Dr. Dana L. Radatz, assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Niagara University, will receive the Peggy Addoms Volunteer Service Award from Pinnacle Community Services for her dedication and support of the agency’s mission at its third annual “Side by Side, Step by Step: An Awards Gala to Celebrate Our Journey” event on Friday, March 20, 2020, at the Wurlitzer in North Tonawanda, N.Y.
Dr. Radatz joined the faculty at Niagara University in the fall of 2015. Her research interests include batterer intervention programs, corrections, evidence-based practices, female offenders, and a wide range of victimizations (e.g., domestic violence, prostitution, rape/sexual assault). Her most recent work examines domestic violence offenders and the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs using correctional evidence-based techniques. Dr. Radatz’s recent publications have appeared in Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and the American Journal of Community Psychology.
In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Radatz volunteers her time as a research consultant for several agencies within Niagara County that work to end family violence. Each fall, she co-organizes a domestic violence awareness event and Red Flag campaign in partnership with Pinnacle Community Services and the university’s Castellani Art Museum, and is currently conducting research on the effectiveness of Pinnacle’s support group interventions in promoting the healing and empowerment of survivors for potential future grant funding opportunities for the program.
Dr. Radatz is an active member of NU’s Women’s Studies Committee, a co-organizer of the university’s annual Take Back the Night event, and works collaboratively with a number of NU student organizations, including the Feminist Club and the Human Rights Initiative group.
She received her doctorate in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Eastern Michigan University.
Since 1895, Pinnacle Community Services (formerly Family & Children’s Service of Niagara) has been providing essential services to the community, both through prevention and intervention programming in the areas of mental health, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, runaway and homeless youth, and child abuse and neglect.