Research Committee

Michael Aspland is the Executive Director of Sam Houston State University's Institute for Homeland Security. IHS provides innovative, value-added knowledge tailored to the needs of industry and public institutions, to protect critical infrastructure supporting Texas and the nation’s economy.

He served as a police officer for 26 years in California retiring as the Assistant Police Chief with the Monterey Police Department.

Prior to coming to SHSU in 2021, Mike was the Deputy Director of Education Operations at Naval Postgraduate School’s Common Operations Research Environment (CORE) Lab with a primary focus on social network analysis for LEO and DoD professionals. He holds two master's degrees (Public Administration, California Lutheran University and Security Studies - Homeland Defense and Security, Naval Postgraduate School). He is the founder of Set Free Monterey Bay a restoration home ministry assisting survivors of human trafficking operating in Monterey County, California.

Jessica Wickey Byrd is a double alumnus of the University of Central Florida, graduating with her master’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in 2013 and her doctorate in Educational Leadership, with a focus on Higher Education in 2024 from the College of Innovation and Education.

Dr. Wickey Byrd has 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, resorts, events, convention centers, non-profit fundraising, and live entertainment.

Dr. Wickey Byrd leads a team of faculty, staff, and student assistants to manage all recruitment at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management – directing 3,000 undergraduate students’ careers goals and aspirations. Her goal is for students to find the best version of themselves and find passion and purpose in their future careers.

As Director of the Internship Program, Dr. Wickey Byrd launched human trafficking education in the Summer of 2020, creating robust curriculum to enhance the student’s internship education. Since inception, she has collectively educated more than 5,700 students to be able to identify and report human trafficking in their workplaces within the hospitality and tourism industry.

Currently, Dr. Wickey Byrd is a member of the Greater Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force; she chairs the Central Florida National Academy Foundation’s Advisory Board for high schools with hospitality and tourism programs and works with WorldOrlando and the US Department of State to combat trafficking globally.

In 2024, she was announced as the Executive Director of the UCF Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. In this role, she will advance all anti-trafficking efforts for the college. The Center aims to be the global center of excellence in gathering and disseminating information to the community at large. Education, research, and community engagement are the pillars of the center, to be a resource for all anti-trafficking activities.

Martha Felini, PhD is an epidemiologist in the Department of Pediatrics and Women’s Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center College of Osteopathic Medicine and affiliate faculty at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. She received a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has nearly two decades research experience using population-level data to understand the complex intersections of biologic, genetic, environmental, and social factors contributing to health disparities in our most historically underrepresented populations. This work more recently expanded to evaluating prevention programs aimed at optimizing prevention delivery, mitigating health disparities, and advancing health equity.  Her research work has been supported by NIH, CPRIT, HRSA, and CDC funding and received recognition by AACR as among the most innovative and high impact research being conducted in the field of health disparities.  

A centerpiece of her research was partnering with Dallas law enforcement and over 35community organizations in a 5-year street initiative providing a safe exit strategy, medical triage assessment, court-related services, and social services directly to the streets for truck stop and street sex workers along interstate corridors in Dallas – many with current or past experiences in human trafficking. Findings were used to change Texas law in 2012 (SB#484) and produced a baseline health profile for healthcare organizations providing care for trafficking survivors. 

Dr. Mollie Gordon is an Associate Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She completed medical school and residency at Barnes Jewish Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis. She is clinical faculty, the Associate Director of the inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Ben Taub Hospital and supervises residents, medical students and a team of interdisciplinary providers. She cares for adults with acute exacerbations of chronic mental illness, many of whom are vulnerable and marginalized.

Her research background is in pharmacokinetics of dopamine dependent disease pathways, and the trauma of individuals who suffer from these conditions. She has worked with survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to reintegrate them back into the workplace. In 2016 she participated in the development of the first fellowship in the mental health impacts of human trafficking at an academic medical center where she is Medical Director of this program. She was a co-chair of the American Medical Women’s Association – Physicians against the Trafficking of Humans where she leads train the trainer workshops nationally. She is on the HEAL trafficking speaker’s bureau, has testified for the national advisory council for the office of trafficking in persons, and lectures at national meetings on human trafficking.

Recently she founded BCM division of global mental health to treat survivors of torture, trafficking and mass violence atrocities. She has published numerous papers in the field, edited a book in the space, and won numerous awards for her work.

Hady Salloum is the Director of Research at the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute. Previously, he served as the DHS Science and Technology’s National Center of Excellence for Maritime Security and the Sensor Technology and Applied Research (STAR) Center at Stevens Institute of Technology, as well as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has over 35 years of experience in industry and academia, directing large-scale, complex research and development projects as well as field experiments and is currently responsible for leading research that spans various engineering and science disciplines.

In addition to working in academia, Professor Salloum spent 20 years working in the Bell Telephone System, where he had many positions ranging from Member of the Technical Staff to Vice President. He developed Systems Requirements and Architecture for Broadband Access Technologies, including Fiber to the Home, DSL, and Wi-Max and published over 100 papers in this area, mainly on fiber-to-the-home.

He is currently serving as a member to the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC), is a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, and a senior member of the IEEE. He has served as technical editor for the IEEE Communications Magazine as well as many other leadership roles. He holds two patents, with others pending. He holds a Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees and a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Dr. Beth Wheaton-Páramo builds structures that lead to positive change. She believes creating the right mix of expertise and resources is the key to dynamic and resilient foundations. Individuals and organizations are the building blocks of change; and Beth’s passion is to help them envision the change and take the next step toward their goals. Beth has a history of leading the construction of structures, to include the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project, the first-of-its-kind SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference, the first textbook on the economics of human rights, a for-profit and a non-profit organization, and a consultancy to empower world changers to make their personal missions a reality. With 30 years of experience in teaching, research, and consulting, she continually provides insights and consultation to government, law enforcement, non-profit, for-profit, research, and other organizations.

Beth earned a Ph.D. and master’s in economics from Temple University and a master’s in international business and economics from Grambling State University. She is a Research Assistant Professor and Senior Lecturer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where she teaches economics, including the economics of human rights course based on her textbook. Topics include the economics of human rights, capital punishment, violence against women, seeking asylum, terrorism, child abuse, genocide, and hate.

In 2022, Beth led her SMU team in securing a $1.187 million grant from the Department of Justice National Institute of Justice to build the SMU Human Trafficking Data Warehouse and conduct multiple research projects. She has received many teaching and service awards, including the Texas Piper Professor Award. Beth believes in creating and reimagining structures that open opportunities that had previously been closed.