M. Alexis Kennedy, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she spent 21 years researching and teaching about trauma, victimization, and mental health. She also served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Her peer-reviewed research covers post-traumatic stress, dissociation, childhood maltreatment, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It has been funded by agencies including the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Since 2015, she has trained first responders and justice professionals in compassion fatigue prevention and resilience. Her audiences have included Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, 911 dispatchers, Clark County Fire Department stations, prosecutors, and judges. She founded Compassion Recharge, which teaches professionals the neuroscience of stress and burnout recovery.

Kennedy holds a doctoral degree and a master's degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia, a law degree from the University of Manitoba, and a bachelor's degree in criminology from the University of Toronto. She also holds a Certificate in Strategic Resilience for First Responders from Langara College. She teaches Trauma and Stress Management in the Emergency and Crisis Management program. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in law, victimization, and substance abuse at UNLV.