Biography
Esther Madriz completed her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She received her MA in Criminal Justice from California State University in Sacramento and her BA from the Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela. In Venezuela she worked in crime prevention, in the prison system and in the juvenile justice system where she directed several programs to prevent criminal behavior among the youth. Professor Madriz was especially interested in understanding the factors associated with fear of crime among women, particularly Latina and African American women. Her book "Nothing Bad Happens to Good Girls: Fear of Crime in Women's Lives" was published by the University of California Press in 1997.
During her stay at Hunter, Professor Madriz served as the coordinator of the COR program (Career Opportunities in Research, Education and Training) -- a national program directed to involve minority students in social research and to encourage them to get a graduate education.
Starting with the fall semester of 1996, Professor Madriz taught at the University of San Francisco till she lost her battle with cancer in December 2001.