Meet the LEADS Scholarship Recipients

Dr. Ashleigh Wojslawowicz serves as the Research Manager for the Charleston County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) in Charleston, SC. In this role, she champions data-driven policy and practice in all areas of the local criminal justice system by partnering alongside system stakeholders to develop evidence-based strategies rooted in public safety. Prior to her role with the CJCC, Dr. Wojslawowicz served as a Master Crime Scene Investigator with the Charleston Police Department. During her twelve-year involvement with the agency, she spearheaded evidence-based practices and data application in the areas of community engagement, recruitment, retention, and forensics. Dr. Wojslawowicz’s research efforts have been highlighted internationally through multiple professional organizations (IACP, ASEBP), media platforms, and publications. 

Dr. Wojslawowicz is a three-time graduate of Charleston Southern University (B.S., ‘10; M.S., ‘13; EdD ‘21) and a member of the university’s first graduating doctoral cohort. She is a Subject Matter Expert and Instructor for the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training through Louisiana State University, Principal Researcher for the Stono Group, LLC, and an adjunct faculty member of the Michael Sattler School of Public Service at Truett McConnell University. Her research interests include law enforcement recruitment, retention, and applied research methodology.

Dr. Lisa Barao is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Westfield State University and a Research Fellow with the Crime and Justice Policy Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University. Her research broadly concentrates on policing issues and urban gun violence policy and interventions. Her policing research has included organizational studies using surveys and interviews with officers to examine factors like internal procedural justice, job satisfaction, perceptions of internal support, personnel and equipment resources, and experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. She has also explored the impacts of technology on police operations and effectiveness, focusing on body-worn cameras, CCTV, and real-time crime centers. Dr. Barao’s research on gun violence includes analyses of local violence dynamics to inform intervention strategies; evaluations of police and community-based interventions; and analyses of homicide and nonfatal shooting investigations. She has conducted comprehensive violence problem analyses in numerous cities across the U.S. and consults with municipal, state, and federal agencies to provide guidance on data-informed, sustainable violence reduction strategies.

Brandon del Pozo, Ph.D., MPA, MA, is an assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a research scientist at Rhode Island Hospital. He conducts federally-funded research about the relationships between public safety, public health, and justice.

Prior to his research career, Dr. del Pozo served as a police officer for 23 years. Nineteen were spent in the New York City Police Department, where he started on patrol in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He commanded two patrol precincts, served as an intelligence liaison in Amman, Jordan, and led a unit in the police commissioner's office. He also spent four years as Chief of Police of Burlington, Vermont, where he directed the city's interdisciplinary response to the opioid overdose crisis. He was the 2016 recipient of the Police Executive Research Forum's Gary Hayes Award for excellence in police leadership, and is an elected member of the national Council on Criminal Justice.

Dr. del Pozo's popular writing has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, and Vital City. His book, The Police and the State, was published in December, 2022 by Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Ian Adams is an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina, with a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah. His research focuses on the practical concerns of police practitioners, with a specific interest in technology, policy, and personnel in law enforcement. He has a strong background in law enforcement, having served over twelve years as an officer. By connecting his research to the practical concerns of policing agencies, their employees, and the communities they serve, Dr. Adams' work helps inform evidence-based policies and practices within law enforcement.

Dr. Adams has published over thirty peer-reviewed pieces, with an ambitious quantitative research agenda addressing pressing topics such as body-worn cameras, technology, police K9s, use-of-force, and sexual assault investigations and training. As a Senior Research Advisor for the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety program at the University of South Carolina’s School of Law, an affiliate of the Police Staffing Observatory at Michigan State University, and a managing editor of Police Practice & Research: An International Journal, Dr. Adams further contributes to the building academically rigorous, practically relevant, evidence-based practices to improve policing.

Lieutenant Ja’Nae McGee has over a decade of experience with the Arlington Police Department. She is currently assigned to the South Patrol district and is responsible for directing and administering the management functions of a patrol division. Functions include providing leadership in directing subordinates, administering programs, and developing goals for assigned departments. Some of her auxiliary roles include serving on the SWAT team as an Executive Officer and a Negotiator. She earned a B.A. from McNeese State University and M.A. in Criminology from Lamar University. Her research interest include implementation and institutionalization of 21^st Century policing principles, evidence based policing strategies, and addressing disparities related to recruitment, hiring, and promotion of female police officers within organizations.

McGee currently serves as an executive member on the Education and Awareness within Technology board for the Arlington Police Department. She organized a Women's Leadership Symposium as the creator and chair, implemented a Parental Guidance Required (PGR) program in The Parks Mall, introduced and developed the organization's first Women's Mentoring program to effectively increase female officer representation at all ranks. She also created and led a comprehensive problem-oriented policing project to address crime and disorder at Lynn Hale Elementary School (Bridge Kids). As a result of the problem-oriented policing project, Bridge Kids won the Texas municipal police award in 2019 and The State of Texas achievement award, for professional development which honored law enforcement officers committed to exceeding the normal expectations of job performance through acts of professional achievement in public service

Lieutenant Utz has been employed by the Chicago Police Department for over 15 years. He currently the Watch Operations Lieutenant in the 018th District which is in the Central Control Group. He oversees, manages, and directs the operations of a watch, including response and crime prevention strategies. In addition, he responds, directs the response and the protection of the scene, and maintain command and oversight of specific investigations. In essence, he is in charge of all police related matters that occur during the shift in a geographical area. 

Lieutenant Utz was a sergeant for over 8 years. As a Sergeant, he oversaw the Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC). The SDSC is the center for collection, analysis, and dissemination of real-time information. In this roll, he analyzed data regularly to provide recommendations that would assist with crime-reduction strategies. He provided deployment recommendations and utilized data to determine if the recommendations and/or deployments were effective. His research interests include analyzing the effectiveness of intelligence room and workforce allocation. 

The Chicago Police Department has lost 20 Offices to suicide since 2018. In June of 2022, 3 Officers committed suicide. Lieutenant Utz had a professional and personal relationship with one of them. In 2021, he worked with an officer who committed suicide while in the police building. As a result, he has an interest in having an effective early intervention system for law enforcement officers. An early intervention system is a management tool designed to identify officers who may have an increased probability of being involved in an adverse action before they are involved in that situation. His hope is that this program also identifies officers that his agency can help save from potentially committing suicide. In addition, an early intervention system can and should help the well-being of an officer, increase job performance, and reduce complaints while providing non-disciplinary options. Lieutenant Utz has a research interest in strengthening early intervention systems to increase officer support for health and wellness.  

Lieutenant Utz earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Illinois State University and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Xavier University.

Sergeant Bilach has served the City of New York since 2007. He has a dedicated history of collaborative research with academics and practitioners in the law enforcement and public health sector. His police service includes a stint in the Office of Management Analysis and Planning as an analyst and supervisor, with experience in strategic and executive correspondence, operations research, policy planning, staffing, and crime reporting. His recent work focuses on minimizing risk through the acquisition and assessment of body-worn camera data.

Sergeant Bilach holds master’s degrees in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany, and in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University. His peer-reviewed, scholarly contributions can be found in Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Experimental Criminology. His latest evaluative research focused on the introduction of foot patrol surges in New York City and their effect on official crime reporting.

Sergeant Bilach’s research interests center around risk mitigation, use-of-force, and program evaluation. He also takes a specialized interest in applying the latest econometric methods to the evaluation of police interventions.

He looks forward to further collaboration through the LEADS program and integrating research and practice to help improve the policing profession.

Jimmy Baldea developed the Los Angeles Police daily vital sign monitoring platform in 2016. He utilizes bio-feedback devices and telemedicine to aggregate baseline, injury, and wellness data on law enforcement officers. He has dedicated over 5,000 hours to shadow diverse units in the LAPD (Air Support, Motors, Gangs, Administrative, SWAT, vehicular patrol, and others), in their daily work environments, in order to gain insights on prevention and rehabilitation strategies for workplace injuries and health ailments. He regularly interacts with officers to conduct interviews and focus groups on matters concerning their physical and mental health. From this data, he pioneered a first-of-its-kind longitudinal research study based on the Framingham Study. His analyses enabled him to formulate algorithms for the initial design and ongoing refinement of his Best Practices in Police Wellness. His first 250 research participants have lost and kept off 3,000 pounds, and have maintained their improvements for the past 6 years. His work inspires first responders nationwide to improve their overall states of health. He conceived the LAPD Top 10 List of Medical Conditions. His database offers pre-disaster health data on LAPD officers, in the event of a Homeland Emergency. He refers to his biostatistics during his ongoing advocacy to petition the medical community to create medical health codes and protocols that are specific to the needs of first responders and essential workers. He is thankful to his clinical team, his Board, his National Advisory Council, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the DOJ, the IACP, and the many participating police officers who have entrusted him with the opportunity to serve and learn from them. 

Rachel Rados began her law enforcement career in 2007 with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, where she is currently a Lieutenant within the Professional Development Division.  She also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Loyola University New Orleans.  Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Chico, and a Master’s degree from the University of Central Florida.  She completed her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Central Florida in 2017 with a dissertation on the utilization of GPS in Domestic Violence cases. She currently leads the newly created Career Development Section, which focuses on Leadership Development, Civilian Training, and Field Training for Law Enforcement and Corrections.   Before this position, she created the Seminole Collaborative Opioid Response Effort Team (SCORE) and authored white papers that leaders utilized within the State of Florida.  This team focused on non-fatal and fatal responses to all opioid-related overdoses. She has held previous positions in Patrol, Investigations-Major Crimes, Judicial Security, and School Safety & Security. Much of her research has focused on identifying the agency's needs, researching successful programs (within or outside of law enforcement venues), and collaborating with local stakeholders. She looks forward to collaborating with members of the LEADS team and continuing to research new and innovative techniques to serve the law enforcement community.

Lieutenant Anthony Gibson began his career at the Charleston Police Department as an intern in 2013 and now serves as the Commander of the Office of Public Affairs. In this capacity, he leads the Public Information Team, the Recruitment, Selection, and Retention Unit, and grants coordination. His prior roles include serving as the Public Information Officer and the sergeant on a nationally recognized recruitment and retention team known for its strategic and evidence-based approaches to law enforcement staffing post-2020. He and his team have presented nationally and internationally on these efforts in the hopes of improving law enforcement hiring and retention.

His applied research focuses on strategic messaging and officer retention strategies. He holds a B.S. in Psychology and a master’s in public administration. Additionally, Lt. Gibson serves as an executive board member of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, and is a fellow with both the National Policing Institute and the Michigan State Police Staffing Observatory.

Dalton Majors has been with the Burlington Police Department for over 20 years and is currently assigned as the Captain of the Patrol Division. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from Western Carolina University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Pfeiffer University. Throughout his tenure, he has worked in criminal investigations, narcotics, community outreach/engagement, SWAT, school resource officer program, and canine. Dalton serves as a law enforcement instructor, adjunct professor at a local community college, and assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

In 2018-19 Dalton conducted research with the Center for Children’s Law and Policy that led his agency to conduct training, change policies and procedures, and obtain a grant to fund a juvenile diversion program for the City of Burlington. Recently, he has worked with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Exercise Science to conduct research and study job-related workload within law enforcement agencies and its relationship to injury risk and performance. He hopes to blend this research into other areas such as how the effects of traumatic events, staffing levels, workload, and public opinion affect officer performance, decision making, and mental and physical health.

Jason North is a Captain in the Alexandria (VA) Police Department with 19 years of law enforcement experience. He currently leads the Technology Services Division, focusing on research, development, and implementation of law enforcement programs and technologies. He employs evidence-based practices to improve law enforcement effectiveness and professionalism.

In addition to his experience, Captain North is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Liberty University. His educational background also includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from George Mason University, and Graduate Certificates in Certified Public Management (CPM) from George Washington University and Emergency Management and Homeland Security from George Mason University. He has also completed the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) and the Police Executive Research Foundation (PERF) Senior Management Institute of Police (SMIP).

Captain North is actively involved in community outreach, particularly in initiatives benefiting children with disabilities, earning him the 2021 John Duty Collins III Outstanding Advocate for Persons with Disabilities award.

Blake leads the Denver Department of Public Safety’s data team in the Transformation and Policy Division. With a background in geography, criminology, and crime analysis, he has strived to introduce and support theory-informed, evidence-based, and data-driven practices in law enforcement and public safety. He also supports furthering the roles and responsibilities of civilian data professionals within law enforcement and public safety. His work has been critical in launching and growing multiple programs, including: the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program - which sends paramedics and clinicians to calls for service traditional dispatch to police officers; Place Network Investigations (PNI) – a strategy to address persistently gun violence hotspots through an all-of-city approach; and more broadly developing a comprehensive strategy to address public health harm hot spots. His work continues to further the Denver Department of Public Safety as a learning organization.

Blake holds master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University. His work has been recognized through Esri’s Special Achievements in GIS Award (2016), the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing’s Herman Goldstein Award (2017), and International Association of Crime Analysts’ Innovations in Crime Analysis Award (2018). He looks forward to new opportunities to collaborate through the LEADS Scholar program.

Dr. Staci Yutzie has been a civilian working in public safety for over twenty years. Her focus has always been on improving outcomes through the application of data and research. She is currently assisting police organizations with various initiatives, including developing and implementing evidence-based training, curriculum development, instructor development, and managing complex change, among other topics.

Staci spent a decade at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), where she led the state’s evidence-based practices movement while serving in various roles, including Agency Deputy Director, Training Director, Manager of the Center for Policing Excellence, Program Development Coordinator, and Training Coordinator. She oversaw many training and technical assistance programs in these roles, including basic academy training, advanced regional training, leadership, the research program, curriculum, instructor development, behavioral health and crisis response training, equity training, and the Statistical Transparency of Policing (STOP) program. 

Staci’s work on developing research-based academy training earned DPSST the 2021 International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Law Enforcement Research award. She co-authored an effectiveness evaluation of the Oregon Academy published in 2021. Staci has presented on training at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference and the National Symposium on Police Academies and Training.

Her research interests are police training, training effectiveness, program evaluation, and implementing evidence-based policing practices. Staci holds a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, a master’s degree in justice management, and a doctorate of education in organizational change and leadership.

Christopher Bagby is a Lieutenant for the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) in Bakersfield, California. He currently manages the Department’s Office of Performance and Analysis, which oversees the Department’s Quality Assurance Unit, Crime Analysis Unit, and Wellness Programs. Additionally, he manages the organization’s accountability and oversight programs, reform efforts, policy programs, and organizational improvement projects. He holds current collateral duties as the Covid-19 Resource Team Leader/Infection Control Officer, Terrorism Liaison Team Leader, instructor, and Department’s Use of Force Committee chair. He also works on its Civil Litigation Team. He has been with the BPD since June 2002. 

He joined the BPD and served in various assignments, including Patrol, Motors, Accident Reconstruction, Property Crimes Detectives, Robbery/Homicide Detectives, Headquarters, Investigations, and Patrol Sergeant. He is a graduate of National University with a B.S. in Public Administration and an M.A. in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Chris is a 2022 National Institute of Justice’s LEADS Scholar, Secretary of the IACP’s Police Research Advancement Section, and serves on the IACP’s Research Advisory Committee.

Lieutenant Harvey Sham currently works in the Office of Management Analysis and Planning (OMAP) of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). OMAP’s core function is to propose policies, strategies, programs, organizational structures, and staffing analyses to maintain maximum effectiveness of the agency. Lieutenant Sham is assigned to various projects within the unit, including the Department-wide staffing analysis and the agency’s efforts towards accreditation. Prior to working in OMAP, he played an integral role in establishing the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership (GVSP), which has garnered national attention. The GVSP brings every aspect of law enforcement and prosecution to bear on the those who commit serious gun violence in New York City, and leverages timely evidentiary data to aid investigators in open cases and provide leads to proactively combat firearms trafficking. He has also worked in a number of enforcement and specialty commands, including as a detective in the Special Victims Division and an instructor in the Counterterrorism Division.

Lieutenant Sham holds a Master of Criminal Justice in Investigative Techniques with an Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies from the City University of New York – John Jay College. His hope is to combine data analytics and policy research to properly inform agency executives in vital decision-making processes at all levels.

Ryan Perlongo is the Chief of Evidence-Based Training and Innovation for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) within the Office of Public Safety. He is responsible for the overall leadership of the section, which includes supervising the development of the unit’s training, technical assistance, research, and analytical products. This unit also manages interagency projects and provides direct assistance to the state’s flagship Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative. The GIVE Initiative aims to provide comprehensive guidance and support to law enforcement stakeholders, helping them effectively implement, measure, and sustain evidence-based strategies within their respective jurisdictions.

Before joining DCJS, Ryan Perlongo served fifteen years with police departments at the City and State Universities of New York, retiring as Assistant Chief of Police. Currently, Ryan holds National Certified Instructor and National Certification Program Evaluator designations from the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST).

Ryan holds a Master of Science in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership from the University of San Diego, is a current Ph.D. candidate at Keiser University’s Criminology and Criminal Justice program and was recently selected as a 2023 Policing Fellow by the National Policing Institute.

Haunsperger worked with the United Nations International Police Task Force (IPTF) charged with reintegrating war zones back into Croatia proper.  Natasha joined the Portland Police Bureau in 2006, shortly after she had emigrated to Oregon from Croatia.  Her previous experiences with war refugees and conflict resolution ultimately led her to proactively focus and engage with the large multicultural/ethnic communities in the Portland area. After several years working in the Portland Police Criminal Intelligence Unit, Officer Haunsperger was assigned to the Chief’s Office to establish the Office of Community Engagement,  focusing on community mapping and grass-roots justice advocacy. In her current assignment as a community engagement strategist.  Officer Haunsperger is currently working on developing holistic and innovative platforms for onboarding immigrants, refugees, communities of color, and other vulnerable and historically marginalized communities in the process of justice reforms.  

Natasha earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Russian Literature from Portland State University. She recently completed her Masters of Arts in Security Studies from the Homeland Security and Defense (CHDS) Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Officer Haunsperger also serves as a Commissioner on the Oregon Governor’s Commission for Women. In addition, she engages as an advocate with groups focused on issues of gender, socio-economic justice, and civil and human rights for justice-impacted women, with a particular focus on uplifting the voices of women in the areas of domestic and international security, conflict resolution, and peace-building processes. 

Her areas of research and policy development are focused on foreign-born labor trafficking, threat assessment,  intelligence data collection; labor trafficking as an unconventional national security threat; and public trust-building as a critical infrastructure concept. 

Officer Haunsperger is committed to further academic growth and exchanging innovative ideas and visions critical to addressing emerging security-related threats.  

Henry Wang is the Director of the Quality Assurance Division within the Risk Management Bureau (RMB) of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). He leads a unit that focuses on research and analytic initiatives to minimize risk to the NYPD.  In addition, Henry has created business intelligence tools which identify, analyze, and monitor risks to the department.  Prior to working with RMB, he was the lead evaluator for the “Co-Response Teams” a joint initiative between the NYPD and New York City Department of Health which paired police officers trained in crisis intervention with social workers to serve community members presenting with mental health or substance use challenges who are at an elevated risk of harm to themselves or others. Henry was instrumental to the development of the data collection instruments and leveraged the data to create predictive models to identify the appropriate services.

Henry holds a Master of Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology from the City University of New York - Hunter College.  He is specifically interested in identifying new methods for risk mitigation, early intervention, and ensuring constitutional policing.  He looks forward to working with fellow LEADS scholars to learn how they are utilizing research to inform police policy and practice.

Mr. Petitti is the Director of Business Intelligence for the Rochester (NY) Police Department. He created and currently manages the department’s Office of Business Intelligence (OBI), a group of diverse data analysts responsible for strategic planning and product development, data analysis, business process improvements, data transparency, and major city projects. The OBI was established to better leverage police data in support of evidence-based decision making. Mr. Petitti oversees the department’s information systems applications, Open Data Portal, records and digital evidence management, and performance reporting. Currently, he is focused on the development of executive-level reporting and analytical capacity, technology integration, and strategic research and evaluation.

From 2009-2013, he ran the Crime Analysis Unit of the Rochester Police Department and was the managing analyst for the Monroe Crime Analysis Center in Monroe County, NY. Mr. Petitti has worked as an analyst since 2004, primarily focusing on issues associated with data governance and operational effectiveness. Mr. Petitti holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice.

Dr. Laure Brimbal is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Texas State University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Psychology and Law from the Graduate Center, CUNY. Prior to joining the Texas State faculty she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Iowa State University. Dr. Brimbal’s research interests lie at the intersection of psychology and the criminal justice system, specifically examining communication and decision making in law enforcement. Much of her research has focused on interviewing and topics such as rapport building, lie detection, the use of evidence, and how to overcome resistance. Dr. Brimbal has also conducted several training evaluation studies in partnership with local and federal law enforcement agencies. She is currently developing projects to study police communication training more broadly, especially for patrol officers’ interactions with the public, de-escalation, and crisis negotiation situations. She looks forward to further collaborations through the LEADS program and integrating research and practice as a LEADS Academic.

Commander Shawn Hill is a 20-year veteran of the Santa Barbara Police Department. He is currently assigned as a Watch Commander in the Field Operations Bureau, and as the assistant SWAT commander. Some of his previous roles include serving in the Chief's Office, the detective bureau, training and recruitment and professional standards. He earned a B.A. in English from Old Dominion University, an M.A. in criminal justice from Arizona State University and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of Communication. His research interests include police culture, intergroup processes and their (us versus them) influence on police-public relationships, communication accommodation, intergroup interventions, and overcoming implementation barriers to evidence-based approaches in policing.

Commander Hill currently serves on the community policing committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, is a National Policing Institute Executive Fellow and a member of the Training, Education, and Standards (TES) Committee for the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE). He most recently co-authored VOICES: a theory driven intervention for improving relationships between police and the public, and co-edited the interdisciplinary, international Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Policing, Communication, and Society.

Stephen K. Talpins is a Chief Assistant State Attorney at the Miami-Dade County (Florida) State Attorney’s Office. He reports directly to the State Attorney and participates on the executive and other key teams. He is responsible for supervising the Felony Divisions in Unit IV, Gang Prosecutions Unit, Treatment Courts Unit, Community Outreach Division, and Media Team. He also serves as the office lead on Smart Justice programming.

Mr. Talpins is a nationally recognized author, advocate, and speaker on Smart Justice and other criminal justice related issues. He has worked collaboratively and diplomatically with public, private, and non-profit stakeholders, published dozens of articles, given well over 150 presentations, served on multiple expert panels, and participated on the Boards of three non-profit associations. His efforts have been recognized by numerous organizations and agencies, including Citizens Against Drunk Impaired Drivers, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Commission Against Drunk Driving. During the past decade, The Century Council identified Mr. Talpins as “One of the 20 People to Watch,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave him a Public Safety Award, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the office of the United States Drug Czar) named him an Advocate for Action, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognized him as an Ambassador of the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program. Most recently, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) selected him as a member of the 2021 Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) program cohort.

Assistant Chief Matt Tye has been with the Madison Police Department (MPD) for over 23 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northwestern University and a Law Degree from the University of Wisconsin. He is currently the Assistant Chief of Field Operations overseeing patrol operations and MPD’s six police districts as well as the K-9 unit, the Special Events Team (crowd management),  and the Mounted Unit. In 2023 Chief Tye had the responsibility of implementing a city wide crime reduction and prevention initiative and response plan utilizing data to better serve the community. He continues to manage this crime reduction and prevention strategy.    

Prior to his current assignment, Chief Tye served as the Captain of Community Outreach where he oversaw the department’s co-responder Mental Health Unit, Addiction Resource Team, and all department outreach engagements and restorative justice initiatives. He has also served as a Patrol Lieutenant, a Detective Lieutenant, Detective and Police Officer. In these roles, he supervised a number of units to include the Special Victims Unit and the SWAT Crisis Negotiation Team.

Dr. Barrett is the Director of the Clinical Support Unit at the Cambridge Police Department and an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He is an Associate Clinical Researcher at the Health Equity Research Lab at the Cambridge Health Alliance where he received the Academic Council Award for Excellence. Dr. Barrett is the author and developer of the Fight Navigator curriculum under the Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship from the Harvard Medical School to address retaliatory violence in youth.  He is a member of the American Psychological Association, Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and the FBI’s Mass Bay Threat Assessment Team. 

Dr. Barrett has presented at numerous national conferences on juvenile justice and diversion, gang violence, juvenile safety assessment, preventing retaliatory violence, and police-mental health partnerships.  He has contributed to national meetings convened by SAMHSA, the MacArthur Foundation and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.  He is a contributor to Psychology, Public Policy and the Law, Psychological Services, Adolescent Psychiatry, Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, Translational Issues in Psychological Science, National Youth At-Risk Journal and The Handbook of Human Development for Health Professionals.