Dr. Lavita Nadkarni received her Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from City University-John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University’s Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies. She is Associate Dean, Director of Forensic Studies, and Professor at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP), where she teaches graduate level students and supervises doctoral and postdoctoral students who conduct forensic assessments for those who are legally involved and underserved, including animal maltreatment evaluations. She has been teaching, consulting, and presenting on issues related to forensic psychology for more than 30 years. Her research interests lie in the area of interpersonal violence and trauma, entitlement, graduate clinical and forensic training, animal abuse evaluation and treatment and diversity issues within psychology. Dr. Nadkarni is a well-regarded scholar (one of the co-Editors of the Principles of Forensic Report Writing and Handbook of Multicultural Counseling Competencies), and is the Associate Editor for Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Dr. Nadkarni is an active member of the American Psychology-Law Society the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology and has held leadership positions within these organizations, most recently as President of NCSPP. She has presented on animal maltreatment evaluations (American Psychological Association, 2019; Animal Law Review Symposium, 2021), collaborative responses to animal cruelty cases (Canadian Violence Link Conference, 2019), and is involved in research on animal protection officers’ professional stressors and training needs.