Madison R. Ross was born and raised in the state of Tennessee. She is currently earning a Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in Criminology and a minor in Statistics. Madison attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Sociology (Criminology and Criminal Justice concentration) and a minor in Psychology. She is currently working as a graduate research assistant in the Office of Innovative Technologies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Over the summers, she works part-time as a graduate instructor for the Sociology Department at UTK, teaching courses in Criminology and Social Problems and Social Justice. Madison has also served as a research assistant on issues of racialized automobility and voting, migration experiences and trauma, and social learning. She earned a Master of Arts degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Sociology in 2022 from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her thesis took a probing look at how select contemporary US feature films depict the agency of women who encounter extreme victimization and injustice. In addition to her interests in research and learning, Madison enjoys watching, reading about, and listening to true crime narratives. She is also very interested in dark tourism. Some of her favorite dark tourist locations visited have been Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. In her downtime, Madison remains extremely preoccupied with caring for her two cats, Ben and Jerry, and her dog, Maggie, who wholeheartedly believes she is also a cat.