Shawn Flower

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT SHAWN FLOWER

Shawn M. Flower, Ph.D. is the Principal Researcher of Choice Research Associates, providing criminal justice research services that focus on issues of prisoner re-entry, female offenders, community corrections, and program evaluation which employ rigorous methodologies. Dr. Flower has worked as a Program Evaluator in the field of Criminal Justice Research since 2002 and has a solid foundation working with program administrators, direct service providers, and funding agencies. A key focus of her work is conducting process and outcome evaluations, often employing a model of researcher-practitioner collaboration called the Program Development Evaluation (PDE) method developed by Drs. Gary and Denise Gottfredson. Shawn uses the PDE method on a variety of programs including the Second Chance Act Reentry Program for Adult Offenders with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders Comprehensive Reentry Program (CORP), and Community Mediation Maryland (CMM) prisoner re‑entry program. In May 2017, the CMM Reentry Project was named a promising practice by Crime Solutions.gov.She also conducts research and consults with community‑based-organizations on data collection systems implementation and performance metrics. Examples of these projects include supporting an agency‑wide case management system for the House of Ruth in Washington, DC and Fair Girls, a human trafficking prevention and intervention program. Other projects include working with Volare (formerly Network for Victim Recovery of DC) on projects focused on crime victims’ rights, and the District of Columbia Forensic Nurse Examiners Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A) Training Evaluation.Dr. Flower is currently a Principal Faculty Specialist with the University of Maryland Institute for Governmental Service and Research (UMD-IGSR). Shawn was the Project Director and Principal Investigator of the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network (MCIN) Program Implementation Evaluation, and the Co-Principal Investigator of the Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program in Prince George’s County.Dr. Flower was engaged by Moss Justice Partners in July 2024 as Project Manager for the Anat Project, which works in honor of Anat Kimchi. See https://mossjustice.org/anat-project/In May 2025, Shawn accepted a part-position with Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS), providing statistical analysis support. Her first project with DPSCS is focused on parole and probation recidivism.Specialties: Reentry, Female Offenders, Community Corrections, Data Systems