Speakers

 

Andre Simons is a Director within Control Risks’ Crisis and Security Consulting practice for North America, based in Washington DC. Andre focuses on issues of active shooters and workplace violence prevention, specializing in providing critical incident threat assessments, crisis response and risk mitigation strategies for clients navigating the wide spectrum of potentially violent threat actors.

Andre retired from the FBI as a Supervisory Special Agent after nearly 23 years of service, having devoted over 12 years to developing and advancing the FBI’s behavioral threat assessment program within the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in Quantico, Virginia. Andre is a Certified Threat Manager™ and has co-authored and published numerous works on violence prevention and communicated threat analysis, including the chapter “The Assessment of Anonymous Threatening Communications” in The International Handbook of Threat Assessment (2014). Andre was a primary co-author of the landmark report A Study of thePre-Attack Behaviors of Active Shooters in the U.S., published by the FBI in 2018. As a former instructor at the FBI’s National Academy and former adjunct faculty member of the University of Virginia, Andre holds a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He was formerly a police officer and member of the Crisis Intervention Team with the Portland Police Bureau.

Dr. Mario Scalora is the director of the Public Policy Center and professor of psychology with the Clinical Training and Law-Psychology Programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as coordinating an active academic research program engaging in collaborative research in targeted violence. He received his B.S. in psychology from St. Joseph’s University and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests address various types of targeted violence issues including threats to public institutions and infrastructure/threat assessment, sexual offending, stalking, and workplace violence. This research continues to involve collaboration with state and federal agencies dealing with threat management and counterterrorism issues. Dr. Scalora has extensive relationships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies related to threat assessment research and consultation assessing predictive risk factors and management strategies concerning targeted threatening, and violent activity. In addition to his role as director, Dr. Scalora also serves as a consulting psychologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police regarding campus safety, threat management, and emergency preparedness.

Charles Randolph is the Senior Director for Strategic Intelligence in Microsoft’s Digital Security ＆ Risk Engineering (DSRE). He leads a team whose role is to fuse and report on threat intelligence and other risk trends which affect the company. Prior to this role, Chuck was responsible for transforming the executive protective, event security and intelligence services to function beyond their traditional roles, to those of strategic enablers.

Along with a corporate career, Chuck is a Lieutenant Colonel, retiring with 30 years of service in the Operations, Information-Operations and Intelligence spaces. Like many others in today’s guard and reserve, he served in overseas contingencies with distinction and has received multiple decorations, once with valor.

LTC Randolph received his B.S. in Political Science from Ball State University and his Master of Arts in Business and Leadership from Webster University. He is also a graduate of the National Defense University's Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (JC4I) course and the U.S. Army’s Information Operations course (FA 30).

He is also a founding member of the Corporate Executive Protection Leadership Council (CEPLC) and the International Protective Security Board (IPSB). Chuck also sits on the board of the Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals (AIRIP) and is the current co-chair for the Pan-Asian Regional Council (PARC) for the United States Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).

Carrie Ackerman is a Vice President and the Director of the Workplace Violence Prevention Program at U.S. Bank. She built and currently manages an enterprise-wide Workplace Violence Prevention Program and Team at the Bank. She has extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary teams of professionals responsible for managing, assessing, and mitigating threats of violence while also providing real-time support to field-based teams as they respond to critical workplace violence situations. She managed Target Corporation's Threats of Workplace Violence Program and led their Threat Assessment Team for five years prior to joining U.S. Bank. Carrie is the President of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals’ Chicago Chapter, sits on the Association’s National Board of Directors, and has received their Meritorious Service Award. She has represented Target at summits on workplace violence, suicide prevention, and domestic violence; and has presented nationally and internationally on behalf of Target and U.S. Bank.

Carrie has worked with corporations, law firms, advertising agencies, governments, schools, and non-profit organizations in North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She taught English and Spanish to students, lawyers, and C-level executives at an international school in Prague, Czech Republic. Carrie also worked at a law firm in Rome, Italy, assisting with European Commission projects including drafting and submitting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) implementation project proposals to the Ministries of Justice, Bar Associations, and other beneficiaries in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. She clerked for the Chamber of Commerce in Bilbao, Spain, and was responsible for helping the Chamber of Commerce to create and implement a sustainable Alternative Dispute Resolution program, focusing specifically on mediation and arbitration to better handle commercial disputes.

Carrie graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a double Bachelor of Science major in International Relations and Public Relations. She obtained her Juris Doctorate at Hamline University School of Law and is a licensed attorney in the State of Minnesota. Before joining Target, Carrie practiced criminal defense and immigration law throughout the State of Minnesota and often liaised and partnered with various domestic violence organizations on behalf of her clients and/or their families. She has also co-presented at Continuing Legal Education events on the topics of domestic violence, criminal law, and the impacts a conviction of this type has on immigration eligibility and status.

Darren Balsom has been a Threat Assessment Specialist with the Calgary Police Service for the past 10 years and is currently assigned to the Behavioral Sciences Unit.  Prior to BSU Darren has worked in the Offender Management Unit. 

Darren held a contract with the Correctional Services of Canada for 16 years offering a Sexual Offender assessment and treatment program.   Darren has been certified by the RCMP as a Threat Evaluation and Management full specialist and is in the understudy program to become a criminal investigative analyst.

Darren is a member of The Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and is the President of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Darren is a graduate of the Psychology and Criminology program of Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

Officer Chase Bryson has been with the Portland Police Bureau, in Portland Oregon, for over 9 years. After working for six years on night shift patrol, he now works in the Police Bureau’s Behavioral Health Unit. In the Behavioral Health Unit, Officer Bryson works full-time with a mental health clinician, in a co-responder team. Officer Bryson’s responsibilities in the Behavioral Health Unit include reducing risk to self or others and connecting a caseload of individuals with mental health concerns, who exhibit high risk factors or frequent police contacts to proper resources. Officer Bryson’s duties also include helping to assess and managing threats for the Behavioral Health Unit. Officer Bryson has been a member of the Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) tactical team for the past three years. Officer Bryson also serves as a Patrol Procedures and Patrol Rifle instructor for the Police Bureau’s Training Division, where he helps train new officers and veteran officers at yearly trainings. Officer Bryson also presents to civilian organizations throughout the city of Portland on the topic of Civilian Response to Active Violent Threat Incidents.

Theresa Campbell is the President and CEO of Safer Schools Together, an organization focused on promoting a climate and culture of safety in schools and Executive Director, International Centre for Threat Assessment (ICTA).

Theresa established Safer Schools Together (SST) in 2008 to provide opportunities for extensive professional development in the areas of safe and caring schools and violence prevention. In addition to hosting training symposiums, SST has authored the Safe and Caring School Tool to measure the climate and culture of a school, as well as ensure best practices are followed and the Ministry of Education mandates regarding school/student safety are met. SST was awarded the contract for the British Columbia Provincially mandated ERASE Bullying Prevention Training Strategy for which, Theresa is the lead trainer.

Theresa is very involved in the community and has served on many boards and committees, liaising with various levels of government, police services, school districts, regional health and social services. She is also an executive board member of the Odd Squad VPD (Vancouver Police Department).

Previously as Manager of Safe Schools for the Surrey School District, she has been responsible for the conceptualization, development and implementation of many highly successful and comprehensive, evidence-based prevention and intervention programs, initiatives and resource materials aimed at enhancing student and staff safety. Many of these unique and innovative projects have also been recognized and implemented worldwide. Prior to the Surrey School District, Theresa spent 10 years with the Vancouver School District where she worked extensively with entrenched, at-risk and gang-associated youth.

Monique Mendoza (Crandal) advances UC San Diego Health’s workplace violence prevention program, which includes collaborating with others on staff training, regulatory reporting, threat assessment, and policy development. She serves as a consultant for the Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Team for UC San Diego. Monique received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California Irvine, her PhD at the University of Missouri. Dr. Mendoza engages public organizations, private institutions and health centers through consultation on institutionalizing workplace safety and threat management and incorporates her expertise as a licensed psychologist.

Lynn Fairweather, MSW is an abuse survivor who has worked in the domestic violence response and prevention field for the past 27 years. As president of Presage Consulting and Training LLC, she is responsible for providing professionals nationwide with threat assessment and management education, workplace violence program and policy consultations, and 24/7 threat response. Ms. Fairweather holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a master’s degree in Social Work. Her threat management skills were developed by working on thousands of cases through positions in the social service, criminal justice, university and shelter systems. She has served on interpersonal violence task forces and has facilitated victim support groups as well as batterer’s intervention programs. Ms. Fairweather is the President of Oregon VAWPAC, America’s only bipartisan political action committee focused on violence against women. She is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, the American Society of Industrial Security, and the National Speakers Association. She also holds training certifications from Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and Gavin de Becker’s Advanced Threat Assessment Academy. Ms. Fairweather writes professionally on the subject of domestic violence, releasing her first book in 2012 (Stop Signs: Recognizing, Avoiding, and Escaping Abusive Relationships” - Seal Press) and contributing a chapter to Asta Publishing’s “Tales of Women Survivors” in 2015.

Rachael Frost is a 20-year retired law enforcement veteran who has investigated and testified as an expert witness in numerous cases regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, strangulation and stalking. She has received, developed, and provided thousands of hours of training in these areas, as well as in child abuse, and threat assessment and management. She obtained grant funding for, developed, and worked on the countywide enhancement of the Riverside County’s Threat Management Teams (TMTs) which encourage and incorporate the threat assessment and management of those at risk of committing targeted violence. These teams include local law enforcement, mental health, human resources, and more. Together, they create a framework response plan for preventing violence and responding to mass violence incidents that can be utilized across all jurisdictions. Currently, Rachael focuses on violence prevention and response, concentrating on multi-disciplinary team programs with integrated sustainability and low to no-cost team development in the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, and threat management investigation. She is a member of and serves on the Law Enforcement Committee for the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and also serves as the Association’s Communications Chair. She is also a member of the California Homicide Investigators Association and the California Sexual Assault Investigators Association. She is the Chief Financial Officer for Kids Court, which aims to reduce the trauma of child witnesses and victims exposed to the court system. Rachael is a member of the End Violence Against Women International Cadre of Experts as a sexual assault expert.

Lieutenant Casey Hettman oversees the Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) within the Portland Police Bureau, in Portland, Oregon.  He supports a number of sworn and non-sworn members, as well as mental health clinicians who comprise the unit.   The BHU is responsible for coordinating the response of law enforcement and the behavioral health system to aid people in behavioral health crisis.  The BHU also chairs Multnomah County’s Threat Advisory Team (MCTAT).  MCTAT is a multi-disciplinary Threat Advisory Team which serves the wider Portland-Metro area.  Prior to his work within BHU, Hettman served as a patrol supervisor, an Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team (ECIT) member, and as a Crisis Negotiator with the Police Bureau’s Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT).  Currently, Lieutenant Hettman serves as a team commander overseeing the negotiation team.   

Robert Scholz, M.A., LMFT, LPCC, NCC is dually licensed in California as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Clinical Counselor. Robert has served in many clinical and leadership roles over his twenty plus years working in university mental health departments, community mental health agencies, private practice, forensic psychology and school-based settings.  His company, The Change Place, offers psychotherapy, training and consultation services to a diverse group of individuals and organizations, including forensic mental health agencies, religious institutions, and schools/ universities. His areas of specialization include, threat management, sex offender risk assessment and treatment, crisis intervention and postvention, and effective responses to disasters/ traumatic events. Robert has provided hundreds of trainings throughout the United States and authored several publications on the topics of motivational interviewing, counseling men and boys, disaster mental health and effective systemic responses to sexual violence. Robert is also a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), an international organization committed to promoting high-quality MI practice and training.

Matt Talbot is the Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP) Coordinator for the South Texas VA where he is responsible for managing the safety of more than 80,000 patients and 4500 employees through the management of two organizational threat assessment teams.  He is the owner and principal consultant of Triple Threat Assessment and Prevention Consulting, LLC consulting for schools, corporations, law enforcement, healthcare organizations, and DoD instillations.  Matt is a member of the Southwest Texas Fusion Center Public Safety Threat Assessment Group and the ATAP Texas Chapter South Texas Liaison. He is an ATAP Certified Threat Manager with more than 15 years’ experience in mental health, violence risk assessment, and threat assessment. He worked for the Massachusetts Department of Correction Mental Health Division from 2006-2010 and as an Emergency Department Psychiatric Social Worker for the VA from 2010-2018. He is a Clinically Certified Forensic Counselor through the National Association of Forensic Counselors (NAFC) and a Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator through the National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE).  He earned his MSW from Simmons College in Boston, MA in 2006 and holds clinical privileges in six states.

Sarah Wilson is a Detective, serving in her 13^th year with the Calgary Police Service. After working on patrol in various areas of Calgary, Det. Wilson worked as an investigator with the Domestic Violence Team for five years, investigating domestic violence cases and managing files with a high risk of lethality. Det. Wilson has received training on threat assessment, child interviewing, forensic interviewing, domestic violence, strangulation and honor-based violence. Det. Wilson now works in the General Investigations Unit in Calgary’s northeast.