J. Amber Scherer, PhD, is a Research Project Director in the CoE and Department of Psychiatry at UMass Chan. Prior to joining the CoE, Dr. Scherer was the Research Program Manager for the Washington/ Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (W/B HIDTA), where she provided leadership with reliable guidance and development strategies for utilizing effective practices to disrupt the market for illegal drugs. As the Principal Investigator of a large, multi-state, multi-method research project investigating drug trafficking organizations, Dr. Scherer routinely engaged with public safety and public health partners to execute project goals. Furthermore, while working at the W/B HIDTA she spent two years detailed to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Executive Office of the President (EOP). Additionally, Dr. Scherer has experience working for the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University (GMU), the National Policing Institute, the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS Office), and the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) at the FBI’s Training Academy in Quantico, VA. Dr. Scherer is a Criminologist whose work focuses on the research, evaluation, implementation, and translation of evidence-based programs within the justice system, highlighting the importance of creative innovative and multi-disciplinary collaborations and strategies. She has created partnerships with Federal, state, and local organizations across multiple sectors of the public and private industry.
