Dr. Jillian Peterson is a professor of criminology at Hamline University and the director of the university’s Forensic Psychology Program. She is also the executive director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center, a grant-funded nonpartisan center focused on reducing violence through accessible and actionable data and research. Dr. Peterson started her career as a special investigator researching the psychosocial life histories of men facing the death penalty. She earned her doctorate in psychology and social behavior from the University of California, Irvine, and has led research studies on mental health conditions and crime, mass shootings, crisis intervention, and school violence prevention. She was the principal investigator on a three-year project funded by the National Institute of Justice to study the life histories of mass shooters, which resulted in the award-winning book The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic. She is a regular contributor to outlets such as CNN, the New York Times, and National Public Radio. She is trained in restorative practices, violence mediation, crisis intervention, de-escalation, and suicide prevention. Dr. Peterson holds a doctorate and master’s degree in psychology and social behavior from the University of California, Irvine.