Dr. Pendleton has over 25 years of research and consulting experience in a wide range of academic and organizational environments with a specialty in the American Police.

Michael applies a blend of theory and his practical experience in diverse professional environments ranging from criminal justice (former police officer and correctional program developer / manager), to the fine arts (former managing director of the Seattle Childrens Theatre), to environmental crime and law enforcement in all levels of government in both the United States and Canada.

          Michael specializes in group process, organizational assessment and change, organizational conflict resolution, team development, and annual retreat facilitation for a number of elected officials councils/commissions, boards of directors and other professional groups.

          Dr. Pendleton has consulted with numerous government organizations on criminal justice issues. Dr. Pendleton is currently retained by the National Institute of Justice as the principal process evaluator on the COMPASS initiative, a "data warehouse" approach to analyzing crime and disorder problems in the urban environment. Most recently Dr. Pendleton has been retained by the Seattle Police Department as the principal researcher on the issue of Knowledge Management in policing, a project funded by the National Institute of Justice. Past related projects include serving as a COPS grant evaluator for the City of Monroe, Washington on a juvenile violence project, and as the process evaluator on the implementation of SeattleWatch, a management accountability program for the Seattle Police Department. Dr. Pendleton is recognized as the international authority on crime and enforcement in leisure settings with a focus on parks and other natural setting recreational venues.

          Dr. Pendleton has served as a professor at the University of Washington in the Society and Justice program and recently served as the Associate Director of this program. Michael has also been on faculty at the University of Oregon and several community colleges. Michael has conducted numerous criminal justice research projects and has published in a wide range of criminal justice areas, including police stress, police organizational change and crime and enforcement in leisure settings. Dr. Pendleton holds a Doctorate in Philosophy in Organizational Psychology from the University of Washington and a Masters Degree in Juvenile Corrections from the University of Oregon.

          Beginning in 1998 Dr. Pendleton has focused exclusively on his private consulting practice, which offers a wide range of organizational assessment and development services to a diverse set of organizational environments.