Executive Director, Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC), Texas State University

Kathy Martinez-Prather, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) at Texas State University. The TxSSC is a university-level research center and tasked in the Texas Education Code and the Governor’s Homeland Security Strategic Plan with key school safety initiatives to serve as the clearinghouse for the dissemination of school safety information related to training, research, and technical assistance. Dr. Martinez-Prather has over 14 years of experience working with public schools in developing research-based guidance and tools for educators and school-based law enforcement to improve the safety and security of Texas schools. Dr. Martinez-Prather has published research in the Criminal Justice Policy Review, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology, and the International Journal of Cyber Criminology.