Jacqueline Rhoden-Trader PhD

Dr. Jacqueline Rhoden-Trader is an applied social science researcher and policy analyst with specialization in Sociology of Law Criminology. Having worked in both the private and public sectors, Dr. Rhoden-Trader brings creativity, sensitivity, and a wealth of experience in the areas of policy analysis, research and evaluation, systems and program development and training. She is passionate about enhancing the life chances of individuals, particularly women, children and youth and possess over 30 years of direct service, leadership and teaching experience working with and on behalf of those deemed “disadvantaged.” In addition, she has conducted qualitative, quantitative and evaluation research on/about disadvantaged populations, written several articles which were published in scholarly journals, and trained thousands of individuals nationally and internationally. Specific research interests include race, ethnicity and gender disparities across the globe, human trafficking, at-risk/disadvantaged youth, crime and delinquency prevention with geo-spatial analysis, police-community engagement, and youth development policy.

Dr. Rhoden-Trader served as Chairperson (2017 – 2021) and is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Criminal Justice department at Coppin State University and advisor to the Criminal Justice Honor Society Alpha Phi Sigma, Nu Zeta Chapter. She also serves as an NGO consultant/representative and presenter at the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women and Girls annually since 2012. Furthermore, she presented a webinar entitled “Human Trafficking in Ghana” in 2013 and has two book chapters on violence against women and girls/human trafficking in the Caribbean and Geospatial Aspects of Crime in the Caribbean. In the area of police-community relations, she co-teaches “Policing Inside-Out”, a non-traditional 15-week college course that engages students, law enforcement officers and community members and co-authored a chapter in the textbook “Why the Police Should be Trained by Black People published by Taylor and Francis in 2022.

A graduate of Western High School in Baltimore, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages and Linguistics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, an Honors University, Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Coppin State College, Baltimore, Maryland and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Policy Sciences from The Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. She was also a visiting fellow of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute (1999), Fellow in Residence at the Oxford Roundtable on Criminal Law, Oxford University, UK (2006), and recipient of numerous awards including induction to the Baltimore City Commission for Women Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Caribbean Association of Maryland’s UNIA Marcus Garvey Award in the same year. Furthermore, Dr. Rhoden-Trader is a member of the Caribbean Crime Study Group, a division of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, the Jamaican Association of Maryland and the Jamaican Nationals Association of Washington, DC. Born and reared in Bartons, St. Catherine, Jamaica, she enjoys running, cycling, spinning, gardening, and traipsing for antiques and collectibles.