Charles Ramsey – Retired Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department

During Commissioner Ramsey’s tenure, the city's homicide rate dropped 37 percent and violent crime 31 percent. In the city's nine most dangerous districts, which account for 65% of homicides and 75% of shootings, homicides were down by over 40 percent. Ramsey's tactics included installing a network of surveillance cameras in the city's most dangerous sections, increasing the number of cops on the beat, and moving police patrols out of their squad cars and onto foot patrols or bicycle patrols. In 2014 President Obama selected Commissioner Ramsey to serve as Co-Chair of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Prior to assuming the of Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner in January 2008, he had served as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) from 1998 to early 2007 and served in various roles in the Chicago Police Department from1968 to 1998 rising to the position of Deputy Superintendent.

Commissioner Ramsey has also served as President of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA).A native of Chicago, Illinois, he joined the Chicago Police Department as an 18-year-old cadet in 1968. After serving six years as a patrol officer, he was promoted to sergeant in 1977. He was appointed a lieutenant in 1984 and became captain in 1988. He served as Commander of the Narcotics Section from 1989 to 1992 before spending two years as a Deputy Chief of the police force's Patrol Division. In 1994, he was appointed Deputy Superintendent.

In 1998, he became the MPDC chief. During his tenure, he was involved in several high-profile cases as chief of police in Washington, D.C., such as the Chandra Levy murder investigation. He has also been in the spotlight since the September 11 attacks focused attention on security issues around Washington, D.C.

Mr. Ramsey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

Dwayne Crawford, Executive Director, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)

As Executive Director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Dwayne oversees all internal and external activities and affairs for the organization.
 

Dwayne’s experience in management, sales, marketing, operations, finance, and labor relations has spanned multiple industries, including electronics, financial services, medical devices, computer technology and non-profits. As such, he has held senior management positions with 100 Black Men of America, Inc., ADT Security Services, and the Bank of New York, among others.

A strong leader with a special passion for team building, motivational training, and mentoring, Dwayne has a strong track record of delivering double-digit growth while spearheading significant organizational change. His leadership and skills have garnered him a range of awards and recognition, including the Atlanta Business League Men of Influence, Atlanta Consumer Choice Award for Business Excellence, the United Way “Top 10 Corporate Per Capita Award,” and Outstanding Young Men of America.

Dwayne currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, Prevent Child Abuse America, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Ervin Academy. He has previously served on the American Red Cross National Diversity Advisory Council, Delta Air Lines Curator Board of Directors, Nicholas House Board of Directors, and 100 Black Men of North Metro, Inc. Board of Directors. He is also the Past Chairman of the Atlanta U.S. Army Board of Advisors.

Joel Dvoskin, PhD, ABPP (Forensic)

Dr. Joel Dvoskin is a clinical and forensic psychologist, licensed in Arizona and New Mexico and certified in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Dvoskin is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Past President of two APA Divisions, including the American Psychology-Law Society and Psychologists in Public Service. He served on the APA Policy Task Force on Reducing Gun Violence, and on the APA Blue Ribbon Commission on Ethical Processes.

He served as Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Behavior Health and Wellness for the State of Nevada. He is the former Acting Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of NY, after serving for more than a decade as Associate Commissioner and Director for Forensic Services for the NY State Office of Mental Health.
Dr. Dvoskin is a consultant to the New Orleans Police Depart, where he helped to develop the EPIC (Ethical Policing is Courageous) Program that has become a national model of police reform in the United States. He is also on the National Board of Advisors for Project ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement), part of Georgetown University Law School Innovative Policing Project.

In 1995, Dr. Dvoskin served on the White House Task Force on the Future of the African American Male. He has served as a monitor or independent expert overseeing settlement agreements over correctional and mental health facilities and systems in Washington, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, and Colorado and frequently serves as an expert for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), various government agencies, the American Civil Liberties Union, and various state Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&A).

Lynn Mattice – President and Founder, National Economic Security Alliance; Managing Director, The Justice Initiative

Mr. Mattice is President & Founder of the National Economic Security Alliance (NESA), a nonpartisan IRS designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity focused on educating government officials and the private sector on issues affecting the economic security of our country. A particular focus of NESA is educating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about the risks and threats they face in today’s complex and dangerous global environment. According to U.S. Small Business Administration, ninety nine percent of America’s 28 million businesses are comprised of SMEs, which generate the vast majority of all new technological innovations and jobs created in cities and towns across the country. The U.S. Government’s Intelligence Community has stated that they are aware of over 140 countries which are actively and aggressively engaged in stealing American technology. A key element of the NESA’s mission is to educate SMEs to this advanced persistent asymmetrical threat along with the measures they can take to reduce their exposure.

He is also Managing Director of Mattice & Associates LLC, a management consulting firm focused in the fields of enterprise risk management, business risk intelligence programs, resiliency, information asset protection (including intellectual property, trade secrets, brand & reputation protection & anti-counterfeiting), cyber security, compliance, corporate security, management systems, and program evaluations. Mr. Mattice is a Leadership Council member for the National Small Business Association; a Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Risk Management; Distinguished Fellow at the Ponemon Institute and an Emeritus Senior Fellow at Auburn University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the National Intellectual Property Law Institute since 1993, where he remains as Chairman Emeritus. One of the highlights of his tenure was participating in the drafting of the National Economic Espionage Act and National Trade Secrets Act which was unanimously passed by both the House and Senate in 1996. Mattice and Associates LLC is a certified small business by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Mr. Mattice was appointed as one of the key industry representatives on the National Industrial Security Program Presidential Task Force, which was established through a Presidential Decision Directive by President George H.W. Bush; the task force’s members also included the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy and the Director of the CIA. Mr. Mattice was also appointed to the Inaugural Advisory Board for the National Counterintelligence Center (which is now known as the National Counterintelligence and Security Center). He was appointed by Secretary of State Warren Christopher to serve as a member of the Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council, where he remains a Senior Advisor. Additionally, Mr. Mattice was asked by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald Noble to serve for several terms on the Steering Committee for the Global Congress on Combatting Counterfeiting and Piracy, which was established as a cooperative effort by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization.

Kathleen O’Toole, JD – Retired Chief of the Seattle Police Department

Chief O’Toole is an accomplished American law enforcement officer who, in May 2014, was nominated by Mayor Ed Murray to become Seattle's first female chief of police. She served as Chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) from June 23, 2014 to December 31, 2017. She was previously the first female commissioner of the Boston Police Department, when appointed by Mayor of Boston Thomas M. Menino in February 2004.

In May 2006, O'Toole officially announced that she was leaving the Boston Police Department to move to Ireland. She was the first Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, established to ensure that Garda Síochána operates efficiently. The Inspectorate reports directly to Ireland's Minister for Justice and Equality. She then became a member of the Patten Commission headed by Lord Patten of Barnes which reformed policing in Northern Ireland and led to the formation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. She then returned to the U.S. and took her position in Seattle.

Her career also includes service as Lieutenant Colonel of Massachusetts State Police from 1992 to 1994; she was appointed to the cabinet position of Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety in Massachusetts, by Governor William Weld in 1994 and served in this position until 1998.

Chief O'Toole earned a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College in 1976 and a Juris Doctor from New England Law Boston with a JD in 1982.

Anthony Chapa, Executive Director, Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association

As Executive Director of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association (HAPCOA) since 2011, Tony overseas all internal and external activities for the association.

HAPCOA, established in 1973, is the oldest and largest association in the U.S. of Hispanic American command officers from law enforcement and criminal justice agencies at the municipal, county, state and federal levels.

Through HAPCOA, chiefs of police, sheriffs and police superintendents from around the country are committed to meeting the challenges of selection, promotion and retention of Hispanic American men and women in professional law enforcement and the criminal justice system. The courageous men and women of HAPCOA also work diligently to address the concerns of their respective communities and improve community relations through the implementation of innovative, state-of-the art training and educational programs.

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Tony has a long history in law enforcement, retiring from the U.S. Secret Service in 2008 following a 22 year career where he rose from the ranks of Special Agent to Assistant Director.

Richard Lapchick, Ph.D. – CEO/Director Institute for Sport & Social Justice (ISSJ); Endowed Chair & Director DeVos Sport Business Management Program at UCF.

Dr. Lapchick is a world-renowned human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally recognized expert on sports issues, scholar, and author. Richard is often described as “the racial conscience of sport.”

Richard's life passion was sparked in Germany at the age of 14 while touring the Nazi internment camps of Dachau. He was in Europe during the 1960 Summer Olympic Games and discovered the impact sport has to cross all lines, color, creed and religion and his dream to use sport as a vehicle for social change was born. It reinforced his early experiences witnessing public hostility toward his father Joe Lapchick when, as the Coach of the New York Knicks, he signed Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African-American player in the NBA in 1950. His earliest memory as a five-year-old was seeing an image of his father swinging from a tree across the street from his house where people were picketing against the inclusion of a black athlete in a "white" team.

In the 1970s, Richard started fighting apartheid and led the boycott of the South African participation in international sport events, the Davis Cup in particular. Lapchick was physically attacked in his college office in February 1978 just as it looked like the Davis Cup was going to be cancelled. He was attacked by men who proceeded to carve the N-word into his stomach. Lapchick worked for the United Nations from 1978-1984. His New York City apartment was ransacked in 1981 while he was leading a protest of a South African rugby team scheduled to play in the United States. His activism led to a personal invitation from Nelson Mandela upon his presidential inauguration in 1994 after anti-apartheid movements were successful.

Lapchick founded the Center for the Study of Sport in Society (CSSS) in 1984 at Northeastern University and is now Director Emeritus. In 1993, Lapchick co-founded the Mentors in Violence Prevention program.

One year after the Center's inception, Lapchick wanted to take its mission national and established the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). For 32 years, the NCAS has been "creating a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power and appeal of sport to positively affect social change."

In 2009, the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition and Rev. Jesse Jackson honored him for "lifetime achievement in working for civil rights." Lifelong friend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the award to Lapchick on behalf of Rev. Jackson.

Mr. Lapchick has a BA from St. John’s University and his Ph.D. in International Race Relations from the University of Denver

Emmett Turner – Retired Chief of the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department

During Chief Turner’s tenure, the police department expanded crime-fighting
partnerships throughout the city.

Chief Turner’s approach to long-standing problems were very much nontraditional for their time. His philosophy advocated a comprehensive strategy that differs from the ones many urban police departments had been trying over the years. This nontraditional approach, known as “community policing, part of the community policing philosophy is building bridges between the police and the communities they serve.

This was accomplished through the development and implementation of the Citizen Police Academy. The Academy brings residents from all walks of life into a classroom one night a week for 11 weeks to learn how the Police Department operates and why it does the things it does. The reasoning is that, if private citizens understand the mysteries of police work, they take more responsibility for what happens in the community and help officers keep the city safe. As a direct result of this program, more than 130 organized Neighborhood Watch Groups in the city were in effect when Chief Turner retired.

Chief Turner oversaw the reform of the department’s internal affairs
component. Now called the Office of Professional Accountability, the component is overseen by an attorney who is committed to making the office more responsive to the community. This was a result of his direct involvement in resolving the racial divide that existed within the department when he assumed the duties as Chief of Police. At that time relations between black and white officers had not settled down since the Reggie Miller incident, three years prior to Chief Turner’s appointment, in which white officers beat up an off-duty black officer who was making a routine stop at a traffic light. Additionally, Internal power struggles often detracted from the department’s mission.

But it was his work with young people that Turner enjoyed the most, he is particularly proud of the GREAT (Gang Resistance and Awareness Training) program, which was begun under his predecessors watch and expanded after Turner became chief. Developed in collaboration with the federal Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the program trains officers to recognize when children are in a violent environment and encourages the officers to refer at-risk youngsters to Family and Children’s Services for help.

M. Quentin Williams, JD – Founder and CEO, Dedication to Community (D2C)

A dedicated community leader and mentor, Mr. Williams is an advocate for self-empowerment and service to others. He is the founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization, Dedication to Community (D2C), and the impetus behind the D2C initiative Choose2Live—a community advocacy program that engages middle school through college students, law enforcement, community groups and inmates as audiences for building strong professional relationships and making positive, healthy and rational life choices. Quentin’s widely distributed and critically acclaimed book, “A Survival Guide: How NOT To Get KILLED By The POLICE”, serves as the premier text for building relationships and constructing successful communities.

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Quentin has been educating communities, including law enforcement agencies, across the nation about how to engage with each other in a more productive, constructive and successful manner. This is his mission in life – community building, social justice and law enforcement/community relations are his calling. And for some of the individuals in his audiences, it’s a matter of life and death.

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In addition, Mr. Williams is an attorney, author, prolific international speaker and master storyteller, former FBI agent and former federal prosecutor who has held positions as an executive with the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Williams currently serves as an industry adviser, business strategist, crisis management consultant and legal expert with a wealth of knowledge and experience in wide-ranging areas of business, including the sports and entertainment industries. With more than 30 years of established business expertise and over 25 years of legal experience, he is a trusted confidant and experienced educator with a lengthy record of successful deal-making and community advocacy. An in demand keynote speaker and instructor at the FBI National Academy (FBINA), he has addressed business, political, education and community leaders at conferences, symposia and other events worldwide, including acclaimed lectures at Harvard University, the FBI Academy, AXA Corporate, the United States Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s Office (District of Connecticut), National Reconnaissance Office and Driver Education’s national association.

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Quentin earned his BA in Economics from Boston College and Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law.

Bryan Heckman, Ph.D. – CEO/Executive Director and Associate Professor, Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health at Meharry Medical College.

Dr. Heckman was appointed to his current position at Meharry Medical College in June 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, CEO of a digital healthcare company, and Founder/Director of the Tobacco Control Innovations Foundation.

Bryan is the Founder/Director of the Tobacco Control Innovations Foundation and a well-respected researcher and expert in the areas of Human Behavior and Addiction Psychology. He was asked to lead SRNT’s mHealth work group and is establishing guidelines for proper mHealth research conduct. He also has an ongoing longitudinal dataset of all smoking cessation apps available on iOS and Android.

Bryan’s clinical research program uses a biopsychosocial approach to understand and treat addictive behaviors, primarily cigarette smoking/vaping. His expertise spans a wide range of methodologies, including machine learning, predictive analytics, survey development, meta-analysis, laboratory studies, randomized controlled trials, and population-based surveillance. The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), & American Cancer Society (ACS) have supported his innovations since 2012. He has also been fortunate to secure additional funding to support the creation of nonprofit and startup ventures.

Primary research interests include: 1) identification of biobehavioral mechanisms that maintain dependence; 2) development of relapse prevention interventions; and 3) use of behavioral economics to inform tobacco control policies.
Bryan developed the first just-in-time adaptive intervention that can automatically detect triggers for smoking relapse and respond with real-time treatment delivery. This is accomplished by transforming smartphones into context-aware healthcare delivery systems
(e.g., GPS). Clinical trials to establish efficacy, and industry partnerships to optimize functionality and reach, are ongoing