifer L. Owens

Ms. Owens is an adjunct analyst at the Finn Institute and a doctoral student in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany. Ms. Owens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from University of California Davis, where she was the recipient of the Mary Jeanne Gilhooly Award, which honors the graduating woman believed to be the most outstanding in the areas of leadership, scholarship, integrity, and service in the campus community. Her research interests include policing, psychology and the law, capital punishment and comparative criminal justice.

Brian P. Aagaard

Mr. Aagaard is a Crime Intelligence Analyst with the Finn Institute, currently working on-site at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center in Syracuse. He holds an M.A. in criminal justice from the University at Albany, where he was the recipient of the Walter M. Francis Policing Award. At the University at Albany, Mr. Aagaard’s research emphasized policing and policy.

Paula F. Fisher

Ms. Fisher is a Crime Intelligence Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site at the Onondaga Crime Analysis Center in Syracuse. She holds an M.S. from the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include juvenile justice and crime patterns across the life course as well as police effectiveness and policy analysis.

Jennifer L. Grella

Ms. Grella is a Crime Intelligence Analyst with the Finn Institute, working on-site in the Troy Police Department. She holds an M.A. from the University at Albany, where she was the first recipient of the John F. Finn Scholarship in 2005.