Education
Ph.D. – Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska at Omaha
MSW – Social Welfare, University of California Los Angeles
BA – Gender Studies, University of California Los Angeles
Dr. Tellis holds a doctorate in Criminal Justice and a Master of Social Welfare with a concentration in Mental Health. She utilizes an intersectional framework to address criminal justice issues based on race, class, gender, and sexuality as powerful forces that shape people’s lives and access to resources. Her dissertation research focused on contextualizing intimate partner rape given its overlap with both domestic violence and sexual assault – two similar yet distinct issues around which mutually exclusive advocacy and legal responses have developed. Dr. Tellis’ co-authored National Institute of Justice-funded study revealing the causes of sexual assault case attrition in Los Angeles (in partnership with the LAPD, LASD, and LA County District Attorney’s office) resulted in a one million dollar replication study in other US jurisdictions. Since 2016 Dr. Tellis has served as the Director of the School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics.
Like many of our students, Dr. Tellis was born and raised in LA, is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, and began the university experience at a community college. Dr. Tellis believes information literacy and emotional intelligence are the most important tools for personal and professional success in the 21st century, so her work with students focuses on refining oral and written communication skills and increasing capacity for empathy and self-awareness.
Contact Information:
Office: Room 253, Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center
Email: [email protected]
Research Interests:
Intersectionality, Violence Prevention, Criminal Justice Policy and Practice
Courses Taught:
Women and Crime, Advanced Theory and Practice, Writing for Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Ethics