Dr. Alissa Ackerman is a pracademic and survivor scholar. She incorporates her academic training, practitioner, and personal experiences with sexual violence in her work. She is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at California State University, Fullerton and Co-Founder/Director of Ampersands Restorative Justice. Alissa has dedicated her career to understanding sexual offending, the impacts of sexual victimization, and restorative options for those impacted by sexual harm. She writes extensively on topics related to sexual violence and victimization in academic journals, books, and OpEds. Her most recent co-edited volume, Survivor Criminology: A Radical Act of Hope, was released in 2022. Dr. Ackerman is an internationally sought after speaker and trainer, having given over over fifty national and international talks, including a TEDx Talk in 2018. She co-hosts the popular podcast Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast.