Dr David Sheldon joined Arden University after previously working at King’s College London and the University of Birmingham. He is a criminologist with a background in law. David is an ethnographic researcher which means that during his research he immerses himself into an area and population to understand how they interact and why things happen. His research has focussed on prisons, sex offenders, and violence which has meant he spent time in prison as a researcher talking to prisoners and prison staff to understand the complexities of prison life and social dynamics.

Dr Liam James Leonard (BA; M. Phil; PhD), formerly worked with the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, and several universities internationally. Dr Leonard is chair of the International Criminology Association and former member secretary and president of the Sociological Association of Ireland. He was the senior academic and primary instructor on the award-winning Custodial Care Prison Studies Program, which trained approx. 1,000 recruits in a humane approach to prison and corrections work for the Irish Prison Service.

Dr Amy Jones has a passion for sociology and earned a first class degree, two master’s degrees, and a PhD on the subject. Amy’s PhD research focused on the ways in which neoliberalism and the most recent economic recession have affected those aged 60 and over, particularly those living within an area of severe deprivation. In addition to studying this subject, Amy has been both a college and university lecturer for over a decade. She was Head of Access Sociology at a college for five years, and then went on to teach this subject at a number of universities, including Arden University.