Dr. Stephen Tripodi is the Doctoral Program Director and an Associate Professor in the Florida State University College of Social Work, and Faculty Director of Academic Dissemination at the Institute for Justice Research and Development. Prior to joining academia, Tripodi engaged in counseling adolescents with substance use disorders involved in the juvenile justice system. His scholarship explores the impact of trauma and social bonds for a range of justice-involved individuals, with a particular focus on incarcerated women. He has served as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on a number of grant-funded projects, including multiple randomized controlled trials which explore the effectiveness of evidence-driven, trauma-responsive programming for men and women incarcerated in state prisons and for individuals releasing from local jail settings. His work examines data-driven solutions for catalyzing healing, improving behavioral health outcomes, and reducing rates of rearrest and reincarceration for those preparing to leave incarceration and return home. Tripodi brings his research into undergraduate and graduate classrooms and has actively engaged in community events and national workgroups designed to enhance education about the criminal justice system and improve policy implementation at the local and national levels. 

Tripodi holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Michigan State University and both a master of science and a Ph.D. in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin.