Brenda Bond-Fortier, PhD

Biography

Dr. Bond-Fortier specializes in organizational change and culture, systematic and collaborative approaches to organizational and community challenges, and the development, implementation, and evaluation of public and social policies and practices. Her book, Organizational Change in an Urban Police Department: Innovating to Reform (2020) analyzes changes in policy, practice and community relationships to understand innovation and organizational transformation in policing. She has conducted research across the United States, published her work in prestigious journals, and been cited in major media outlets.

Bond-Fortier is a nationally respected and recognized policing scholar who is valued by practitioners and policymakers for her participation and contributions to public policy, practice and management. She serves as a Subject Matter Expert for the US Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance Strategies for Policing Innovation initiative, a Senior Research Fellow for the National Police Foundation, and an Associate Consultant for 21CP Solutions, Inc. She previously served as a Research Associate at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Program in Criminal Justice Policy & Management, as Research Advisor for the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, and as Director of Research and Development at the Lowell, Massachusetts Police Department.

Honors and Recognitions

Since joining Suffolk University in 2007, Brenda has secured over $900,000 in grants and contracts in support of research, training and technical assistance. She works with organizations across the US to assess and improve organizational performance. In the recent past:

• Co-Principal Investigator, The NYU Policing Project 2021 - 2022
• Co-Project Manager, Town of Ashland, MA., Racial Equity Initiative (REI) partnership 2021
• Principal Investigator. Is social hierarchy an impediment to organizational innovation? 2018 - 2019, Suffolk Business School
• Co-Principal Investigator. Implementation Studies: Comprehensive Gang Model Evaluation: Integrating Research into Practice. National Institute of Justice, FY 15 Social Science Research on Implementation, Dissemination and Translation 2016 - 2019
• Research Partner, Lowell, Massachusetts Police Department, Smart Policing Initiative 2010 - 2018
• Co-Principal Investigator, Data Analysis for Middlesex County Sheriff 2015

Awards

• Suffolk University, Black Alumni Network, SBS Racial Equity Champion Faculty Award 2020
• Sawyer Business School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service 2018
• Robert H. “Tex” McClain Distinguished Public Administration Award 2018
• Sawyer Business School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research 2013

Professional Activities

• Editorial board member, American Review of Public Administration (ARPA)
• Editorial board member, Police Quarterly (PQ) journals,
• American Society for Public Administration Chair: Section on Criminal Justice Administration (Present)
• Member, Academy of Management
• Member, American Society for Public Administration
• Member, American Society of Criminology

Publications

Recent Intellectual Contributions

Refereed Journal Articles

Bond-Fortier, B. J., & Gebo, E. (2025). Exploring the Relational Model of Change as a Facilitator of Interorganizational Change Processes. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 00218863251314887.

Bond-Fortier, B.J. & Nader, E. (2022). Testing the effects of a problem-solving policing strategy on crime outcomes: The promise of an integrated approach. Police Quarterly. Published online 2.9.2022 

Gebo, E. & Bond, B.J. (2022). Advancing interorganizational crime and violence reduction goals through a relational change intervention. Criminal Justice Policy Review. Published online 1.18.2022 

Socia, K.M., Morabito, M.S., Bond, B.J. & Nader, E. (2021). Public perceptions of police agency fairness and the willingness to call police. American Review of Public Administration, 51(5), 360-373. 

Gebo, E. & Bond, B.J. (2020). Improving inter-organizational collaborations: An application in a violence reduction context, The Social Science Journal, 1-12.

Bond, B.J. & Gabriele, K. (2018). Research and planning units: An innovation instrument in the 21st century police organization. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 29 (1), 29(1), 67-88.

Bond, B.J. & Nader, E. (2018). Institutionalizing place-based approaches: The adoption of a case of place model. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 41(3), 372-385.

Gebo, E. & Bond, B.J. (2016). Comparing determinants of effective collaboration in a comprehensive crime reduction initiative. Journal of Policy Practice, 15 (3), 212-232.

Bond, B.J. & Braga, A.A. (2015). Rethinking the Compstat process to enhance problem-solving responses: Insights from a randomized field experiment. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, 16(1). 22-35.

Books

Bond-Fortier, B.J. (2020). Organizational Change in an Urban Police Agency: Innovating to Reform. Routledge.

Book Chapters

Bond-Fortier, B.J & Davis, E.F. (2024). The Boston Marathon Bombing: The successful application of crisis response, management, and community-centered policing. In Cordner G. & Wright, M. (Eds). Routledge Handbook of Policing Within a Crisis. Routledge: A Taylor Francis Group.

Bond, B.J. & Nehmens, A. J. (2016). Compstat: A police performance management tool. In W.G Jennings, (Ed). Wiley Encyclopedia for Crime And Punishment. John Wiley Publishing

Gebo, E., Bond, B.J. & Campos, K. (2015). The OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Strategy. In Decker and Pyrooz (Eds). Handbook Of Gangs And Gang Responses. John Wiley Publishing

Professional Reports

Gillooly, J., Leech, T. & Bond-Fortier, B.J. (2023). Tucson’s Community Safety Response and Service Portfolio: Achieving a cohesive, integrated and community-supported response model. The NYU Policing Project.

Aden, H., Barge, M., Bond-Fortier, B.J., Drake, J., Gushes, E., Handy, R., A., Joyce, N., Smoot, S. & Whelan, J. (2023). Recommendations for the Knoxville Police Department.

Gillooly, J., Leech, T. & Bond-Fortier, B.J. (2023). Transforming Denver’s First Response Model: Lessons in Multi-Level Systems Change. The NYU Policing Project.

Barge, M, Bond-Fortier, B.J., Drake, J., Hardaway, A., Joyce, N., O’Toole, K., Ramsey, C., Smoot, S., & Stephens, D., Towey, T., & Villasenor, R. (2023). Recommendations for Community Safety at Temple University and The Temple Police Department.

Barge, M, Bond-Fortier, B.J., Drake, J., A., Joyce, N., Ramsey, C. & Smoot, S. (2022). Recommendations for the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department & Public Safety at Carnegie Mellon University. 21CP Solutions. 

Others

Bond, B.J. & Kelling, G. L. (2018). Compstat 2.0: A Community centered performance measurement system. In Leveraging CompStat to Include Community Measures in Police Performance Management (Eds. Shah, S., Burch, J. & Neusteter). Washington, D.C.: The COPS Office, The National Police Foundation & The Vera Institute