Women's and Ethnic Studies (WEST)

Michele Companion, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Director of Criminology and Justice Studies Certificate program.

Her teaching and research interests include law, federal Indian policy, Native communities, indigenous rights, international development, social movements, and social problems.  Her recent research with Native American tribes includes tribal health care management systems, public policy opportunities that arise for reservation populations as a result of changes in laws, and the impact of tribal participation in specific development programs on reservation health outcomes.
Dr. Companion also works as a food security consultant for international humanitarian aid organizations.  She has worked extensively across Africa in Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Somalia with organizations such as Save the Children – US, USAID, Counterpart International, FEWSNET, and Global Food and Nutrition, Inc.  Her current work in this area focuses on the expansion of food security indicators to increase local sensitivity to food crisis triggers.
She received her Ph.D. (2003) in Sociology from the University of Arizona.