Criminal Justice Faculty
His service examples include institutional review board, research council, intellectual property, faculty affairs and graduate council to name a few. His research on juries has led to him being interviewed by the New York Times on several occasions.
Criminal Justice Faculty
Associate Professor, Department Chair
Coordinator, Certificates of Law and Paralegalism I & II
Broken Arrow - BALA 160
doylera@nsuok.edu
Dr. Rebekah Doyle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Northeastern State University (NSU). She has taught for NSU since February, 2012. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health from Walden University and received her M.S. in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arkansas Tech University and holds a M.S. in Criminal Justice. Dr. Doyle serves as coordinator for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Bachelor of Science degree program and for the Certificate of Emergency Management and Planning program.
While working for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Dr. Doyle served as Homeland Security Region V Emergency Preparedness and Response Bioterrorism nurse. Additionally, she served on the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Hospital Preparedness Program(HPP) grant review board. Dr. Doyle is an Oklahoma Public Health Leadership Institute Fellow and is active with the Emergency Preparedness and Response Section of the Oklahoma Public Health Association. Dr. Doyle’s primary areas of interest in research include terrorism, emergency management and disaster preparedness, public health, and public policy.
Published Work
Dr. Doyle has a publication in Scholars’ Press, as well as professional papers and a research in progress.
Professor
Coordinator, Undergraduate Program in Criminal Justice
Tahlequah - Wilson Hall 322
fitzgebr@nsuok.edu
Dr. Brett Fitzgerald has been teaching at Northeastern State University (NSU) in Tahlequah, OK since July, 2006. Prior to his faculty position he spent ten-years as a Juvenile Justice Specialist with the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) and is considered one of the State of Oklahoma's Juvenile Justice Policy experts. Dr. Fitzgerald received his Master's in Criminal Justice Administration and Bachelors of Arts degrees from Northeastern State University. He received his Ph.D. in Juvenile Justice Policy from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
He has served as Chairman of the Youth Council for the Eastern Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board, a team member for the Youth Drunk Driving Program through Integris Health in Oklahoma City, has served on the OJA Casework Excellence Initiative (CEI) Task Force, and the CEI Policy Task Force. Dr. Fitzgerald has been a panel presenter to the Oklahoma Governor's Council on Youth, the Oklahoma Bar Association, and numerous regional and national organizations.
Dr. Fitzgerald has served as the OJA liaison for the Cherokee County Juvenile Drug Court Program. He is the Chairman of the Cherokee County STAR Program. He is a former team member of Cherokee County Systems of Care program and serves on the advisory committee for the Talking Leaves Job Corp program.
Published Work
Dr. Fitzgerald has numerou paper presentations at the Southwestern Academy of Criminal Justice, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Consortium of Native American Administrators (CANAR), and National Workforce Investment Department of Labor conferences.
Dr. Fitzgerald is published in Social Science Quarterly, Police Quarterly, The Journal of Rural Social Sciences, and The Contemporary Law and Policy Journal.
Professor
Broken Arrow - BALA 150
wilds@nsuok.edu
Dr. Michael Wilds began at Northeastern State University (NSU) in 1996. Dr. Wilds is a certified Attorney at Law, licensed in Oklahoma, Washington D.C., three federal courts in Oklahoma, and the U.S. Supreme Court, with briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been apart of the NSU Graduate Faculty since 1999 and the NSU-HLC Assurance and Documentation Office since 2013.
Dr. Wilds is presently a Curriculum Review Board member and chair for the Council on Law Enforcement Education Training (CLEET), an editor for the Q&A: The Law Journal of the Criminal Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association assistant editor for The Gauntlet (Law Journal), team leader and peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, mentor for Persistence and Completion Academy and the Student Success Academy, director of publications for the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Justice OJJDP Tribal Grants, Quality Matters master reviewer, and trainer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, FLETC.
Published Work
Dr. Wilds has written two books; Quick Reference Guide to Gang Symbols and My Little Green Book. He also has more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Police Chief Magazine, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Tulsa Law Journal, and Oklahoma Bar Journal.
Professor
Broken Arrow - BALA 156
hasselmr@nsuok.edu
Before starting his academic career in 2010, Dr. Ray Hasselman practiced law for over thirty years and served a lengthy term as a First Assistant District Attorney. During his time as First Assistant, his duties included office operations, public and police relations, criminal justice policy concerns, and high-profile cases including death penalty litigation, murder, violent crimes, child abuse, drug manufacturing, sex crimes and other major crimes. Since 2010, he has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, served on numerous committees, was responsible for revising the legal studies major, received a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, and attained the rank of associate professor.
Dr. Hasselman served many years as an attorney, administrator, trial attorney, and first assistant prosecutor. He has been with the Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Homeland Security since August 2010. He serves on the Faculty Council as the Broken Arrow faculty representative. Dr. Hasselman also serves on the Advisory Board for the Paralegal program at Tulsa Community College and as NSU Department representative to the American Association for Paralegal Education. Ray received his J.D. from Tulsa School of Law.
Dr. Stacey WhiteAssistant Professor
Coordinator of Cybersecurity Program
Tahlequah - Wilson Hall 317
white22@nsuok.edu
Dr. Stacey White began at Northeastern State University (NSU) as an assistant professor in April of 2014. Before his teaching career, he served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) as an infantryman from 1985-1989, as well as an enlisted instructor, MCCDC, for the USMC at Quantico, VA from 1989-1991. Additionally, he has various law enforcement experiences serving in various roles with the Bixby Police Department (1991-1995), Pawnee County Sheriff’s Drug Task Force (1995-1999), Broken Arrow CPS Security (1996-2000), Kiefer Police Department (2000-2012), and Blanchard Police Department (2015-2022).
Dr. White served as the Criminal Justice Program Director at Vatterott College (Tulsa Campus) from 2012-2015. He was also a member of the Curriculum Review Board and vice chair for the Council of Law Enforcement Education Training (CLEET), both from 2021-2022.
Published Work
Dr. White has published a book titled “Media V. Police”, as well as several peer-reviewed articles published in journals such as Police1 Magazine, The Gauntlet, Q&A law section, and Roll Call.
Explore Dr. White's Published Work
Theory: Emergent Convergence Threat Theory
FBI-LEEDA: Policing With Purpose
Predictive Policing with Purpose FBI-LEEDA: The Insighter
Surviving the call: active shooter training manual
The Original Oklahombre's: The U.S. Marshal's of the indian terroritory
Media Vs. Police (Amazon linkDd)
Brandon Berryhill
Instructor
Coordinator, Certificate of Emergency Management & Planning Coordinator, Student Internships Law Enforcement Liaison
berryhib@nsuok.edu
Brandon Berryhill is a Criminal Justice Instructor at Northeastern State University. Berryhill has 32 years of practical experience in law enforcement with fifteen years dedicated to executive leadership roles. More specifically, Berryhill spent three decades with the Broken Arrow Police Department where he served the last 7 years as Chief of Police. During his tenure as Chief of Police, he facilitated many public forums on various topics relevant in the law enforcement field today such as mental health reform, crime prevention, human trafficking and domestic violence. He also created the first Citizens Police Academy in Spanish in Oklahoma and secured funding to form a critical response team of mental health professionals and officers. Berryhill is a graduate of the 219th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and holds a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master’s degree in criminal justice from Northeastern State University.
Accolades
Chief Berryhill has been instrumental in networking with the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. His actions have fostered a collaborative partnership between NSU and CLEET, working out of the Broken Arrow Campus.
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Dr.Tery DeShong
Assistant Professor
Coordinator, Graduate Program in Criminal Justice
Broken Arrow Campus
deshongt@nsuok.edu
Tery DeShong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Northeastern State University (NSU) starting in the Fall of 2025. She received both her BS and JD degrees from The University of Tulsa. Dr. DeShong held a wide variety of public interest jobs during her long legal career. Former roles include having worked in disability law (her undergraduate degree is in Deaf Education), as an Assistant District Attorney for Cherokee, Wagoner, Sequoyah and Adair counties, as well as being Regional Manager for OKDHS responsible for 16 child support offices in Eastern Oklahoma. Dr. DeShong also served as the General Counsel for the Tulsa Health Department, investigated Title IX complaints for The University of Tulsa, and taught for both Texas A&M University and The University of North Texas, as well as being a Department Chair for Community Care College in Tulsa. She currently is a Board Member for The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges.
Dr. DeShong's experience in the field gave her the inspiration to publish about the life-focused scenarios that played out frequently in her various postions.
My Top Ten Time Management Tips”. Oklahoma Bar Journal (2003), Vol. 74, No. 30, Page 2983
The Few, the Proud, the Undervalued: Oklahoma’s Child Support Attorneys
Dr. Alayna Farris
Assistant Professor
Coordinator of Legal Studies
farris@nsuok.edu
Dr. Farris is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, practicing attorney and adjunct lecturer for the University of Oklahoma College of Law Graduate Program. Professor Farris concentrates in the areas of Federal Indian Law, with a focus on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and tribal self-governance, self-determination and economic development. Professor Farris has represented tribes in state and tribal courts. During her tenure as an Assistant Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, Professor Farris was instrumental as lead in-house counsel in the case Brackeen v. Bernhardt, a case involving the constitutionality of the ICWA before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (later Haaland v. Brackeen at the United States Supreme Court). Professor Farris is a staunch advocate for ICWA and tribal sovereignty. She was honored by the University of Arkansas School of Law Alumni Board with the Commitment to Justice Early Career Award for the 2021 Commitment to Justice and Career Champion awards.
Assistant Professor
Tahlequah, OK. Wilson Hall
wuestewm@nsuok.edu
Dr. Mary Isis Wuestewald is any Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, AR., and brings more than 15 years of higher education teaching experience to the classroom. Prior to joining Northeastern State University, she served as a criminal justice faculty member at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, where she taught a variety of undergraduate criminal justice courses and contributed to student research and professional development.
Dr. Wuestewald's scholarly work focuses on policing, organizational justice, police self legitimacy, employee engagement, civic engagement, and mass violence. Her research has been published in Police Practice and Research and the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. Her doctoral research examined the relationships among organizational justice, police self legitimacy, employee engagement, and civic engagement among law enforcement officers across the United States. She has also conducted research exploring media portrayals of mass murder incidents and the influence of public perceptions on criminal justice issues.
In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Wuestewald serves the profession as a peer reviewer for several respected journals, including Policing and Society, Police Practice and Research, Public Administration Review, and Crime and Delinquency. Her current research interests include police officer well being, criminal psychology, violence in society, and the impact of media and politics on the criminal justice system. Through her teaching, scholarship, and service, Dr. Wuestewald is committed to preparing the next generation of criminal justice professionals while contributing to research that strengthens law enforcement organizations and community engagement.
Explore Dr. Wuestewald's Published Work