HI, I'M DR. CARA THOMPSON

Who I am…

I’m a consultant and coach that helps correctional and juvenile justice agencies incorporate evidence-based practices through strategic planning and coaching.

When I began my doctoral program in 2009, my passion for criminal justice was clear to me. However, it was not clear how I would channel this passion into a career. Shortly after beginning the doctoral program, I began working on the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) project for the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute (UCCI) as a coach assisting probation and parole officers in learning and implementing a new case management model. This was my introduction to the intersection of research and practice, which helped me find and understand my place in the field: helping practitioners better understand and more fully integrate practices based in evidence.

In 2013, I accepted a full-time research associate position within the Corrections Institute as the EPICS Project Director, which gave me the opportunity to gain professional experience and still work closely on a project that had impacted me tremendously.

In 2015, I moved to Portland, Oregon and accepted a full-time position with Multnomah County Department of Community Justice as an Evidence-Based Practices Analyst, which helped to apply my knowledge beyond the EPICS subject area and work closely with one agency to guide evidence-based decision making and new initiatives. Most importantly, it gave me a deeper understanding of how criminal justice agencies operate and what it takes to be successful within them.

In March of 2018, I made the decision to leave Multnomah County to independently contract and consult, which afforded me the flexibility to complete my Ph.D. and get excited about research again, especially my own.

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What I believe…

I believe research tells us what works- what we should be doing to be effective at reducing recidivism and helping others change, but that just knowing the research isn't enough. Research has to be paired with enthusiastic, engaged, and experienced staff for it to be effectively translated into the real world.

People that work in the criminal justice system have the incredible ability to affect change at the human level and the work we do in this field is meaningful. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through using practices firmly based in research, but research in our field is wasted unless we know how to put it into practice and use it to help people change their circumstances. I believe we should be looking for ways to more fully incorporate what is proven to work in real-world ways.

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How I can help…

Make no mistake- it’s difficult to implement and sustain evidence-based practices. Over the past 13 years, I’ve seen this first-hand as I’ve worked with dozens of corrections and juvenile justice agencies and hundreds of individual staff, supervisors, and administrators. However, the way research and practice have come together to shape my career has helped me gain knowledge and experience from both lenses and has given me a unique ability to help people bring both together without alienating the other. I am committed to connecting with practitioners to help bridge research and practice in engaging, understandable, and sustainable ways.

I look forward to working with you.

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