Public Safety Practice Professionals
Jackie Gomez-Whiteley
Founder / Principal
Chief Jackie Gomez-Whiteley is a 33-year policing professional having served with distinction in Orange, Los Angeles, and Monterey Counties. In 1986, she began her sworn career at the Orange Police Department where she worked in all three divisions: Patrol, Investigations, and Administration. She was the department’s first woman motor officer, as well as sergeant and lieutenant. In 1989, Jackie was involved in an officer-involved shooting of a kidnap and attempted murder suspect. Because of her actions, she was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Gomez-Whiteley would go on to serve as a command level officer and Chief of Police at three other agencies in California: Cypress, Alhambra, Pacific Grove. In 2011, she was appointed Chief of Police and the first woman to serve as Police Chief of a municipal agency in Orange County. Under her leadership, the Cypress Police Department was recognized multiple times for various community policing and trust building programs. In 2020, Chief Gomez-Whiteley was awarded the California Police Chiefs Association, Joe Malloy Memorial Award recognizing her lifetime of outstanding service and dedication and the long-lasting positive impact on the public safety profession.
Gomez-Whiteley obtained her Master of Arts degree from Chapman University in Organizational Leadership with a certificate in Public and Non-Profit Leadership. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in Psychology with a minor in Alcohol and Drug Studies. In 2007, Gomez-Whiteley graduated from the P.O.S.T. Command College, where she published an article in Police and Security News Magazine titled: Dirty Bombs: Calculating the Threat.
During her career, Gomez-Whiteley has been an adjunct instructor at various law enforcement training centers throughout the state for nearly 30 years and is Program Director at the prestigious California Police Chiefs Executive Leadership Institute at Drucker (Claremont Graduate University). Prior to co-founding Meliora PSC, she has maintained a successful consulting practice focused on leadership development and training, strategic planning, executive coaching and mentoring, organizational assessments, policy development and alignment, and other areas of public safety management throughout the country. Gomez-Whiteley continues to serve on many boards, is a member of the Chiefs Advisory Board for the California Police Chiefs Women Leaders in Law Enforcement, and consults and trains Police Chiefs and City Managers throughout the United States.
Rosanne Beck, MBA
Senior Associate
Sergeant Rosanne Beck is a retired sergeant from Clearwater Police Department, Clearwater, Florida. During her tenure at the Clearwater Police Department, Rosanne served as a sex crimes investigator, crime scene investigator, field training officer, field training sergeant and community policing supervisor. As a community policing supervisor, she was the managing sergeant of a federal grant awarded to the Clearwater Police Department and Clearwater Housing Authority. To meet the grant requirements, she organized community meetings, reduced crime, maintained crime analysis, handled the grant program budget, and established and managed an afterschool learning resource center. Sergeant Beck was successful in meeting all the requirements of the grant.
After a long career in law enforcement, Sergeant Beck retired and joined St. Petersburg College, Southeastern Public Safety Institute in 2007, where she coordinated law enforcement training, reviewed course curriculum, reviewed course assessments and developed on-line continuing educational courses for law enforcement. Ms. Beck supervised continuing educational instructors and served as the fiscal agent for the State of Florida law enforcement state trust fund. In addition to her full-time years in law enforcement, Ms. Beck also served 7 years as a reserve officer with Treasure Island Police Department, Treasure Island, Florida.
Ms. Beck is an associate professor for St. Petersburg College, College of Public Safety Administration. As a professor she teaches and mentors those who are looking to advance their careers in the field of public safety. Ms. Beck holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Western Governor’s University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from St. Leo College and an Associate Degree in Police Administration from St. Petersburg Junior College. She is an honorary member of the Golden Key Honor Society and is certified by the Leadership Circle to administer the 360 Leadership Circle Profile.
Eve Berg
Director
Chief Eve R. Berg began her law enforcement career with the Inglewood Police Department in 1984 after graduating from the LASD Academy. As an officer, she worked a variety of assignments including: Patrol, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) and Detectives. As a Detective, Chief Berg became a nationally-recognized expert in the area of Domestic Violence and worked assignments in Sex Crimes, Child Abuse, Major Assaults, and Robbery.
Chief Berg was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1994 and worked a variety of assignments as a front-line supervisor in both the Patrol and Administrative Bureaus. Chief Berg was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1999 where she commanded the Community Affairs Section, Internal Affairs and was the Press Information Officer. Chief Berg was later promoted to the rank of Captain in 2003. In 2011, she was appointed Chief of Police for the Manhattan Beach Police Department and served in that capacity for six and one-half years.
In January 2018, she was appointed Chief of Police for the Torrance Police Department. She served as a member on the California Police Chiefs' Association Law & Legislation Committee and the Training Committee, and was the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association's representative on the Los Angeles County Peace Officers Memorial Foundation. Chief Berg also served as a board member on the Governor’s Medal of Valor Committee. In 2019, Chief Berg was appointed by Governor Newsom as a Commissioner for the California Peace Officers Standards and Training and served in that capacity until her retirement in 2021.
Chief Berg holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the University of Redlands and a Master of Business Administration from the University of La Verne. Chief Berg has been an adjunct instructor at a number of law enforcement training centers throughout California. She trains police supervisors and managers in strategic planning,
Anthony Boger
Community Relations Consultant
Anthony Boger is a 40-year minister, community developer and activist having served with excellence throughout Southern California from San Diego, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties. Since 1981, he has pursued the proposition of equity and inclusion as a part of building community. He is a pastor and educator that specializes in multicultural and cross-cultural ministries.
Pastor Anthony is the co-founder of the National Accreditation Commission on Equity and Inclusion (NACDI.com). Most recently, he earned his doctoral degree in Healthcare Administration with a concentration in organizational and crisis management. His area of research is in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Pastor Anthony has created curriculums that facilitate safe space conversations with law enforcement, healthcare, and religious institutions. He has served as an adjunct professor at Wiley College, Benedict College, and Hampton University where he taught ethics, crisis management, and world religions. Presently, he serves as an administrator with the United Methodist Church in the areas of community engagement and innovation.
Rev. Dr. Anthony Boger earned his BA in Theology and Business Administration in 1981 from Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL, his Master of Divinity, with a concentration in not-for-profit organizational management in 1986 from Andrew University, Berrien Springs, MI. In 2021, he earned his DHA from Virginia University of Lynchburg.
As a community activist Pastor Anthony has consulted with professional sports teams, municipalities, police departments, redevelopment agencies and healthcare professionals on systems that affect human capital. He is known for creating safe spaces to manage sensitive conversations that build bridges among diverse groups. He has been well received as a facilitator for the California Police Chiefs Association Executive Leadership Institute at the Drucker School of Management (Claremont Graduate University).
Under Anthony Boger’s tutelage, numerous lives have been challenged and changed to be effective in their communities and professional organizations. He is a proven leadership developer, trainer, strategic planner, executive coach, mentor, and systems analyst.
Jarrod Burguan
Senior Associate
Jarrod Burguan served 29 years in local law enforcement, with 10 years of that experience in senior management positions. He served six years as the Chief of Police for the San Bernardino (CA) Police Department before retiring in 2019. During his career, Jarrod worked a variety of assignments in the department’s patrol, traffic, investigative and administrative divisions. He has the unique experience of managing a police organization through a municipal bankruptcy while maintaining day-to-day operational effectiveness. He has been an invited speaker at conferences and training events throughout the country and internationally on police response to active shooter events following both an elementary school active shooter in 2016 and the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino.
Since retiring in 2019, Chief Burguan has continued to work as a consultant for municipal government and media organizations and has served internationally as a Senior Law Enforcement Advisor for the Department of Justice – ICITAP program in Nepal, Belize and the Philippines. Jarrod also continues to teach and speak on the topic of critical incident management throughout the country. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a Master’s Degree in Management from the University of Redlands. He is also a graduate of the California Command College, the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development program and the Senior Management Institute for Police through the PERF.
Lucy Carlton
Senior Associate
Chief (ret.) Lucy Carlton served for over 32 years as law enforcement professional. She began her career 1969 with the Milpitas Police Department where she worked in Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Community Services and Administration. She was the first woman in her department assigned to the Patrol Division. During her tenure with Milpitas, she promoted through the ranks to Police Captain. In 1991, she was appointed Chief of Police for the City of Los Altos and remained in that position until her retirement in 2002.
Lucy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Administration of Criminal Justice from San Jose State University and has completed graduate work in Public Administration at California State University, East Bay. She has taught criminal justice classes at San Jose State University and at a number of community colleges. She has also lectured throughout the United States in the field of adult and child sexual abuse investigation. During her assignment in the investigation bureau, she was certified as an expert witness in the area of child sexual abuse.
Chief Carlton is the past chair of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council, the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association and the Administration of Justice Foundation at San Jose State University. She served on the board of the California Peace Officers' Association and the California Police Chiefs' Association. In 2006, the California Police Chiefs Association awarded her the Joe Malloy Memorial Award for her outstanding service and dedication to the policing profession.
During her career, Chief Carlton worked on a number of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) projects, which resulted in the development of training guidelines for officers in the area of sexual assault and child abuse investigations. She also served on the Department of Justice Task Force, which developed state guidelines for the implementation of Megan's Law. As a Management Fellow for POST, she co-wrote a revised curriculum for (SLI) Sherman Block Supervisor Leadership Institute. She has taught the POST Police Supervisor course for over thirteen years, and co-developed the curriculum as well as taught the POST Dispatch Supervisor course through the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium. She also worked with policing agencies as well as private corporations on leadership development, team building, coaching, workplace violence and other areas of public safety management.
John Clark
Senior Associate
Captain John Clark (ret.) served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for over 33 years. His broad experience includes command, administrative, operational and tactical assignments in Patrol, Detective, Custody, Court and Administrative divisions, with his last eight years being spent at command level posts.
As Captain, he was in command of various units including internal investigations, financial and cyber-crimes, custody operations and inmate transportation; and responsible for the administrative and operational management of each. Clark also managed the Southern California High Tech Taskforce comprised of Federal, State and local agencies as part of his command duties.
Throughout his career, Captain Clark was a command and operations level member of a county-wide team responsible for managing all department resources during natural disasters, civil disturbances and other high-profile events such as political conventions and sporting events.
During his career, Clark was a member of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, the Southern California Jail Managers Association, the Los Angeles Superior Court Management Group, and the San Gabriel Valley Peace Officers Association. He also served as an adjunct faculty member for a local community college. Captain Clark holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the California State University, Fullerton.
In 2015, Clark entered the consulting field and has conducted over 25 organizational assessments of police and sheriff departments ranging from small rural agencies to large urban agencies focusing on improving their effectiveness and efficiency.
Sarah Creighton
Senior Associate
Asst. Chief (ret.) Sarah Creighton joined the San Diego Police Department in 1984. Over the years, she rose through the ranks, working a variety of assignments, including: patrol, traffic, investigations, and many administrative assignments. She served as the Commanding Officer over three patrol divisions as well as the San Diego Regional Public Safety Training Institute- responsible for administering the basic academy for all San Diego County law enforcement agencies. In 2011, then Captain Creighton was tasked with creating the Department’s first-ever Wellness Unit, dedicated to helping officers and support staff manage their psychological and emotional well-being. The unit was created, in part, as an attempt to reduce officer misconduct attributed to ineffective coping due to stressors inherent with the occupation, and in the aftermath of several tragic officer deaths, including the homicide of two officers, two deaths resulting from vehicle accidents within a few weeks of each other, and a pattern of officer suicide within the department spanning over two decades. The Wellness Unit was awarded the National Destination Zero Award by the Bureau of Justice Services for innovation in the area of officer wellness in 2015, and was the subject of a Department of Justice, COPS Office and PERF publication entitled, Building and Sustaining and Officer Wellness Program: Lessons Learned from the San Diego Police Department.
In 2014, Sarah was promoted to Assistant Chief where she had oversight of the training division, personnel, volunteer services, labor relations, recruiting and backgrounds, and the wellness unit. She holds a master’s degree in human behavior and is a national leader and innovator in the area of officer wellness. She served as a technical advisor for the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) on officer wellness, a technical advisor for the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center for officer safety and wellness, and has provided technical advice to several departments across the country on building and enhancing wellness resources, and more importantly, building and sustaining a culture where employees feel cared for and valued.
She continually collaborates with police psychologists and has been a contributor to several scholarly journals in the area of officer wellness and training.
Sarah currently serves as the coordinator for the POST Management Class at the Government Training Agency, providing middle manager leadership training, and is a volunteer call taker for COPLINE, an international crisis hotline exclusively serving law enforcement officers. In these roles she has frequent and direct contact with leaders in law enforcement as well as officers and deputies from across the country who are struggling with the current stressors in law enforcement.
Pete Dunbar
Senior Associate
Chief Pete Dunbar began his law enforcement career with the Oakland Police Department in 1982. He served in a variety of assignments and positions in Patrol, Investigations and Training. Dunbar was the first supervisor on the scene of the Oakland firestorm in 1991 and received a Medal of Merit for his work on evacuations. In 1999, he was appointed Deputy Chief and assigned to Field Operations and Services. In February of 2006, he was appointed as Chief of Police of the Pleasant Hill Police Department and retired as Chief on September 28, 2012.
Dunbar was appointed as the Director of the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) where he served for two years. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Performance for his work while at POST and facilitated the creation of the first-ever Strategic Plan for Colorado POST.
Dunbar obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce from the University of Santa Clara in 1982, and obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Education from San Diego State University in 2002. He is a graduate of POST Master Instructor Class 2 and POST Command College Class 24.
Chief Dunbar began teaching Strategic and Succession Planning in the POST Management Course in 2005 for the Government Training Center (formerly the San Diego Regional Training Center). He has been an instructor in the topics of Ethics, Leadership, Crisis Management, and Strategic and Succession Planning for the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA). Dunbar has facilitated and developed several courses for the CPCA and facilitated the California POST Executive Development Course in 2019 and 2020. He has consulted and facilitated the development of strategic and succession planning with several California police departments.
Rob Handy
Director
Chief Robert Handy is 30-year law enforcement professional serving in a wide variety of assignments from Patrol Officer to Police Chief. Handy served in three separate jurisdictions: Huntington Beach, California; San Bernardino, California; and Phoenix, Arizona.
Chief Handy has been involved in training and teaching for decades. His broad-base of experience includes firearms instructor, arrest tactics/use of force instructor, academy instructor, in-service instructor, and a veteran university teacher. Chief Handy has obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Public Administration and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Chief Handy has taught police officers and police leaders throughout California and Arizona. His diverse experiences from the line level through the chief executive, combined with years of academic research and teaching, has provided Handy with vast knowledge and expertise in police practices, training, use of force and every other aspect of contemporary policing.
Chief Handy has investigated and/or evaluated thousands of use of force incidents, served as a subject matter expert on police tactics, training and use of force internally and externally. Handy has testified extensively over the years in criminal cases, civil cases, depositions and arbitrations. Chief Handy has served on use of force review boards, discipline review boards and been the final decision maker on use of force and discipline issues for years.
Craig Junginger
Senior Associate
Chief Craig Junginger has served multiple communities over the course of a 40-year career, serving the last nine years as Chief of Police. Junginger has over 20 years of law enforcement executive experience, in addition to 20 years of line level experience in Community Policing, Internal Affairs, K-9, SWAT, CNT, Beach Detail, Narcotics, Vice/Intelligence, Motorcycle Traffic Officer, Personnel, and Patrol. He began his career at the City of Bell in Los Angeles County, CA, and spent the majority of his career at the Huntington Beach Police Department in Orange County, CA. where he rose through the ranks to Captain. In 2008, he was hired as the 11th Chief of Police for the City of Gresham, Oregon and spent the next eight years building stronger bonds with the community through community policing and improving the department through education, training and technology. Through his leadership, he developed a city-wide program involving multiple city departments which improved the quality of life for the members of the community.
Junginger retired in 2016, and subsequently served as Interim Chief of Police for two different law enforcement organizations.
For the last 10 years, he has maintained a private consulting business conducting approximately 40 police department organizational assessments ranging from small rural departments to large urban departments focusing on improving their effectiveness and efficiency. He has also built a successful practice of conducting personnel investigations involving employee misconduct for public entities throughout the State of California.
Junginger obtained his Master of Arts Degree from California State University, Long Beach in Emergency Services Management, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of La Verne in Political Science. He also attended the FBI National Academy for police executives, West Point Leadership Program, and P.O.S.T. Command College, where he published an article on providing law enforcement training to the millennial generation.
Chief Junginger has been an adjunct instructor at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, OR, and Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, CA.
Susan Manheimer
Senior Associate
Chief Susan Manheimer has recently retired after a distinguished 39-year career serving in leadership positions for four diverse police agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. A sought-after consultant, trainer, and speaker on police procedures, policies, and practices, with in depth experience in progressive and innovative criminal justice strategies, including crime reduction through public-private partnerships, social and procedural justice and progressive reforms in policing, and executive development. She is a Lead Instructor for the California POST "Succeeding As a Police Chief" course and is a Strategic Site Liaison for the US DOJ Public Safety Partnerships program.
Chief Manheimer recently completed two Interim Police Chief's positions, most recently for the San Leandro Police Department providing leadership stability, and realigning police and community safety partnerships while assisting with the creation of a citizen-led police oversight model.
Prior to that she served a 10-month Interim Chief's assignment at the Oakland Police Department guiding the department during the global pandemic amidst a period of significant social unrest and intense demands for policing reforms. Manheimer effectively provided leadership stability while embracing progressive reforms and intervention strategies to combat significant increases in violent crime and build trust. Under her tenure, OPD instituted welcomed changes in policies, practices, and community safety initiatives.
Manheimer was one of the senior tenured Chiefs in the state, serving 20 years as Chief of the San Mateo Police Department, where she forged effective creative strategies to control crime, build community partnerships and trust, and improve safety and quality of life outcomes. A driving force behind several highly effective countywide programs including the Countywide Gang Task Force, the Juvenile Assessment and Referral Center, and the Homeless Outreach Team.
Starting her career with the San Francisco Police Department, she served 17 years. While the Captain of the challenging Tenderloin Station, Manheimer developed her hallmark leadership in forging resourceful coalitions of public and private services for those at risk and in need, generating many innovative successful programs including "Take Back the Tenderloin," Community Intervention Strategies, and the Homeless Outreach Service Teams.
Lyle Martin
Senior Associate
Chief Lyle Martin worked for the Bakersfield Police Department for 32 years. His experience includes serving as a street level narcotics officer, motorcycle officer, homicide detective, Special Enforcement Unit Sergeant and Lieutenant, SWAT operator and SWAT team leader. In 2016, Martin was selected as the 20th Chief of Police for the Bakersfield Police Department. He was known for his dedication to public safety and quality of life issues in the Bakersfield community. He was appointed by the Board of State and Community Corrections to the JAG Grant Executive Steering Committee as a Subject Matter Expert for the 2018 funding cycle representing California municipal police departments. After retiring from the Bakersfield Police Department in 2019, Chief Martin was selected as the Chief Investigator for the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
Chief Martin possesses a Master’s degree of Business Administration and has completed his course work toward his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership. He is a recognized Subject-Matter Expert in Law Enforcement Executive Management Development by the California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST). Chief Martin was a planning committee member and is a graduate of the first cohort of the California Police Chiefs Executive Leadership Institute at Drucker.
Chief Martin is an adjunct faculty member for California State University Bakersfield, Bakersfield College, and was the Lead Faculty Area Chair for the University of Phoenix Central Valley Campus for over 10 years.
Chief Martin is a member of the Bakersfield Downtown Rotary, International Association of Chiefs of Police, California Police Chiefs’ Association, California Peace Officers Association, Board Member for Mendiburu Magic Foundation, and Kegley Institute of Ethics Community Associate (California State University, Bakersfield). He is a founding board member of the California State University, Bakersfield Center for Social Justice, a member for the Adventist Health Governing Board, and President of the Bakersfield Police Activities League (BPAL). Chief Martin also enjoys reading and working out.
Darryl McAllister
Senior Associate
Darryl McAllister’s policing career spans 37 years. He devoted the first 32 years of service to the Hayward, California community, rising through the ranks and receiving numerous prestigious honors along the way. In 2013 he migrated to the city next door to serve as the Chief of Police in Union City. Throughout his entire career, his passion has been to edify police-community engagement to build meaningful relationships and to foster trust and transparency between police and the communities they serve.
McAllister is also an educator. He served two years as faculty and four years as lead faculty area chair at the University of Phoenix. Since 2016 he has continued to teach criminal justice and community-relations courses at Chabot College and Las Positas College, both in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to teaching college courses, he also taught three years in California POST’s Executive Development Course, and he currently serves as coordinator of the California Police Chiefs Association’s Executive Certification Program.
For over two decades he has served as a board member of several community organizations, including as president of the board of directors of the St. Rose Hospital Foundation, and as a member of the advisory board of the University of San Francisco's International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership.
Darryl is a two-time nominee and one-time recipient of Hayward’s Police Officer of the Year Award, a 2007 Recipient of the “Hayward Pearl Award” honoring volunteer service to the community, and in 2013 he was also awarded the University of Phoenix’s Faculty Member of the Year for the San Francisco Bay Area Campus region. In 2015, Chief McAllister was selected by the San Francisco East Bay Area/Southern Alameda County branch of the NAACP for its most prestigious award: “Person of the Year”.
In early 2019, immediately following his retirement from a storied law enforcement career, Darryl began a new calling to provide healthcare safety and security management. Initially overseeing security and safety operations for one of Sutter Heath’s major medical centers, he served the second half of his two-year tenure working in Sutter’s corporate offices as the enterprise’s security plans and programs manager, developing policies and rolling out new security programs and innovations. On April 5, 2021, a new chapter of his private sector leadership emerged when he was selected as the Director of Corporate Safety and Security for Pixar-Disney Animation Studios.
McAllister holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Occupational Studies from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master of Arts degree in Administrative Development from Alliant International University. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Saint Mary’s College of California. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and an alumnus of the California Command College—a graduate level futures study program of the California State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Barney Melekian
Director
Bernard “Barney” Melekian has nearly 50 years of local law enforcement experience, most recently the Interim Police Chief in Santa Barbara for 17 months. He also served as the Assistant Executive Officer for Public Safety in Santa Barbara County and the Undersheriff for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office from 2015 to 2018. Barney was the Police Chief for the City of Pasadena from 1996 until 2009. During that period, he held assignments as the acting City Manager and the acting Fire Chief. In 2009, Chief Melekian was selected as the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) by Attorney General Eric Holder. He served in that capacity until March 2013.
Barney holds a Bachelor's degree in American History and a Master's degree in Public Administration, both from California State University, Northridge. In 2012, he was awarded a Doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from the University of Southern California for his doctoral project on Values-Based Discipline in Law Enforcement Organizations. His thesis was selected as the recipient of the Sol Price award for the best dissertation in 2012.
Dr. Melekian has provided consulting services to numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States including Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Dr. Melekian has worked with Moreno Valley (CA), Skokie (IL) and Prescott (AZ). Additionally, he has participated in several high-level after-action reviews in California including the Christopher Dorner review, the killing of four Oakland police officers, and the LAPD SWAT incident that resulted in the death of a hostage.
Barney served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1970. He was a member of the Coast Guard Reserve from 1984 until 2009. During that time, he was called to active duty in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm and served in Saudi Arabia. He served a second tour of active duty in 2003 when he served for eight months in the Pacific area. He retired from the Coast Guard Reserve as a Chief Petty Officer in 2009, after 25 years of service.
Kristin Miller
Senior Associate
Police Manager Kristin Miller began her career at the La Palma Police Department as a Records Clerk and learned the many ways professional staff support a department. Shortly after, she moved to the Tustin Police Department where she started as the Records Lead. After two years, she was promoted to Records Supervisor and named acting Dispatch Supervisor. In 2011, she was promoted to Support Manager overseeing the Records, Dispatch, Police Services Officers, and Property units. Kristin also spent five years as the CALEA Accreditation Manager for the department.
In 2016, Miller was appointed Administration Division Services Manager of the Huntington Beach Police Department. Her command includes Records, Dispatch, Property, Front Desk, Personnel, and Budget. She is also liaison to the City’s IT Department.
Kristin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Fullerton, and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Chapman University.
Susan Oliviera, Ph.D.
Director
Dr. Susan Oliviera has served as the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the five-county Joint Powers Agreement of the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium in Santa Clara County, California. She has over 30 years of public safety training and administration experience, first as Director and assistant professor at the Central Coast Police Academy and then at the South Bay Consortium.
After retiring in 2001, she worked as a special consultant to the California Commission on Peace Officer Training as an Instructional developer for protocols for critical thinking-based instruction as well as revised and co-developed the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute. She also continued to co-facilitate the POST 80-hour Supervisory course until 2016.
Dr. Oliviera worked for Newport Psychological Services delivering psychological services including testing for new officers to several Bay Area police and sheriffs departments. She also was called upon to help officers involved in shootings and other traumatic experiences as part of her duties.
Dr. Oliviera graduated with a B.A. from San Jose State University, a M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Santa Clara and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
During Dr. Oliviera’s career she has taught high school, developed and taught public safety training in the areas of leadership, child abuse, sex crimes, stress management, and crisis intervention. She is asked to speak at conferences in the area of stress management and post-traumatic stress.
Rita Ramirez
Senior Associate
Rita Ramirez was born and raised in Southern California, primarily in Echo Park and Highland Park. As a child, she had a front-row seat to the destruction left behind from poverty, domestic violence, and alcohol and drug abuse; both in the surrounding community as well as in her own family. Ramirez knew at an early age that college would not be an option for her. However, she also knew she wanted a different life for herself, especially if she were to consider having children of her own. In 1988, she started her Civilian Law-Enforcement career with the City of Pasadena Police Department. Through her tenacity and quality of work she became a highly sought-after employee within the department. Ramirez’s ability to learn and perform at a fast pace in a highly stressful environment allowed her to work in many areas during her tenure at Pasadena Police Department.
In 2008, Ramirez was hired by the La Habra Police Department as the Dispatch Supervisor. After a short tenure as a Supervisor, Ramirez’s hard work paid off and she was promoted to Bureau Manager overseeing the daily operations of the Communications Center, Records Unit, Evidence Unit, Court Liaison Office, Social Media, and was the IT Liaison. The La Habra Police Department provided Ramirez the opportunity to take leadership classes to further her professional development to include the POST Civilian Supervisory Course, POST Civilian Management Course, LAPD’s West Point Leadership Academy, and Senior Management in Policing (SMIP). These courses, coupled with going back to school to get her bachelor’s degree, made Ramirez an educated, well-rounded, skilled, and experienced manager.
In 2017, Ramirez was recruited by the Santa Ana Police Department and hired as the Police Administrative Manager where she oversaw the Records and Evidence Units. Once again, her ability to work efficiently and effectively were tapped into as she took on the monumental task of being the Project Manager for the implementation of the Police Department’s newly purchased Records Management System. Over the period of a two-year implementation phase, Ramirez along with the IT staff maintained quality communications between the vendor of the system and department staff. She routinely met or exceeded expectations throughout the implementation process.
Over Ramirez’s thirty-two-year career she has been afforded the opportunity to gain experience that was not typically afforded civilian employees. Her ability to stay calm and focused under pressure has exposed her to many experiences that helped her become the leader that she is today. She climbed the civilian career ladder from working as a Clerk to a Civilian Commander in one the largest police departments in the State of California. Ramirez has become a true developer of people. She has the innate ability to identify strengths within people and utilize them in a manner that leads to success for the organization. Her ability to exude confidence, most certainly developed during her tenure as a Jailer, has led to her staff feeling confidently led toward a common goal of success. Ramirez is also a very active member of Woman Leaders in Law Enforcement where she has served as a Board Member.
Carol Rasor-Cordero
Director
Carol E. Rasor-Cordero has served in leadership roles in the public and education sectors for more than 30 years. A veteran law enforcement professional and educator, she brings data research skills, training and development, project management, and leadership development experience to a wide variety of performance management and security consulting assignments, including the operational analysis of more than a dozen municipal police departments.
Her expertise includes providing extensive data-driven research and analysis, as well as technical assistance, to law enforcement agencies to improve their effectiveness and efficiency through the application of best practices in the field. Carol is well known for conducting training needs assessments and developing targeted programs based on quantitative and qualitative analyses detailing the performance of law enforcement agencies. She is experienced in developing written reports documenting this analysis and providing recommendations for organizational change and improvement.
Education
Ph.D. – Education, cognate in Management –
University of South Florida
M.A. – Criminal Justice – University of South Florida
B.A. – Criminal Justice – University of South Florida
An Associate Professor, Carol contributed to creating the first online curriculum in Florida for a Bachelor in Applied Science in Public Safety Administration at the College of Public Safety Administration, St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she has been a faculty member for more than a decade.
She also launched and directed a Gang-Related Investigations specialty track at the College within its Criminal Justice Technology program. Carol has testified before the Florida Congressional Committee on Criminal Justice regarding gang growth, activity and the need for targeted education programs for law enforcement.
As a result of her experience working and researching gangs, she designed and delivered a seminar format for a Gang Reduction Statewide Summit in Tallahassee on behalf of the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
Carol has extensive experience in team management and crisis responsiveness having developed emergency operations response and crisis teams during her tenure as Shift Commander (Patrol Operations Bureau) and Lieutenant (Judicial Operations Bureau) in Pinellas County, Florida. Earlier, Carol spent 10 years in the Law Enforcement Training Section as a Sergeant, and later a Lieutenant, where her increasingly responsible roles included instructor, manager, certified high-liability instructor and, ultimately, supervisor for training programs of 800 law enforcement officers.
She was certified as a firearms instructor, defensive tactics instructor and police driving instructor.
She served as a member and then team leader of the Hostage Negotiation Team. She established the agency’s Crisis Intervention Team. During her tenure as Commander of the Community Services Division in Pinellas County, Carol managed community policing, which grew by 300%, and cultivated community partnerships, establishing the Citizen’s Community Policing Institute.
She established the Domestic Violence Unit, and the Sexual Predator and Offender Unit She also served as the agency’s training adviser. She was instrumental in helping transform the Pinellas County Police Academy from a vocational curriculum to one that offered college accreditation at St. Petersburg College.
Carol retired from a laudable 25-year career in law enforcement in Pinellas County, Florida, where she was well respected for her commitment to best practices, her development of exceptional training modules and her insights into community needs.
She was able to effectively communicate with diverse stakeholders and is skilled in collaborating with community representatives to help create environments to initiate change and build stronger bonds with law enforcement.
Julie Reynolds
Senior Associate
Julie Reynolds has worked for nearly 20 years at the Huntington Beach Police Department in the Communications Unit. Starting as an Operator, she was promoted to Supervisor and later to Communications Manager. Broadening her body of work, she was recently promoted to Police Administrative Services Manager, overseeing the Communications Unit and the Front Desk Operations. In addition to her experience in Huntington Beach, Julie worked part-time as a Communications Operator at the Newport Beach Police Department, gaining valuable experience with another agency.
Julie is an experienced leader in the emergency communications center arena with comprehensive knowledge in all aspects of center operation, hardware, and software. She is a member of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Associated Public-Safety Communications Officer (APCO), and the Southern California Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) group of managers.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Communications from California State University, Long Beach.
Lisa Rosales
Senior Associate
Chief (ret.) Lisa Rosales has served three amazing communities over the course of a 33-year career, with six of those years as a Chief of Police. Chief Rosales has over 10 years of progressive law enforcement executive experience and over 30 years of highly motivated, outgoing, and inspiring leadership with an understanding of balancing the management of police services while embracing community policing. She served the City of Pasadena Police Department for 27 years culminating with the position of Commander, and as Chief of Police for the City of San Pablo for three years, and the City of Glendora Police Department for three years.
Chief Rosales held a variety of positions from patrol, detectives, community services, school resource officer, administrative services management, strategic services, and the Chief of Police special project manager, along with the ranks of Police Officer, Police Corporal, Police Sergeant, Police Lieutenant, Police Commander and Chief of Police.
Chief Rosales attended the University of San Diego earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and obtaining a teaching credential from the State of California. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of La Verne. She graduated from California P.O.S.T. Supervisory Leadership Institute in 1999, Class 84. In 2007, she graduated California P.O.S.T. Command College and was the recipient of the prestigious Hank E. Koehn leadership award.
Chief Rosales grew up in Highland Park, California. After graduating college, she taught in Los Angeles County elementary schools. Her interest in police work was the result of two elementary school friends whom in 1977 were kidnapped and murdered. The young victims were killed at the hands of the “Hillside Strangler” that terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late 1970’s with the killing of ten women. While in the teaching field, Rosales somehow knew she had to do more to help people and families in the community affected by crime. In 1987, the Pasadena Police Department hired Chief Rosales and sponsored her through the Rio Hondo Police Academy.
Lisa volunteers at her elementary school, St. Ignatius of Loyola, as a school board member. She also volunteers as a Chiefs Advisor for the annual Women Leaders in Law Enforcement symposium. She is a member of the California Police Chiefs’ Association and International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Lisa is passionate about her commitment to the law enforcement profession. She is proud of the core values developed under her leadership; PRIDE: Proactive, Respectful, Integrity, Dedication, and Excellence.
Kim Smith
Senior Associate
Lieutenant Kim Smith (Ret.) served 25 years in policing at the Pasadena Police Department in California. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Criminal Justice from the NorthCentral University and an Associates of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Rio Hondo College.
During Smith’s tenure at the Pasadena Police Department, she worked in four different divisions: Patrol, Support Services, Investigations and Administration and several sections such as: Patrol, Air Operations, Community Services, Detectives, and Professional Standards. Additionally, she held a variety of positions; Field Training Officer (FTO), Tactical Flight Officer (TFO), and Volunteer Coordinator. Smith spent 10 years in the Administrative Services Division and specialized in the Professional Standards Section. During her tenure in Professional Standards, Smith was the lead investigator on high profile cases, critical incidents, in-custody incidents (deaths), workers compensation fraud, aviation collisions, and officer-involved shooting cases.
Smith’s broad base of police service led to her certification as a Force Science analyst and FAA Certified in ground school. She is an instructor in Institute for the Prevention of In Custody Deaths (ICIPD)/Excited Delirium and Agitated Chaotic Events, Internal Affairs, and First Aid/CPR.
Smith’s passion for learning and improving processes lead her to research, secure, implement, manage, and train employees on a data system to track uses of force, personnel investigations, traffic accidents involving on-duty employees, pursuits and Pitchess motions. Her progressive thinking led to the transformation of Professional Standards staff reports to include historical statistical information of employee trends, liability risks, and personnel concerns. Smith’s work in this area also led to the implementation of a data system to electronically store personnel files, allowing for quick and seamless data retrieval and analytics. During Kim’s tenure in the Administrative Services Division, she also sought procurement and received approval for a background and applicant software system to track, screen, and investigate potential employees, as well as an employee training tracking system. Lt. Smith’s innovative style led to a section that increased productivity and streamlined approach to data retrieval.
Kim has previously served as a board member for the California Police Officers Association Region X. She has served on Pasadena Police Department's Strategic Planning committee and worked extensively in managing the California Police Chiefs Association, Women Leaders in Law Enforcement symposium when hosted by Pasadena in 2009.
Mark Yokoyama
Director
Mark Yokoyama began his career in public service in 1987 when he became a Police Officer with the La Palma Police Department in Orange County, California. Over the course of 30 years Yokoyama worked for California Police Departments in La Palma, Newark, Cypress and Alhambra working varied assignments, supervisory and command positions and serving the last 8 years of his policing career as the Chief of Police in the City of Cypress and the City of Alhambra.
Throughout his policing career, Yokoyama has been credited with enhancing Community Oriented Policing and community engagement through various community programs and innovative outreach initiatives, as well implementation of contemporary policing practices and policies.
During this time, he has also received awards and national/international accolades for his progressive and contemporary use of technology in effort to build police community relations and policing practices. In 2016, Yokoyama was appointed the City Manager for the City of Alhambra in Los Angeles County where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of ten City departments, including municipal Police and Fire Departments.
During his short tenure as City Manager, he focused on strategic planning for the City, implementation of fiscal reforms and initiatives, citywide infrastructure projects, organizational reform, utility and energy efficiency projects and social service improvement projects.
After more than 30 years of a public service career in municipal government, Yokoyama retired in 2017 and accepted the position of Academic Dean with the School of Public Safety at Rio Hondo College.
During the course of his professional career Yokoyama has also maintained a successful private consulting practice covering a large scope of services from training programs, management services and assessment, corporate investigations, emergency planning, policy development, security assessments, pre-employment background investigations, law enforcement liaison services, and critical incident risk management response, to name a few.
In addition to working with a number of municipal communities and special districts, his clients also include law firms, private business, as well as a large international hospitality corporation. Yokoyama holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California and California State University Dominguez Hills and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of La Verne.
He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, P.O.S.T. Command College, and the Senior Management Institute for Police.
Yokoyama has been an adjunct faculty member to several community colleges in Southern California as a lecturer and police academy instructor for 30 years. He is also the Past-President of the California Peace Officers Association and is a past board member for the California Police Chiefs’ Association.
Professionally he is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Society of Industrial Security.