Debra Dreisbach
Assistant Teaching Professor
Criminal Justice Program Coordinator
The field of criminal justice has recently seen dramatic change, requiring individuals who are prepared for unique challenges and opportunities.
Experience is essential, and the new PSU-LV Criminal Justice Program Director, Debra Dreisbach, leverages her 25 years of experience in federal law enforcement to benefit students. Dreisbach, along with equally experienced faculty, tap their valuable professional connections to bring top-level speakers to the campus to share their perspectives and high-profile lessons from the field.
Dreisbach previously served as an Office of Inspector General special agent investigating white-collar crimes like corruption and money laundering. She also worked as a firearms instructor, and later in her career was assigned to Secret Service details protecting presidential cabinet secretaries and members of Congress, as well as serving on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Professor Dreisbach offers more than 25 years of field experience having served as a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator, from 1987 through 2013. As an investigator, she specialized in financial crime, money laundering, public corruption, and counterterrorism. She also served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, at the FBI office in Philadelphia, from 2008 through 2013.
While employed as a Special Agent, Professor Dreisbach served as an adjunct professor for twelve years at DeSales University before creating the Criminal Justice programs at both Penn State Lehigh Valley and Berks campuses.
She also served as the program coordinator, Criminal Justice program, at Rowan College at Burlington County, N.J.
Dreisbach earned her Masters of Public Administration from American University and her Bachelor of Science from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Corallys Fernandez
Adjunct Professor
Adjunct Professor Corallys Fernandez has seven years of experience as a Juvenile Probation Officer for Lehigh County. She serves as a member of various State committees. She is a specialized probation officer dealing with offenders who have committed sexual crimes. Fernandez is passionate about juvenile accountability and rehabilitation. She received her B.S. in Criminal Justice from DeSales University.
Vanessa L. Starr
Adjunct Professor
Adjunct Professor Vanessa Starr is an alumnus of Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in administration of justice and a minor in Spanish.
She earned her M.A. in criminal justice from DeSales University, and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Walden University.
In addition to her role as adjunct faculty, Starr began her career in 2002 as an adult probation officer with Berks County Adult Probation and Parole. In 2010, she transition to the federal system as a United States Probation Officer for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, stationed in the Allentown satellite. Currently, Starr is on a temporary duty assignment as researcher for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts-- Probation and Pretrial Service Office.
Starr is a native New Yorker or Nuyorican, and is all about the Mets!
Joseph Giacalone
Adjunct Professor
Joseph Giacalone is a retired NYPD Sergeant SDS that held several positions within the department including: an investigator in the Internal Affairs Bureau, the Executive Officer of the 110th Precinct Detective Squad, and the Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad.
In addition to his career in law enforcement, he spent over two decades teaching criminal justice, policing, and criminal investigations at the college level. His expertise has been sought after by media outlets around the world. He has written several OpEd columns in major publications and is the author of two textbooks published by Blue 360 Media: The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators 4th Edition and The Cold Case Handbook 2nd Edition.
Joseph Giacalone obtained a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice with a Specialty in Crime and Deviance from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2005. He is also the recipient of the NYPD Medal of Valor.
