Ms. Kowalski (she/her) earned a master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from Marymount University in 2007. During her graduate studies, she was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship with the Army Research Institute, Trends Analysis Research Unit. As an undergraduate Schreyer Honors College Scholar at The Pennsylvania State University, she earned two Bachelor of Science degrees (Psychology and Crime, Law & Justice) and was also awarded the sole Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) position for a justice systems project funded by the National Science Foundation. With more than a decade of experience in applied criminal justice research initiatives, Ms. Kowalski previously served as Research Assistant to the Director of the International Center for the Study of Terrorism at Penn State, as well as a Research Associate with the Penn State Justice Center for Research. Through her academic and professional research positions, Ms. Kowalski has extensive experience in data collection, management, analysis, and dissemination, including report writing and editing. Further, she has previous experience as a compliance specialist with the Penn State Office for Research Protections’ Institutional Review Board, which fostered a greater appreciation for the ethical and regulatory foundations of responsible human subjects research.

Outside of research initiatives, Ms. Kowalski is an experienced case analyst and investigator, in higher education and corporate settings, as well as performing independent casework for attorneys and licensed private detectives.