Department Assistant Chair and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
I was raised in Southern California and earned an AA degree in Early Childhood Education. In the mid-1970s I began a career in law enforcement. I moved to Wyoming and continued as a police officer including fraud investigations, K-9, and SWAT. I retired as a senior training officer from the state of Wyoming at the end of 1998. I moved to North Carolina where I was subsequently certified to teach police academy. I maintain current training certifications in defensive tactics and firearms, and I provide training to police trainers from around the world at the annual International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Conference in St. Louis, MO. I completed my BS degree in Psychology from Campbell University, followed by an MA degree in Dynamics of Criminality in Vermont. I earned a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Northcentral University in Arizona. I have been teaching Criminal Justice at the college level since 2004 and have been at Emmanuel University since 2014. My research interests include law enforcement topics, faith & resiliency in police officers, and psychological theories of crime. I am married to a former Dallas, TX police officer Dr. Bruce Gay, who teaches Criminal Justice at Southern Wesleyan University. I have two adult children and 4 grandchildren. My passions include animal training, gardening, quilting, and marksmanship. We live on a small farm with our ten furry family members.
