Dr. Kideste Mariam Yusef is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and the Chair of the Department of Justice and Political Studies at Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU). She also serves as the Assistant Director of the B-CU Center for Law and Social Justice. Dr. Yusef received a B.S. in Criminal Justice and M.A. in Applied Sociology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Law, Policy, and Practice from The Graduate Center/John Jay College of Criminal Justice, C. U. N. Y. in New York. Her research areas of expertise include community-police relations, police accountability and use of force, and race and social justice. Dr. Yusef has presented and/or supervised over fifty academic presentations, facilitated over twenty university/community forums, and has more than fifteen publications in the field. She is also the proud mother of three amazing children, Senait Wudasse, Melesse Selam, and Kebra Egziabher.