I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an Irish father and American mother, but grew up on the island of Mykonos, Greece. My early life was impacted by the informal communal justice system that existed among the few thousand inhabitants of the island. In my twenties, I came to the US to continue his education. I earned a BA in Comparative Religious Studies at Arizona State University, and went on to Harvard University for graduate studies in Philosophical Anthropology and Nonprofit Organization Management. I completed my education with a Ph.D. at the School of Justice and Social Inquiry where I also taught for several years.

I am currently Full Professor, Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at California State University, Chico. I teach on penal abolition, prisons, the so-called “criminal justice system,” justice theory, and restorative justice. My research centers on abolition (of punishment ideology and institutions) and my fields span from “crime” and justice, to the color and dollar targeting of the “criminal justice system,” punishment and public policy, and the social construction of “crime” and punishment in the everyday language of justice. I publish my research in books, academic journals, with research and policy organizations, and write for national and local media focusing on abolition, the social cost of America’s imprisonment binge, alternatives to incarceration, the role of race/ethnicity and class in the U.S. “criminal justice system,” and more.

I have worked as a “criminal justice system” policy analyst in Washington, D.C. at both The Sentencing Project and The National Council of La Raza. I regularly present my work to academic conferences, community groups and university audiences across the country. I am also a committed prison and “criminal justice system” abolitionist. In these roles I have interviewed hundreds of prisoners to assess human rights violations and have contributed as an administrator or consultant to various abolition and reform organizations. In this peaceful, non-violent activist work, I have twice been a harassment target of the FBI, investigations that have never led to any charges.

In my research, teaching, and activism I examine language, public policy and everyday life to expose the social construction of discarded persons, that is, those identified for their difference from promoted norms and who are characterized as “unlike us,” “dangerous,” or “punishment-worthy”: the so-called deviant, imprisoned and excluded.

I live with my partner Anne in Chico, CA.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

For me, the only way to meaningfully travel is to do so by meeting and staying with other people. This is how to get to know a place and its people.

Interests

• arts
• traveling
• music
• adventure
• friends and family
• reading and writing

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC: music from all over the world; Mozart Requiem; Greek traditional rembetika; classical guitar and lute music; choral works.
MOVIES: anything by John Cassavetes or Cohen brothers.
BOOKS: Martin Buber's "I and Thou"; Viktor Frankl's "The Meaning of Life";

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spending years of my life advocating for the human rights of people less fortunate than I.

Teach, Learn, Share

Anything and everything. Connecting with others is the best that life has to offer.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Joy, humor, travel experience (most of the planet), and wisdom.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom