Forensic and Legal Psychology M.A. Research Area

Dr. Holly Hargreaves-Cormany engages in multiple scholarship activities including but not limited to obtaining external and internal funding to support her Graduate Student Research Team and the research conducted by the team.  Dr. Hargreaves-Cormany, her colleagues in the field and her research team are currently conducting a study analyzing data from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) focusing on animal cruelty and related crimes perpetrated by youth.  Dr. Hargreaves-Cormany and her research team present their research at professional conferences such as the American Psychology Law Society Conference and the American Psychological Association Convention and write various publications for the field.

Linda Millis is a veteran of the intelligence community having served at the National Security Agency, the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  Her areas of expertise include weapons of mass destruction, intelligence analysis, arms control, program management and building partnerships.  She has also worked in several non-profit organizations serving the national security community and recently, she was a Senior Vice President in a cyber security start-up that specialized in biometrics and access rights management.

Dr. Courtney Porter’s research focuses on criminal & juvenile justice, victimization, and organizational development. She works closely with local agencies in implementing and evaluating policies and practices. She is also interested in students’ professional development, working to assist students succeed in the workforce. Her recent research focuses on the use of assessment tools in criminal justice, interpersonal violence, coercive control, cult behavior, and professional development for students. Her workshops on communicating with practitioners and navigating the job market are annual features of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Doctoral Summit.

Dr. Ella Merriwether’s research focuses on children’s memory. In 2025, she presented “Impact of Event Boundaries and Intentionality on Children’s Memory Reports” at tge  Society for Applied Research in Memory & Cognition Conference” in Kildare, Ireland. That same year, Dr. Merriwether also helped host Camp Santos: Rec N’ Read, a dynamic summer camp designed for elementary students, including those with disabilities or who struggle to learn to read and write and are bilingual- Spanish speakers and/or learning or interested in learning Spanish.