University of Guelph-Humber

Joe L. Couto has been an instructor in the Justice Studies program at the University of Guelph-Humber since 2015. Couto also teaches at Humber College’s School of Social and Community Services in Criminal Justice, and is a Associate Faculty member at Royal Roads University’s School of Communication and Culture. Couto serves as director of government relations and communications for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP). He is the author of “Covered in Blue: Police Culture and LGBT Police Officers in the Province of Ontario,” a landmark academic study of LGBTQ police officers in Ontario. His most recent research project (funded by UofGH) is entitled, “Female. Gay. Cop: The Intersectionality of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Police Culture” and was complete in May 2018. He is currently a candidate for a Doctor of Social Sciences degree from Royal Roads University. In 2013, Couto was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to policing and public safety in Canada. Couto was also awarded the 2016 Outstanding New Faculty Award at Royal Roads University.

Amanda Crognale has taught at the University of Guelph-Humber since 2016. She has taught a wide range of courses in the Justice Studies program, as well as the Police Foundation and Social Service Worker curricula. Crognale has acted as the Program Coordinator for the Post-Graduate program in Forensic Practice at Humber College and she is currently the Police Foundations Student Support Advisor at the Orangeville campus. Her teaching areas include: Psychology, Criminology, Conflict Management, Interpersonal Skills and Criminal Justice. In 2017, Crognale created the Orangeville Police Services/Humber College Volunteer Program through which students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience critical to their competitiveness as future police candidates. She has cultivated relationships with existing and emerging community partners by providing Police Foundations students the opportunity to volunteer with a number of key industry leaders. Her experience as a Partner Assault Response and Direct Accountability facilitator with both Catholic Family Services of Simcoe County, among other agencies, gives Crognale the credibility to teach and mentor others on key social problems and conflict resolution. She also possesses considerable knowledge of the criminal justice system with expertise in the area of offender rehabilitation and reintegration.