Cortney Fisher, JD, PhD is a Lecturer/Professional Track Faculty at the University of Maryland – College Park and at the CCJS program at Universities at Shady Grove.  In these roles, Dr. Fisher teaches a variety of undergraduate courses and advises government and non-profit organizations in the field of victimology, the intersection of trauma victims and systems, criminology, and organizational management for justice and victim services organizations.    Dr. Fisher has over twenty years of experience working for community-based, campus-based, and government organizations providing victim services to victims and survivors of all crime.  Dr. Fisher teaches or has taught undergraduate courses in Victimology, Criminal Law, Ethics in the Criminal Justice System, Violence Against Women, Women and Crime, Fundamentals of Criminal Justice, and Courts and Sentencing. Recent major consulting work has focused on coordinated response systems for victims of community violence in disadvantaged communities, developing performance measures and benchmarks for victim-serving organizations, and building continuums of care that are culturally responsive and trauma centered.

Prior to Dr. Fisher’s full-time commitment to teaching, researching, and consulting, she served as the Deputy Director of the Greater Washington Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA), where she managed the victim support services, prevention initiatives, and educational programming to the community regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, elder abuse, and workplace harassment.  Before moving back into the private sector, Dr. Fisher was the Deputy Director for Victim Services in the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants in the District of Columbia, where she managed the policy and program development initiatives of the agency, including management of the DC Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, the District’s continuums of care for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, the District’s victim services response in a mass disaster, performance and evaluation initiatives related to victim services, and services for victims of homicide and attempted homicide.  Dr. Fisher’s resume includes tenures as the Executive Director of the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, Senior Victim Advocate at the Office of the Victim Advocate at the University of Maryland, Attorney Advisor for the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, and Director of Policy and Program Development at the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center.  Dr. Fisher received her PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland in Fall 2014, with research interests in victims’ rights, victims in the criminal justice system, violence against women, victim services program development and program and policy evaluation and her Juris Doctorate from New England Law – Boston in 2002.    

Areas of Interest

  • Victims in the Criminal Justice System and Alternative Systems of Justice
  • Criminal Law
  • Ethics in Criminal Justice
  • Gender and Power-Based Violence
  • Evaluation of Victim Services
  • Multidisciplinary Teams in Criminal Justice

Degrees

  • Degree Type
    Ph.D
    Degree Details
    Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland - College Park
  • Degree Type
    JD
    Degree Details
    New England School of Law
  • Degree Type
    BA
    Degree Details
    International Politics, Penn State University
Course Name Course Title Semester Syllabus
CCJS230 Criminal Law in Action Spring 2024 Syllabus
CCJS360 Victimology Spring 2024 Syllabus
CCJS345 Courts and Sentencing Spring 2024 Syllabus
CCJS498L Selected Topics in Criminology and Criminal Justice; Ethics in Criminal Justice Fall 2022 Syllabus
CCJS301 Fundamentals in Criminal Justice Fall 2023 Syllabus
  • Campus
    CCJS Human Relations Committee
  • Campus
    Elevate Faculty Advisory Committee
  • Campus
    Faculty Advisor - Preventing Sexual Assault
  • Campus
    Faculty Advisor - FBI Collegiate Program
  • Campus
    CCJS @ USG: CCJS Minor Advisor
  • Professional
    Virginia Action Alliance Governing Body Member
Fisher Headshot
2217 LeFrak Hall; CCJS @ USG: Building III, Room 5101
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Email
cfisher3 [at] umd.edu
Office Hours
Tuesday & Thursday: 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm; Monday: 12:30 - 1:30