UM Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy: Alyshia Dyer

Alyshia Dyer

An Ypsilanti native, Alyshia Dyer is pursuing dual master’s degrees in social work and public policy at the University of Michigan. She received her bachelor’s degree in criminology from Eastern Michigan University. Dyer previously served as a deputy sheriff for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, where she focused on youth-related crime in Ypsilanti as a youth resource officer. In this role, she used community policing and family engagement strategies to deter youth crime. At the Sheriff’s Office, Dyer helped implement Washtenaw County’s Handle with Care initiative, which aims to promote communication between law enforcement and schools to help children impacted by trauma. She also assisted with S.U.R.E. (Sisters, United, Resilient, Empowered), a support group created by Florence Roberson and the Sherriff’s Office to empower mothers with children in the criminal justice system. Dyer is interested in restorative justice, poverty mitigation, criminal justice and police reform, and developing the resiliency of youth in the juvenile justice system. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, improv, reading, discovering new podcasts, and listening to music.