Captain Brandon Post retired from the Provo, Utah, Police Department (PPD) in 2021 after 20 years of service. Captain Post most recently served as Commander of the Patrol Division. Before this assignment, he served as the Commander of the Special Operations Division, where he supervised the department’s major crimes, special enforcement, community-oriented policing, and school resource officer teams. Captain Post was also the Commander of both the SWAT team and the Hostage Negotiations Team and served as the PPD Public Information Officer. Captain Post began his law enforcement career in 2000 as a dispatcher in the Emergency Medical and Police Dispatch Unit. As a police officer, he became a firearm and defensive tactics instructor. He became a member of the SWAT Team in 2005, eventually serving as a squad leader, a marksman/observer, and team leader. He is fluent in speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. Captain Post is a senior research associate with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, where he provides instruction on officer safety and wellness. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Brigham Young University in Provo and his associate’s degree in criminal justice from Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. Captain Post is a graduate of the 273rd Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.

Lewis Z. Schlosser, PhD, ABPP, is the managing partner at the Institute for Forensic Psychology, which is a police and public safety focused specialty practice based in Oakland, New Jersey. Dr. Schlosser is a licensed psychologist in New York (#16482), New Jersey (#4822), and Maine (PS2163). He is Board Certified in Police and Public Safety Psychology (#8539) and Counseling Psychology (#6558) by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a former tenured Associate Professor at Seton Hall University and former in-house Director of Psychological Services for the New York City Correction Department. Dr. Schlosser has conducted over 10,000 law enforcement psychological evaluations, including pre-employment, promotional, and fitness for duty evaluations. He provides training to police personnel on a variety of topics related to officer mental health, with special expertise in officer wellness and fitness for duty.Dr. Schlosser is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Psychological Services Section. He currently serves on the Executive Board of the Police Psychological Services Section as the General Chair. Dr. Schlosser is also an affiliate member of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and the Bergen County Police Chief's Association. He was recently named as the first Chief Psychologist for the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police. He is a member of the New Jersey Police Surgeons. Dr. Schlosser is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.Dr. Schlosser earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and his PhD in Counseling Psychology, all from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Lieutenant Mike Madden retired in August 2018 from the San Bernardino, California, Police Department (SBPD). He has served in multiple law enforcement capacities for the past 27 years, including field training officer, department recruiter, motorcycle officer, detective assigned to the Crimes Against Children Unit, and sergeant overseeing the Specialized Crimes Unit. He has served as a patrol operations commander and an administrative services commander. Lieutenant Madden served as the SBPD’s Public Information Officer and the Community Affairs Division Manager, as well as the commander overseeing the Field Training Officer Program as well as the Crisis Negotiations Team. Lieutenant Madden was among the first responding officers on scene following the mass shooting/active shooter event at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.

Sergeant Angela Sands began her law enforcement career in 2012 as a patrol officer with the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department (LPD). Her responsibilities have included crime scene investigator, recruit mentor, field training officer, and undercover officer. In November 2015, Sergeant Sands was shot while on duty and credits wearing her bullet- resistant vest with saving her life. Since that time, she has provided local and national presentations and instruction in prevailing mind-set—surviving and winning a lethal-force encounter; post-traumatic stress disorder; and emotional health for law enforcement. Among other honors, she was recognized as the Nebraska Officer of the Year in 2016 and was the recipient of the LPD Medal of Honor in 2016. Sergeant Sands was the Public Information Officer for the LPD and conducted daily media briefings, coordinated news releases, created content, and maintained all social media. She was promoted to Sergeant in October 2019 and is currently assigned to their Northeast Patrol Team. Sergeant Sands earned a bachelor of arts degree in human relations from Doane University in Lincoln, Nebraska and is currently working on a Masters in Criminology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Michael is the Fitness Wellness Unit Supervisor for the Texas Department of Public Safety. At TX DPS, Harper oversees all fitness testing and assessments as well as an entire unit dedicated to helping officers and employees maintain their health, fitness and nutrition through targeted programs and initiatives. Prior to TX DPS, as former Associate Director and Strategy Leader for First Responder and Military Programs for The Cooper Institute, he assisted agencies throughout the U.S. & internationally in their quest to make themselves and their colleagues fit for duty and fit for life. Beyond first responders and military programs, Michael has significant experience in curriculum development, editing and delivery of health and fitness related content. He has also presented at regional, state and national conferences as well as regular dissemination through scholarly publications, including peer reviewed research articles, and online content. Michael has presented throughout the U.S. as well as internationally on a regular basis. This last year, he presented at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) mid-year conference in Chicago, the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), Public Safety Commission over TX DPS, multiple agencies throughout Texas as well as in Minnesota, Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Oklahoma.  Prior to this classroom, Harper started his career as an Assistant Strength Coach at Texas Tech University before moving on to become Head Strength Coach at Tarleton State University. Outside of competitive athletes, Harper has worked with beginners and a plethora of individuals in between as he successfully opened a Boot Camp style gym in Frisco, TX.   Michael received his Bachelor degree from Howard Payne University and Masters of Education in Health & Physical Education from Tarleton State University plus maintains significant practical learning as a competitive collegiate as well as endurance Ironman athlete.  Helping reduce the prevalence of heart attacks and other health disparities in law enforcement through health and fitness is very personal to Harper. That alone, just might have made an impact in the early death of his dad who suffered from the #1 killer in the U.S., a heart attack.  

Hometown: Austin, Texas   Credentials/Certifications: Master Level Peace Officer. Advance Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Instructor. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - Certified Law Enforcement Fitness Training Coordinator & Law Enforcement Arrest Control Tactics Training Coordinator. Cooper Certified Law Enforcement Fitness Specialist. United States Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach. Functional Movement System (FMS). Mechanical Advantage Control Holds (M.A.C.H.) Instructor; M.A.C.H. Close Range Subject Control (CRSC) Defensive Tactics Instructor. SPEAR System Instructor; SPEAR Control & Arrest Instructor. Field Training Officer (FTO). Taser Instructor. Pepper Ball Delivery System Instructor. Pressure Point Control Tactics (PPCT) Instructor. Armament Systems & Procedures (ASP) Baton Instructor. Reality Based Training (RBT) Instructor.  Education: Captain Davis received his Master of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science Degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. Captain Davis completed credentialed fitness & Law Enforcement education and training from the United States Olympic Training Center (Colorado Springs, Colorado), the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (Glynco, Georgia) and the Cooper Institute (Dallas, Texas). In addition, over 34 years of practical programming as a competitive athlete trained by world class coaching. Additionally, Captain Davis is a graduate of the DPS Leadership and Command College. Captain Davis possesses as a Master Peace Officer and holds an Advance Instructor certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.  Experience/Expertise: Captain Davis is currently in his 32nd year in the Criminal Justice career field. He began his career serving in the United States Marine Corps as a Military Police Officer. After receiving his Honorable Discharged, he then worked as a Federal Police Officer for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police, the Attorney General's Office in Internal Security and Investigations, and the University of Texas at Austin Police Department as a Police Officer/FTO/Instructor.  For the last 18 years, he has been serving with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the following capacities: State Trooper Texas Highway Patrol; and Agent Executive Protection Bureau (Formerly the Governor's Protection Detail). Currently, Captain Davis serves as the Department's Academy Training Coordinator for the following units: Fitness Wellness Unit, Arrest Control Tactics Unit, Operational Medicine Unit and the Trooper Training Unit assigned to the Training Operations Division. Professional SME Testimonials:  * Committee on Homeland Security: Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers: Preparing America's Law Enforcement to Protect the Homeland  Subcommittee: Oversight, Management, & Accountability (116th Congress) Washington D.C. 2019.  * Texas Public Safety Commission Board (2012-2019).  * Bureau of Justice - Officer Safety Wellness Committee. Washington D.C. (2020).  * Texas Legislative Bill Proposal and Development. (2013/2015). Professional Speaker/Lecturer: Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT: Texas Police Chiefs and Command Staff Leadership Series - Sam Houston State University). International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP: Annual and Mid-Year Conferences. IACP State Police and Provincial Academy Directors Conferences (SPPADS). FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA: Wellness/Resiliency SHIELD Training for the Leadership Institute (Supervisor/Command/Executive). Texas Police Chiefs Association. Boards/Committees: * Cooper Institute of Aerobic Research National Law Enforcement Advisory Board. (2010-2016) * Physical Readiness Testing Committee. (2010-2017)   Professional Awards: 2012, the 'Unit Citation' Award 2012, 'Life Saving' Award 2015, 'Chair' Award  1988, 'Leatherneck' USMC Award 

Dr Jennifer Wild is a consultant clinical psychologist, associate professor and NIHR Oxford Health BRC Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. Her area of expertise is in developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to prevent stress-related psychopathology in emergency responders. With her team, she developed and evaluated internet-delivered cognitive training in resilience (iCT-R), which targets modifiable risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in emergency workers. This preventative intervention is being disseminated to emergency services across England by the UK’s mental health charity, Mind. Dr Wild has also developed evidence-based tools to support hospital and paramedic employees (SHAPE) during and after COVID (www.shaperecovery.com). She has worked in an advisory role to the Cabinet Office on best practice for developing preventative interventions for emergency responders. She has over 70 publications, including book chapters, and a recently published popular science book on resilience, Be Extraordinary: 7 Key Skills to Transform Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Dr Wild regularly appears in the media giving evidence-based advice for trauma-related mental health problems.

Golnaz Tabibnia is Assistant Research Professor at the University of California, Irvine. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and her Ph.D. in Psychology (Major: Cognitive Neuroscience) at UCLA. She worked as Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for three years, before moving back to California. Dr. Tabibnia’s research focuses on the interplay of passion and reason in the brain, including in such contexts as emotion regulation, impulse control, social decision-making, and resilience. Ultimately, her work centers around using insights from neuroscience to enhance cognitive and behavioral strategies for improving mental health and wellness. Dr. Tabibnia has particular expertise in communicating neuroscience to non-scientists. She has received multiple awards for her teaching and research, and her work has been published in such prestigious journals as Psychological Science, Journal of Neuroscience, and Science, as well as in the Harvard Business Review. https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/gtabibnia/ Twitter @golnaztabibnia

Jeff Thompson, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Research Area of the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University Medical Center. Additionally, he is a 17-year law enforcement veteran detective with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and a former hostage negotiator. In his role at the NYPD, Detective Thompson is currently the first-ever Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator helping conduct research and outreach on the department's suicide prevention efforts, reducing the stigma associated with mental illness, and raising awareness of resources available to both police officers and the public. His research includes hostage negotiation in terrorist incidents, suicide prevention strategies, psychological autopsies, resilience and developing positive mental health strategies, and the use of effective communication during crisis incidents. He also develops and teaches curriculum on resilience, mental wellness, suicide prevention, crisis negotiation and communication, and engaging people in crisis and those with a mental illness. His training material has been implemented in police agencies across the United States and beyond. Dr. Thompson received his doctorate from Griffith University Law School having researched the development of rapport, building trust, and displaying professionalism during conflict situations.  Dr. Thompson is also an adjunct instructor at Lipscomb University and New York University. Additionally, He is the recipient of the Griffith University Arts, Education and Law's 2020 Outstanding International Alumnus Award and The New York City Police Foundation's 2020 Hemmerdinger Award for Excellence for Distinguished Public Service. 

Dr. Saltzberg is a curriculum developer and lead instructor for the Penn Resilience Programs at the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center. She earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Saltzberg has lectured internationally on Positive Psychology and cognitive therapy topics, and has taught resilience skills to a wide range of populations including law enforcement personnel, corporate leaders, U.S. Army personnel, primary and secondary educators, clinicians, and others. 

Detective Robert Swartz is a 32-year Law Enforcement veteran. Swartz is currently assigned to the City of Taunton Massachusetts Police Department’s Detective Division.  In addition, Detective Swartz was a key participant in the creation of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council’s Critical Incident Stress Management and Peer Support Team.  Swartz has served as the Director/Commander since the team’s inception. He is personally familiar with trauma and the result of exposure and is a certified instructor in Critical Incident Stress Management.

Josh leads the Boulder Crest Institute, which is focused on training people – from veterans to first responders, civilians to mental health professionals – to live great lives, filled with passion, purpose, connection, growth and service. The Institute develops and delivers training, technology, research and evaluation, and social and policy solutions based on the science of Posttraumatic Growth. Josh joined Boulder Crest in June 2014. He led Boulder Crest's efforts to develop the first program ever designed to cultivate and facilitate Posttraumatic Growth (the Warrior PATHH program), co-authored Struggle Well: Thriving in the Aftermath of Trauma, with Boulder Crest’s Founder and Chairman, Ken Falke. 

Angelo (AJ) Lapanna is a 20-year Law Enforcement veteran. He started his career as an uncercover narcotics investigator with a DEA Task Force. Lapanna served 8 years on a regional SWAT Team, leaving the team as its Tactical Commander. In 2016 Lapanna retired from the Army as an E-8 Master Sergeant after 23 years of service. He served multiple combat deployements in both Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Special Forces Soldier (Green Beret). During those deployments he served as a Joint Terminal Air Controller (JTAC) and spoke both Arabic and Dari. He has twice been awarded the Bronze Star for actions during combat operations. Lapanna has been been involved in multiple critical incidents throughout both his military and police careers. In 2009 he was diagnosed with PTSD, Lapanna currently serves the Middleborough Police Department in Massachusetts as a Patrol Sergeant. Lapanna was one of the first coodinators of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enfocement Council's (SEMLEC) Critical Incident Peer Support Team, a role he still carries on today. Lapanna has a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a M.S. in the Administration of Justice. He is a certified CISM and Suicide Prevention Instructor by the Massachusetts Police Training Committee. He coached varsity High School Hockey for 2 years and his sons Little League Baseball teams for 5 years, is an avid bowhunter, salt water fisherman, he enjoys yoga and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well.

Ms. Erin Oehler currently serves as the Associate Director of Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance). As the Associate Director, she is responsible for providing programmatic and project management support to Action Alliance initiatives; cultivating national partnerships with diverse audiences such as large private sector employers, news media, public safety, and the entertainment industry; and leading the Action Alliance’s workplace suicide prevention efforts.

Before joining the Action Alliance, Oehler was a Policy Advisor for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. In that role, she lead a team in development, implementation, and conducting of quality assurance on policies for state Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, CHIP programs and healthy women and children initiatives. 

Prior to her work at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, she was the Policy Specialist at the Texas Department of State Health Services for the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver, a Medicaid waiver program which provides home and community-based services as an alternative to institutionalization for children struggling with emotional disturbance. As Policy Specialist, she was the subject matter expert on legal and policy matters on the statewide expansion and administration of the Waiver.

Early in her career, Oehler was an Education Policy Consultant for the Texas Association of School Boards, responsible for the research, development, and management of legal and local school board policies for 110 school districts throughout Texas. 

Oehler has over 15 years of experience in education and public health law and policy. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from St. Edward’s University, Master’s degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Texas State University, and Juris Doctorate from St. Mary’s University School of Law. 

Shelley Jones graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice, and went on to work as a Missouri Probation and Parole Officer. In 1993, she was hired as a patrol officer by the Columbia (MO) Police Department and 10 years later joined their new Motorcycle Unit. She retired as an Assistant Chief after 21 years of service. Ms. Jones is the recipient of the Medal Valor and named Missouri Peace Officer of Year-1996. In 2014, upon retiring from law enforcement, Ms. Jones joined National Concerns of Police Survivors as the Director of Operations. While at C.O.P.S. she learned that the leadership was concerned about the lack of services for the families of officers who die by suicide. Ms. Jones submitted a proposal to the National Board and in May 2020, with the blessing and support of C.O.P.S., left C.O.P.S. along with another staff member, and together they started a new non-profit organization, Survivors of Blue Suicide Foundation, Inc. (SBS). Ms. Jones is a surviving co-worker of Columbia Police Officer Michael Goldberg who died by suicide in 2007 and Officer Molly Thomas-Bowden who was killed in the line of duty in 2005.

Kim Ruocco is the Vice President For Suicide Prevention and Postvention at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). In this role, Ms. Ruocco has developed a field leading, best practice three-phase postvention model, which offers a road map to stabilization, a health promoting grief journey and opportunities for post-traumatic growth.

In addition to her postvention work Ms. Ruocco provides thought leadership and subject matter expertise to suicide prevention efforts in many civilian and military organizations. She is an international speaker who uses her education, personal experience and information gathered from 1000’s of service members and bereaved military families to help others more fully understand suicide.

Ms. Ruocco has testified before both the Senate and House Committees on Veterans Affairs. She is the co-lead for AAS Mil/Vet Committee, a co-lead on the National Action Alliance Service Member, Veteran and family Advisory group, and a member of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) steering committee.

Kim holds a BA in Human Services and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from Boston University. She is also the surviving widow of Marine Corp Major John Ruocco, who died by suicide in 2005.

Jennifer Styles is a Program Manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police. She is an experienced criminal justice grant manager with a strong ability to translate the needs of the field into tangible resources, services, and trainings. Ms. Styles specializes in community-police relations, officer safety and wellness, pretrial justice, volunteer management, emergency preparedness, and tribal and smaller agency issues. Ms. Styles currently oversees IACP’s portfolio of officer safety and wellness work to include the Officer Safety and Wellness Symposium, National Consortium on the Prevention of Law Enforcement Suicide, Innovative Approaches to Officer Safety and Wellness, VALOR Law Enforcement Resilience Training Program, National Peer Support Program for Small and Rural Agencies, and Law Enforcement Family Wellness Training and Technical Assistance Program. 

For the past eight months I have been the Chief of Police in Moultonborough, NH after spending five years as the Chief in Bridgton, Maine. Prior to Maine, I was the Chief of Police in Walpole, MA for 13 years. I am currently on the IACP Board of Directors representing departments of 15 or fewer sworn members and a member of the IACP Firearms Committee for the past two years.

I am a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Session 180 and hold a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and Boston University respectively.

Bill Brooks is the Chief of Police in Norwood, Massachusetts. He serves on the IACP Board of Directors. 

Steven Paré was appointed Commissioner of Public Safety for the City of Providence on January 3, 2011. The Office of the Commissioner of Public Safety is responsible for the policy development and budgetary oversight of the Providence Telecommunications Department which receives all emergency calls and dispatches to police, fire and EMS; the Providence Fire Department; the Providence Police Department; and the Providence Emergency Management Agency. The Office of the Commissioner of Public Safety coordinates with each department to form a unified public safety team to respond to public safety issues for the City of Providence.

The mission of the Office of the Commissioner of Public Safety is to deliver professional public safety services built on trust, respect and integrity. The relationship with the community is center focused to ensure a strong working partnership between the community, police, fire and EMS.

Prior to becoming the Commissioner of Public Safety for the City of Providence, Commissioner Paré served in the Rhode Island State Police for 27 years retiring as Superintendent in 2007. Commissioner Paré also served as Director of Global Security for almost four years at IGT, formerly known as GTECH Corporation in Providence, Rhode Island.

Commissioner Paré attained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Bryant University.

He serves on the Board of Directors for Lifespan and the Rhode Island for Community and Justice. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and also serves on their Firearms Committee. Commissioner Paré is also a member of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association and has served as past president. He is an alumnus of Leadership Rhode Island and is a graduate of the 195th Session of the FBI National Academy.

Dr. Katrina Sanders is the Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Federal Police. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and is the recipient of Australia Day Achievement Medallion 2019 for her work in health reform in support of law enforcement. Dr Sanders has experience working with private and government industry on health capability in support of strategic objectives including the Australian government response to the West Africa Ebola crisis and Australian Defence Force operations. She is internationally recognised as a key contributor to health in emergency services personnel through her architecture of a holistic approach to health and wellbeing at the Australian Federal Police. Dr Sanders is a key contributor to government and law enforcement policy on health.

Jason leads AT&T’s FirstNet business. In 2017, AT&T won the privilege of building FirstNet, the first-ever nationwide, wireless network for first responders. Jason is responsible for delivering on the 25-year partnership with the First Responder Network Authority. He is charged with bringing first responders the advanced communications capabilities they need, meeting AT&T’s commitments through the network build, development of products and services, and remote operations capabilities.

Since beginning his career with AT&T in 2002, Jason has held several leadership positions in engineering, strategy, operations and marketing spanning across the consumer and business customer segments. Jason previously served as the Chief Data Officer and Senior Vice President – Strategic Planning, where he was responsible for global network planning, prioritization of over half of AT&T’s capital spend, design technology, talent enablement and the CDO’s center of excellence for data science, AI, and automation.

Jason also served as the Vice President of Global Technology Planning and Program Management, where he led the financial and technology roadmaps for AT&T’s wireless and wireline networks, including the execution of those programs. Jason also led AT&T’s cyber security business where he was responsible for driving growth and profitability for the portfolio, and was the Vice President of DevOps for AT&T Partner Solutions, where his team launched over 25 products, reduced cycle times by 75%, and transformed the user experience to earn one the highest Net Promoter Scores in the industry.

Jason graduated from The United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor’s degree in Engineering. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Regis University. He served in the Army as an Armor Officer, leading a Tank Platoon and Mortar Platoon. He and his wife, Tiffany, reside in Frisco with their three children.

Anna leads AT&T’s commitment to First Responder Health and Wellness. Joining the team in May 2020, Anna is responsible for creating, developing, and implementing FirstNet strategies, campaigns, and programs that will advance first responder health and wellness programs.

Anna began her career as a clinical nurse in Bone Marrow Transplant and Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Albemarle Regional hospital. Following a move with her active duty Army soldier, she transitioned to working as a Health Promotion Coordinator with the 1st Infantry Division and Würzburg Medical Hospital where she developed a strategic plan for addressing the community’s health and wellness needs. That experience cemented Anna’s love of working with people to improve a community’s health.

In 2005, she accepted a position to help design the Army Public Health Center’s strategic plan for community health coalitions. What began as a pilot with four Army installations grew to a program that served 50 Army and Joint installations worldwide where she served as the Evaluation and Policy Project Officer for over 16 years. To that end, Anna brings a wealth of experience in health and wellness coalition development, program management, strategic planning, systems monitoring, and evaluation.

Anna holds a Bachelor’s in Nursing from Clemson University; a Master’s in Nursing Education from the University of Wyoming; and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Ohio State University. Anna is a passionate Clemson football fan; loves to read, cook, walk, hike; and prior to COVID19, was an avid traveler. She and her husband, Treb, reside in Columbia, SC with their two human children, and one fur-ball child.

Dr. Jonathan Wender is a twenty-year police veteran and interdisciplinary social scientist who serves as president and CEO of Polis Solutions.  His area of expertise is face-to-face social interactions in critical situations where risk is high and trust is low.  Jonathan has broad experience developing and implementing training programs that integrate social and tactical skills, and is lead developer of Polis Solutions' T3 - Tact, Tactics, and Trust training system. Prior to co-founding Polis, Jonathan helped develop and launch the Strategic Social Interaction Modules (SSIM) Program at DARPA, and served with the program as senior advisor.  Jonathan previously served on the faculty at the University of Washington in the Department of Sociology and Law, Societies, and Justice Program. He is widely recognized as a subject-matter expert on police-community interactions, police use of force, officer decision-making, police training, and other related topics.

Dr. Joel Suss is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wichita State University. He applies principles from cognitive psychology and human factors psychology to understand police and military performance—especially in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations—and develop evidence-based training. He studies police decision making from the perspective of perceptual–cognitive expertise and macrocognition/naturalistic decision making. His current research focuses on adaptive decision making and how to best combine psychomotor training and decision-making training. Joel maintains close links with law enforcement professionals and trainers. He has completed two citizen police academies. Prior to studying psychology, Joel worked in the private security industry, and served as Director of Training for a security organization.

Sgt Don Gulla - Current - National Training Director for Polis Solutions; Retired from King County Sheriff's Office as a Sgt after 33 years. He's a Master DT, Master Firearms and was a Senior Master Taser Instructor. He was a Police Academy Instructor for 7 years. He served for 12 years on a full time SWAT Team. Founder of Arrestling Force Options Training Groups. Among other recent projects, Polis completed for Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) a national inventory and evaluation of community leadership development programs, and completed for the City of New York Police Department (NYPD) a federally-mandated evaluation of all NYPD academy, in-service, and leadership training programs. Polis Solution’s T3 – Tact, Tactics and Trust Courses were taught nationwide and funded by a $2.1 million Valor initiative. T3 combines De-escalation and Officer Safety Tactics. The following Police Departments have hosted and implemented parts of T3 training into their training curriculum. Newark, Philadelphia, Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Washington DC Mass Area Transit Authority, Wichita, Atlanta, Fayetteville, Tucson, Columbia SC, Beaufort SC, Doral FL, Newburgh NY and Okaloosa County FL. Polis Solutions is a member of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, IADLEST Partner Advisory Committee. Sgt Don Gulla is one of the primary creators and content developers of Patrol Expert Training Program Polis Patrol Expert (PPE™) is a web-based digital training system that gives law enforcement agencies of any size a simple, affordable way to create, deliver, and evaluate training scenarios using video footage from body-worn cameras or any other source. Sgt Gulla created/edited the Patrol Expert content used by Chicago PD to update all department members in their new Use of Force Policy Training.

Tina Dimachkieh currently serves as the Project Manager for the Programs Team at the IACP. Ms. Dimachkieh manages programmatic activities for multiple multimillion dollar cooperative agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) in the field of victim services focused on identifying and preventing gender bias through strengthening law enforcement response to crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, strangulation, and stalking, and addressing and mitigating the negative effects of vicarious trauma. Ms. Dimachkieh works with subject matter experts and advisory board members to provide national comprehensive training and technical assistance (TTA) to law enforcement agencies and multidisciplinary partners composed of victim advocacy groups, criminal justice professionals, first responders, and medical professionals across the country. 

Captain Schaffer, a native of Bismarck ND, has been with the Great Falls Police Department since 1998 and supervises the Patrol Services Bureau at the Great Falls Police Department.  Prior to that time he served 9 years with the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department in Bismarck, ND.  He is a graduate of the Minot State University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice.  In addition he is a 2014 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico VA.  

Captain Schaffer has served as the Captain of Patrol and Investigative Services and as a Lieutenant in Patrol Services. Captain Schaffer has worked in all areas of GFPD as the Training Sergeant and the Swing Shift Sergeant.  He has also served as both a general case investigator and Special Victims Unit Detective.

Captain Schaffer worked with Northeastern University (MA) and the  US Office of Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs to develop and pilot a Vicarious Trauma Toolkit (VTT) to assist Law Enforcement,  Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services and Victim Services become more trauma informed.  He has provided instruction on the VTT and its use at the 2017 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Philadelphia.  Captain Schaffer has taught in other areas to include Instructor Development, Law Enforcement’s Response to Autism, Disability Awareness, Verbal Tactics, PTSD/Stress Management and Active Shooter.  He also teaches leadership training at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy’s Montana Executive Leadership Institute. He currently serves as the GFPD representative on the Crisis Steering Committee, the Cascade County Mental Health Local Advisory Council as the Vice Chair, The Great Falls Mental Health Treatment Court and the Crisis Response Team and has a passion for improving the outcomes for persons with Mental Health needs interacting with Law Enforcement.