Victim Researcher Profile

BIO

Qualifications: Dr. Bernard is the Principal Consultant at the Oak Hill Consulting Group and holds a Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University. She has over 20 years of experience managing evaluation projects in applied settings, including education, public safety, public health, child support, and child welfare. At the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Bernard developed and led projects for numerous state agencies, including the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Department of Labor and Training, and the Department of Education. She was the Director of Research and Planning at the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice in Portland, Oregon. In that role, she served as the Principal Investigator of several federal evaluation projects funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, and the Arnold Foundation. She also led the County’s Justice Reinvestment data and evaluation team, examining the impact of increasing investments in local treatment, diversion, and victim services on public safety. In 2017, she became the Chair of the Research & Review Committee for the American Probation and Parole Association. She is currently a WEB Du Bois scholar with the National Institute of Justice, leading a longitudinal study looking for factors that promote or inhibit future pathways to gang violence among youth in the juvenile justice system. This study includes a series of individual qualitative interviews with gang affiliated offenders, as well as a series of dyad interviews exploring intergenerational patterns in gang identity and activity. Dr. Bernard served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lewis & Clark College, where she taught courses such as Law & Society and Quantitative Research Methods. Dr. Bernard has studied TOP facilitation techniques and is experienced in bringing large and diverse groups of stakeholders together for the purpose of evaluation planning and promoting the use of data in program and policy settings.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Burglary, Domestic and Family Violence, Drug-Related Victimization, Elder Abuse/Mistreatment, Gun Violence, Physical Assault (other than domestic violence or elder abuse), Robbery, Trafficking in Persons, Vicarious Trauma

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Child victims, Formerly incarcerated victims, Men and boys of color, Male victims generally, Older victims, Rural victims, Urban high crime neighborhood victims

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Action research, Community-based participatory research, Data collection, Descriptive studies, Ethnography, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial, Training and/or technical assistance, Data Visualization

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Action research, Community-based participatory research, Data collection, Descriptive studies, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial, Training and/or technical assistance