2021 Honorees

Ryan Okerstrom

Ryan Okerstrom graduated with his Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from the MSU School of Criminal Justice. Throughout his career, he has worked in private security including a 22 year stint at Guardsmark. He now serves as VP of Operations at Huffmaster Crisis Response where he oversees the entire Protective Services Group profrolio in North America. 

Tim Plancon

Tim Plancon graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from the MSU School of Criminal Justice. After graduation, Tim joined the Ferndale Police Department before joining the United States DEA. Tim's career with the DEA took him around the world and culiminated in his position as Chief of Operational Support before retiring in 2022.

Dr. Amanda Robinson

Professor Amanda Robinson earned her PhD from the School of Criminal Justice at MSU in 2001. She moved to Wales to take up an academic position in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, where she is now Co-Director of the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute. Amanda’s research focusses on how the police and criminal justice system, health and community-based agencies can best respond to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. Key findings from her research continue to significantly influence the policy and practice agenda in the UK, EU and Australasia. She was lead author of the Welsh Government's White Paper proposals that were passed into legislation as the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. She was Editor of the British Journal of Criminology for ten years and has published more than 150 research articles and technical reports.

Distinguished Faculty Inductee

Dr. Chris Smith

Dr. Chris Smith is a Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Throughout his career, he has received several awards including MSU’s Teacher-Scholar Award (1997) and the most outstanding teacher in MSU’s College of Social Science (2012). He has gained national recognition for his extensive publication record that includes 50 books and more than 130 scholarly articles and book chapters.