Melissa Morabito joined UMass Lowell in 2012 as an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology & Justice Studies. She graduated from American University in 2006 with a PhD in Justice, Law & Society and Columbia University with an MSW in 1999. Before joining UMass Lowell, she worked as an Assistant Professor for four years at UMass Boston and completed a Postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for Mental Services and Criminal Justice Research. Her work has been focused on police response to vulnerable populations with an emphasis on enhancing system responses to people with mental illnesses.
She currently serves as a counselor on the executive board of the American Society of Criminology and as a litigative consultant to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division working on consent decrees in Baltimore and Louisville among other communities. Closer to home, Melissa has worked in collaboration with the Boston Police Department serving as an academic partner for over a decade evaluating their mental health initiatives. This work has been highly rewarding and Morabito is appreciative of the opportunity to work with students on projects that benefit communities across Massachusetts.
Dr. Moribito joins the CopDoc Podcast on April 11th, 2023.