Meda Chesney-Lind (Ann & Me) is Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Undergraduate: B.A. Summa Cum Laude, Sociology, 1969, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington

Graduate: M.A. Sociology, 1971, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii; Ph.D. Sociology, 1977, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii

Nationally recognized for her work on women and crime, the author of seven books, she has just finished
two books on trends in girls’ violence, entitled Beyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence and Hype written
with Katherine Irwin and Fighting for Girls co-edited with Nikki Jones.

She received the Bruce Smith, Sr. Award “for outstanding contributions to Criminal Justice” from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in April, 2001. She was named a fellow of the American Society of Criminology in 1996 and has also received the Herbert Block Award for service to the society and the profession from the American Society of Criminology.

She has also received the Donald Cressey Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for “outstanding contributions to the field of criminology,” the Founders award of the Western Society of Criminology for "significant improvement of the quality of justice,” and the University of Hawaii Board of Regent's Medal for "Excellence in Research."

Finally, Chesney-Lind has recently joined a group studying trends in youth gangs organized by the
National Institute of Justice, and she was among the scholars working with the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention’s Girls Study Group. In Hawaii, she has worked with the Family Court,
First Circuit advising them on the recently formed Girls Court as well as helping improve the situation of
girls in detention with the recent JDAI Initiative.

Unlocking Justice Conference 2009 sponsored by the Community Alliance on Prisons.