Meet the LEADS Scholarship Recipients

Deputy Inspector Tara Calabro has proudly served as a police officer with the New York City Police Department for 19 years. She currently serves as the Commanding Officer of the Enterprise Risk Management Division in the Professional Standards Bureau. She has previously managed and supported collaborative research projects and data analysis to inform policy recommendations, initiatives and program development under the Chief of Strategic Initiatives. During her tenure with the NYPD, Deputy Inspector Calabro has held patrol assignments, supervised a precinct crime analysis unit, worked as an analyst for the Real Time Crime Center, and lead the Information Technology Bureau's Program Management Office.

Commander Chris Vallejo is a strategic and innovative Senior Law Enforcement Official and 29-year veteran of the Austin Police Department and the currently an Investigations Commander.

Commander Vallejo holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science with specializations in constitutional law and political science. He is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institution for Police Leadership School and has completed advanced coursework and training in evidenced-based policing and executive leadership.

He was awarded a prestigious NIJ LEADS Scholar fellowship, dedicated to supporting police leaders in their use of research and science to inform policy and practice, and has extensive experience delivering operational, investigative, and administrative leadership at the line, supervisory and command levels. A recognized community leader, Chris has fostered long-lasting trust and accountability through countless partnerships with local community organizations and national educational institutions dedicated to reform, racial equality, and justice.

Commander Vallejo is a National Policing Institute Executive Policing Fellow, delivering counsel and direction to the NPF on contemporary issues in policing. He is a nationally recognized advocate for police reform through 21st-century policing principles, evidence-based community policing strategies, and collaboration, serving as a volunteer board member for the Texas Justice Institute.

In partnership with Texas State University and the National Policing Institute, Commander Vallejo has conducted occupational stress research to support the APD’s wellness initiatives and ensure performance management and optimal health of his officers and command. He has received notable commendations and awards for his police service and leadership including the Meritorious Unit Citation, and Superior Service Citation, and is a two-time recipient of the Patrol Unit of the Year Award.

Evidence-based policing with a focus on 21st-century policing principles, integrity, and community partnership is Commander Vallejo’s leadership philosophy and focus to support the City of Austin, and the diverse communities that it serves.

Deputy Chief Ortiz has served the Glen Cove, New York community for the past 19 years, beginning as a patrol officer and rising through the ranks to Deputy Chief. Currently, he oversees multiple aspects of department operations, including grant procurement, patrol operations, investigations, professional standards, training, data analysis and policy. Chris earned a bachelor's degree in criminology from John Jay College, a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Long Island University, and a doctorate in criminal justice policy analysis from the City University of New York Graduate Center/John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Deputy Chief Ortiz has served as a research investigator on several NIJ projects and has published numerous scholarly articles on police practices. He has also served as a subject matter expert and provided technical assistance to several police agencies on a variety of policing subjects. Deputy Chief Ortiz is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and PERF's Senior Management Institute in Policing.

Tim Donohoe retired from the Reno Police Department after serving for 25 years. While with the department, he implemented an evidence-based approach to a multi-phased gun violence reduction strategy; a strategy which combined community outreach, focused deterrence, and problem-oriented policing approaches. Tim has worked on international police reform projects with the U.S. Department of Justice, International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, serving as the Mission Advisor in the Republic of Armenia and as a Senior Law Enforcement Advisor in Ukraine.

Tim currently works as a Senior Consultant with a Government Consulting Firm and is an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno in the Department of Criminal Justice. Tim has a master’s degree and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Lieutenant Glendaly Garcia is a Hartford native who has proudly served with the Hartford Police Department for 19 years. She currently commands the Investigative Services Bureau's Crime Scene Division, which consists of the Crime Scene Unit, Fatality Accident Reconstruction Team, and Identification Unit. Previously, she was commander of the Major Crimes Division. Throughout her career, she has served in various capacities, serving as Chief of Staff and Public Information Officer, and supervising the Background Investigation Unit, Pistol Permit Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, Quality of Life Unit, Auxiliary Services Division, and Patrol. She has a master's in public policy law and government from Trinity College and a Bachelor of Science in health care (emphasis in respiratory care) from the University of Hartford. She is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute of Police (SMIP) Session 60, the Southern Police Institute's 137th Administrative Officers Course, and the City of Hartford Middle Management Institute. Lieutenant Garcia is committed to fostering an environment where scientific and technological creativity can contribute to Hartford becoming a leading place to live and work. With the backlogs of evidence in crime labs crippling investigative efforts to successfully apprehend, prosecute, and convict people accused of committing offenses, she believes forensic science needs to be acknowledged as the pivot of crime prevention and criminal investigations. Having served as a Crime Scene Detective and now leading command of the Crimes Scene Unit, she is committed to developing and implementing innovative solutions that will improve current practices in processing crime scenes.

Captain Jonas Baughman is an 18-year veteran of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (KCPD). A native of the Kansas City area, Captain Baughman joined the KCPD after obtaining a B.A. in psychology from Creighton University. He has held assignments in patrol, investigations, administration, and crime/intelligence analysis during his tenure. Captain Baughman quickly found crime analysis to be his professional passion early in his career with more than half of his career having been in positions related to crime or intelligence analysis. He created and supervised the KCPD's first Real-time Crime Center team, directed a squad of detectives tasked with gang intelligence, and worked in the Office of the Chief of Police providing strategic analysis and other metrics for executive staff.  Captain Baughman is currently assigned to the Fiscal Division within the Executive Services Bureau.

Captain Baughman's primary interests include spatial analysis and predictive policing, as well as data mining and data visualization. He is also interested in building upon his background in psychology through exploration of wellness programs for America's law enforcement officers and their families. Captain Baughman feels there is much to be learned by working with international police departments, allowing law enforcement agencies to leverage best practices from across the globe. He looks forward to networking with and learning from others within the LEADS program, and hopes this will ultimately make communities across America, including Kansas City, safer places to call home.

Lieutenant Aimee Haley was sworn in with the Columbus Division of Police in 1997 and has served as the division's accreditation manager since 2011. In this role she has been responsible for overseeing nearly every policy and publication of the largest municipal police department in the state of Ohio. Comparing those policies with others around the nation and the world has equipped her to identify progressing trends and best practices in law enforcement. She is responsible for quickly evaluating and assessing processes and systems to efficiently ensure continuous improvement of her agency. As the current president of the State of Ohio Accreditation Resource Coalition (SOAR), and assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA), Lieutenant Haley knows the value of a professional peer network and anticipates growing that network both in depth and breadth through her participation in the LEADS program.

The KHN Police and Security Department has over 100 sworn police officers and 45 security/civilian employees and provides police and security services to 13 hospitals and medical facilities in a six-county region in southwest Ohio. Chief DePew is a graduate of the 264th class of the FBI National Academy, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Certified Law Enforcement Executive program, the OACP's Police Executive Leadership College, and the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. Chief DePew holds a bachelor's in criminal justice from Ohio University, a master's in criminal justice administration from Miami University, and is currently working on his MBA from Louisiana State University. Chief DePew is also an adjunct professor at Sinclair Community College. He has previously conducted research on drug overdose data collection methods and is currently part of a team researching cardiovascular disease risk factors in police officers. As a LEADS scholar, Chief DePew is honored to have the opportunity to work with other scholars and contribute to research to aid the advancement of the criminal justice field.

Edward Tjaden began his position as Chief of Police at the York Police Department in October of 2017. Prior to that, he spent the previous 18 years with the Gering Nebraska and Alliance Nebraska Police Departments, where he served as an officer, sergeant, instructor, narcotics investigator in a multi-jurisdictional High Intensity Drug Traffic Area task force, and Lieutenant/Operations Commander. He is a 2016 graduate of Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command and obtained his bachelor's in criminal justice administration in 2017. His experiences exemplify the "jack of all trades" description often found in rural law enforcement, including patrol, investigations, instruction, drafting and implementing policy, conducting forensic child interviews, planning large, high-risk events, supervising hiring processes, supervising training, and writing and administering grants. He has focused his studies on expanding the understanding that rural law enforcement officers, leaders, and agencies face both unique and typical policing challenges, and believes in addressing those challenges with a combination of academic and practical efforts.

Stuart Greer is a Captain with the Morristown (NJ) Bureau of Police and serves as the Commanding Officer of the Administrative Division. In this role, his responsibilities include research & planning, data analysis, compstat, police training, social media, police records, and public information. He is a co-founder and board member of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing and has served as a LEADS Scholar at the National Institute of Justice where he contributed to the advancement of research in the development of policing tactics and strategies.

Captain Greer is a certified instructor with the New Jersey Police Training Commission and teaches both recruit and in-service classes.  He is an executive Policing Fellow at the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C. and has worked on projects designed to meet the goal of advancing Policing through innovation and science.  He has served as a faculty instructor with the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation teaching Police Commanders evidence-based approaches to reducing homicide and gun violence. 

He received a B.A. in Justice Studies from the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J., a Master of Studies (MSt) in Applied Criminology and Police Management at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and an Executive Master of Public Administrator program at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University.

Lieutenant Myron Holubiak has served the community of Tucson, Arizona since 1998. He is assigned to the Analysis section, which creates data-driven analyses of patrol deployments, criminal intelligence, and other policy, strategic, and operational metrics. Lieutenant Holubiak oversees the CompStat and Research and Analysis units, and the Tucson Real-time Analytical Crime Center (TRACC), which provides tactical intelligence to responding operations units through ad hoc research. Previously, he supervised Audit and Best Practices, which analyzes department-member uses of force and researches industry standards, guiding the design of policies and operational practices. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona.

Sergeant Johnson has served the Town of Darien (CT) for the last sixteen years. During his time as a detective sergeant, he leveraged research to increase his agency's investigative capacity by cross-training a subset of patrol officers to function as detectives. In his current role as a night shift supervisor, he lead a multi-site randomized controlled trial to test the relationship between enhanced patrol vehicle lighting and crime. Sgt. Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Geneva College, a master's degree in justice administration from Western Connecticut State University, a master's degree in criminal justice from John Jay College, and a doctorate in criminal justice from the City University of New York Graduate Center. His dissertation research focused on the role of relational networks in diffusing law enforcement innovations.

Officer Magny is currently assigned to the Sacramento Police Department's Professional Standards Unit where he is responsible for writing and updating agency policies and procedures. Officer Magny has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and sociology, a master's degree in emergency services administration, and a doctorate degree in organizational leadership. Officer Magny's research interests are in the field of motivation, job satisfaction, diversity, and emotional intelligence. Officer Magny is a strong proponent of applying scientific research in the field of policing. Officer Magny is fellow at the Police Foundation and a founding member of the American Society of Evidence Based Policing (ASEBP). Officer Magny is also an adjunct professor at Brandman University.

The University of Illinois Police Department is a fully sworn department that serves a community of over 45,000 students and 6,000 faculty and staff members. Lieutenant Fiesta currently serves as the administrative bureau commander, overseeing the crime prevention, training, telecommunications, and records units. The University is a rich environment for research and educational opportunities; Fiesta connects researchers from various disciplines to the department. The results of the research help the department develop evidenced-based training and practices. Lieutenant Fiesta holds a bachelor's degree in rhetoric with a minor in Russian from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

Major Stiver was an invited presenter at an NIJ-sponsored event.

Major Stiver is the commander of the Central Patrol Division at the Dayton (OH) Police Department. She has also served as the commander of the Central Investigations Bureau and in both East and West Patrol Divisions. She holds a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. She is also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College and Certified Law Enforcement Executive course. Major Stiver is an adjunct professor at Wright State University and teaches graduate courses in criminological theory. In addition to a current research project on police intervention in infant mortality cases, Major Stiver led a foot patrol evaluation with the University of Cincinnati, quantitative analysis on patrol officer exposure to secondary trauma and is working on a volunteer hot spot patrol project, photo enforcement compliance and a sentinel event crash reduction multi-disciplinary team review.

Greg Stewart is a sergeant with the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau (PPB). His 20 years of service include being a patrol officer, patrol sergeant, and investigative sergeant. He supervised the Bureau's Domestic Violence Reduction Unit and implemented an automated actuarial risk assessment system for people accused of (or convicted for) domestic violence offenses. He is currently the sergeant of the PPB's Crime Analysis Unit. His assignments include developing patrol strategies aimed at reducing crime while improving the relationship between police and community members and supervising PPB non-sworn crime analysts. In this capacity, he assists the PPB in operationalizing existing police-related research as well as conducting research on emerging issues.

Sergeant Tolber has served the Redlands, California, community for 18 years. She is currently assigned to the Professional Standards Unit, where she is responsible for conducting all internal investigations, investigating citizen's complaints, and overseeing the concealed weapons licensing process. Sergeant Tolber earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Redlands and her master's degree in criminology, law, and society from the University of California, Irvine. Most recently, she earned a master's degree in applied criminology and police management from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. During her course of study at the University of Cambridge, she examined the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial to test restorative justice among the parole population in Redlands. She is also a fellow at the Police Foundation, an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at Chaffey College, and a founding member of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing.

Captain Roman currently commands the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB). CIB consists of the following units: Homicide, Major Crimes, Robbery, Special Victims, Youth Aid, Auto Squad, Crime Scene, Ballistics, Criminal Intelligence Unit, Real Time Crime Center, and the Narcotics Unit. Roman earned a master's degree in public administration from Rutgers University.

Newark Police is currently operating under a Federal Consent Decree. Roman is interested in research on police perceptions of legitimacy and procedural justice. Extant literature thoroughly explores citizens' perceptions of legitimacy, but there is a dearth of research regarding officers' perception and factors that influence those perceptions. Understanding both officers' and citizens' perceptions on these topics can have broad applications when implementing recommendations from the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Chief Clary was named Police Chief of the city of Bellevue, Nebraska, in August 2020. 

Prior to his current position, Ken Clary served as an Area Commander for the Iowa State Patrol (ISP), which included the oversight of four patrol districts including approximately one quarter of the State of Iowa. During his time as a Commander, Captain Clary held a variety of positions including CALEA Accreditation Coordinator for the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Assistant Field Operations for the ISP. In these positions, he utilized research and worked with numerous law enforcement agencies to determine best practices in hiring and promotional processes, as well as resource allocation. He worked directly with the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) to implement statewide police training and public education programs to combat drowsy driving. Subsequently, in June, Iowa GTSB and DPS hosted the first of its kind National Drowsy Driving Summit with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

After joining the department in January 1999, Major Stewart spent the early part of his career in patrol and served as a field training officer, firearms instructor, and control and defensive tactics instructor. He spent several years in Recruiting before being promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 2009. He spent four years in Operations before being assigned to the Planning and Research Unit. During this assignment, Daniel surveyed other law enforcement agencies and conducted thorough research on topics that benefited the department, such as vehicle equipment and early intervention systems. Additionally, he helped to develop written directives on critical projects such as body-worn cameras and Naloxone. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2015. As Captain, he spent time in Operations as a Shift Commander and in Investigations as the Property Crimes Commander. He spent time as the Public Information Officer for the department until his promotion to Major in June 2021. He oversees the Uniform Support Division which encompasses Airport Police, Air Support, the Bricktown Entertainment District, Emergency Management, the Emergency Response Team, the Fatality Traffic Investigations Unit, Hit and Run, the Homeless Outreach Team, Solo Motors and Special Events.

Sergeant Williams is the supervisor over the DUI Enforcement Unit for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. During his time with the department, he has served as an officer in patrol, Crash Investigator and Reconstructionist, and patrol supervisor. In his current position, Sergeant Williams is responsible for analyzing crash and arrest data pertaining to driver impairment and develops intervention strategies. He also supervises the investigation of crashes involving life-threatening injuries and fatalities. Sergeant Williams has a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Kentucky and a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. For his master's thesis, Sergeant Williams researched the use and effectiveness of predictive analytics to inform enforcement strategies aimed at reducing traffic-related deaths and offenses.

Sgt. Jeffery Egge currently serves as supervisor of Strategic Analysis for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and specializes in the study of homicide, gang crime, hot spots, and research translation. With MPD, Sgt. Egge has worked in CompStat, Organized Crime, Homicide, and Patrol. Sgt. Egge holds a master's degree in police leadership, administration, and training from the University of St. Thomas, and a bachelor's degree in organizational management from Concordia University. He was a Senior Research Fellow at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and has contributed to publications on crime analysis, research and planning, and predictive policing. Jeff has presented at national symposia for the Center for Evidence Based Crime Policy, Police Executive Research Forum, and the International Association of Crime Analysts. Prior to joining the MPD, he was an Investigations and Training Specialist and Loss Prevention Manager for Dayton Hudson (now Target Corp).

Lieutenant Freidline is currently assigned to the Patrol Division of the Riley County (KS) Police Department. Within this division, Lieutenant Freidline uses data and intelligence to increase the effectiveness of their officers through using hot spot policing to try and deter and prevent crime with our intelligence unit providing a minimum of weekly updates about crime trends. As a LEADS scholar, Lieutenant Freidline has gained a new network of mid-level supervisors to communicate with in reference to solving crime problems and sharing ideas. She is also appreciative of the wealth of knowledge available through NIJ and their website, who are working just as hard to progress law enforcement in a positive direction.

A native of Dallas, TX, Tarrick McGuire began a career in public service with the Arlington (TX) Police Department in 2003. During his tenure, he has served in multiple positions before being appointed to Police Chief in 2024. As a nationally recognized public speaker and published author, Chief McGuire has been a leading authority on community police relations, police pattern and practice, evidence-based policing, and public policy. In 2020, he was appointed to the Council on Police Reform and Race by the National Policing Institute and was inducted into the Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame in 2022.

In 2016, Chief McGuire served as a law enforcement fellow with the International Association of Chiefs of Police contributing research and technical assistance to U.S. police departments on 21^st Century Policing in Washington, DC. During this period, Chief McGuire worked with the Department of Justice COPS Office and Obama Whitehouse Administration to improve policing practices, policy, and community-police relations nationally.

As a pracademic and change agent in policing, Chief McGuire was recognized by the IACP as one of the top 40 under 40 most progressive police leaders in the world. Although he has received many accolades, he is most proud of the Anthony L Sutin Department of Justice COPS Office Award for his work in community police relations and the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Governmental Leadership.

Chief McGuire has earned a B.S. in Speech Communications from Oklahoma State University, a M.A. in Christian Leadership from Criswell College, and a Doctor of Public Administration from California Baptist University.

Lieutenant Nelson is currently in charge of the Professional Standards and Internal Affairs Office within the Madison (WI) Police Department, a department of approximately 450 commissioned and 150 civilian employees. Having never been to the IACP Conference previously, Lieutenant Nelson came away from the event very impressed; with the major take away being the importance of using data and research to make departments more efficient. After the conference, Lieutenant Nelson contacted an academic researcher at a college in Wisconsin and explained his plan to implement a domestic violence initiative that targets persons convicted of a crime. Lieutenant Nelson and the researcher plan on beginning research and discussions in January 2016.