Administration

Harvey Hedden

Executive Director

Harvey V. Hedden is ILEETA’s Executive Director, having previously served as Deputy Executive Director for six years. He served 38 years in law enforcement in ranks from patrolman to chief. He spent 22 years in narcotics enforcement and was the Project Director for the Southeast Area Drug Operations Group. Harvey has a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin and has been a law enforcement trainer for 42 years, having trained thousands of officers in the U.S. and abroad in a variety of subject areas, including use of force, investigations, firearms and defensive tactics. In these areas he has testified as an expert witness, written numerous articles and was a contributor to many law enforcement training videos, books and guides

Harvey’s goals for the future of ILEETA include development of more networking and distance learning opportunities for ILEETA members, increasing member benefits and enhanced sharing of training concepts and technology to continue the ILEETA mission, “Wisdom and courage through knowledge and skill”.

Brian Willis

Deputy Executive Director

Brian Willis served as a full time police officer for 25 years and has over 33 years of law enforcement training experience. In addition to his work with law enforcement professionals Brian also served as a mental preparation coach for athletes from a variety of sports including two Olympic athletes. He currently serves as the Deputy Executive Director for ILEETA.

Marla Hedden

ILEETA Director of Member Services

Marla Hedden is going into her 8th year as a full-time employee of ILEETA. She is a partner, manager, and the assistant instructor of Traditional Taekwondo Academy. She is currently ranked as a 2nd dan Black Belt with Kukkiwon in Korea. In the past, she taught K-7 general music, band and choir for 8 years, has played trumpet in multiple professional organizations, works with high brass sections for marching band at various schools and mom to 2.

Mary Grace Barbye

Advisory Board Member - ILEETA Director Sales and Marketing

Mary Grace brings over 30 years of sales and marketing experience, and has been recognized as an outstanding professional. Her experience in the law enforcement community began as the marketing coordinator for a non-profit membership association where she created a turnkey marketing and sales operation of advertising, exhibitor sales and corporate sponsor programs. Further, Mary Grace’s experience includes arranging and implementing contractual agreements between law enforcement/government agencies and manufacturers matching agency needs to product assets. Being ambitious and conscientious, coupled with her attention to detail, has been the foundation for her proven track record of successfully meeting the marketing objectives of her clients. As the Director of Sales and Marketing for ILEETA, Mary Grace is responsible for promoting the benefits of an affiliation with ILEETA through exhibitor displays at the annual conference, corporate sponsorship and any other programs that will promote safety and education to those individuals sworn to protect our communities.

Raymond A. Merlin

Advisory Board Member/Executive Director Designee

Raymond A. Merlin served In the United States Marine Corps for 4 years and over 28 years on the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Dept, working 3rd shift patrol and a member of the Tactical Response Team.  He retired in 2019 as Sgt. in charge of the Training Division.  Ray is an instructor in Defensive Tactics, Principles of Subject Control, Firearms, Professional Communications, Crowd management, and Ground Defense.  Previously he has served on Advisory Committee’s for the State of WI DOJ Training and Standards Bureau.  Most recently, he served as Interim Security Director for Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI between July 2022-July 2023.  He is an Adjunct instructor for Gateway Technical College-WI, Instructing for the Law Enforcement academy, in-service training, and coordinator for Specialty training.  In addition, he is an Instructor for Team One and First H.E.L.P.   He has his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Minor in Human Resource from Concordia University. Finally, he is a board member for: Tactical Advisory Committee-WI DOJ Training and Standards, Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics State Director-WI (Emeritus) Midwest Tactical Officer’s Association Board Member (Corrections) (Emeritus), POSC Advisory Committee-WI DOJ Training and Standards (Emeritus) Every Child’s Place Board Member-Kenosha.

Joe Willis

Advisory Board Member/Deputy Executive Director Designee

Joe is a retired US Army Military Police First Sergeant who currently serves as a Training and Development Specialist for the US Navy. He is also the Chief Learning Officer at First H.E.L.P. and an Adjunct Instructor for Team One Network. Since his retirement in 2016 he also served as a Training Specialist with the Center for Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) and as the Director of Training and Business Development at Team One Network. Prior to retiring from the Army Joe served as the Operations Sergeant Major for a Combined Arms Training Brigade, Senior Enlisted Advisor and Tactics Instructor for the Department of Military Instruction at West Point, US Military Academy Equal Opportunity Program Manager, First Sergeant for a Military Police Company, and Special Investigator for the incidents at Abu Ghraib. Other assignments include; Law Enforcement Operations Sergeant, Special Reaction Team Commander, Investigator, and Patrolman.

Jenny Merlin

Director of Operations Designee

Jenny Merlin currently teaches physical fitness in the Law Enforcement Academy at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, WI. She is a Retired Probation & Parole Agent with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. She served in this role for 25 years. Prior to this, she was a Police Officer with the WI University Systems for 6 years having worked at UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside and UW-Whitewater campuses. Jenny also worked part-time for the Kenosha County Controlled Substances Unit in an undercover capacity for 3 years. Previously, Jenny was also a member of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics – State Committee for over 10 years.

Steve Ashley

Advisory Board Member

Steve Ashley spent fifteen years as a full time law enforcement officer. Steve is a certified instructor in many police subjects, including firearms, driving, radar, chemical munitions, TASER, and defensive tactics, and has attended over 5,500 hours of advanced police training. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at several Michigan colleges, and at the Smith and Wesson Academy. Prior to his recent retirement, he was the Chief Driving Instructor and a use-of-force instructor for the Washtenaw Police Academy, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Steve attended Michigan State University where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, and Eastern Michigan University, where he earned a second Master’s Degree. Steve also attended Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. He is a multi-session graduate of the Smith & Wesson Academy (where he earned the designation Master Force & Control Instructor), and of the prestigious Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Steve has worked as a law enforcement expert witness since 1995, consulting on numerous cases. He specializes in use of force, motor vehicle operations, arrest practices and police procedural issues. Steve has been an invited staff member at many training and management conferences. He has published numerous articles, and is recognized nationally as an authority in risk management and its application to the use of force/control, and vehicle operations. He is an active member of the ILEETA Advisory Board, IALEFI, Phi Kappa Phi, ALERT International, Alpha Phi Sigma, and American MENSA, and is a lifetime member of the Police Marksman Association. Steve serves as the ILEETA WebMaster.

Massad Ayoob

Advisory Board Member

Capt. Massad Ayoob of the Grantham (NH) PD has been teaching weaponry and use of force to law enforcement officers for some 30 years. Voted the Outstanding American Handgunner of the Year in 1998, Ayoob founded the Lethal Force Institute in 1981 and served as chair of ASLET’s firearms committee from 1987 on. He is the author of numerous books, articles, and training videos that are used widely in law enforcement.

Roger Benn

Advisory Board Member

Roger Benn is a technology and operations leader with 15+ years’ experience in various industries spanning: higher education to healthcare, municipal government, non-profit, and business to business sales. He currently serves as Leader of Operations and IT Collaboration at Excellus BCBS. He has served as an instructor for law enforcement in-service and recruit school and also teaches sign language. He has served as conference staff for ILEETA Conferences as Director of Instructor Support He is also Director of Information Technology for ILEETA.

John Bostain

Advisory Board Member

John Bostain began his Law Enforcement career in 1990 serving four years in the United States Navy. In 1994, John joined the Hampton Police Division (HPD) in Hampton, Virginia where he became a Uniformed Patrol Officer and was quickly promoted to Patrol Supervisor. John was assigned to the Bicycle Patrol Unit, S.W.A.T. Team, Narcotics Investigations, Property Crimes Detective Unit and was the Lead Advisor for the Law Enforcement Exploring Post. John also served as the Lead Police Academy Instructor at the Hampton Roads Regional Academy of Criminal Justice (HRRACJ) and became Certified by the State of Virginia as a Defensive Tactics, Firearms, and Defensive Driving Instructor. In 2001 John Bostain joined the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, GA and held various positions as an Instructor, Senior Instructor, and Program Specialist during his time with the agency. In 2013, John joined Calibre Press where he became a Lead Instructor and Course Developer for the “Anatomy of Force Incidents” and “Ultimate FTO” Courses. John is also a Street Survival Seminar Instructor and certified Force Science Analyst. For the past 15 years John has been a National Trainer, instructing more than 10,000 Police Officers at State, Local, and Federal Levels. John teaches in Subject Matter – Use of Force, Officer Safety, Control Tactics, Firearms, Driving, Instructor Development and he is a Below100, LLC Certified Train the Trainer Instructor. In 2012 John became the recipient of the prestigious “Law Officer Magazine Trainer of the Year Award” recognizing his efforts and commitment to law enforcement training. John is Charter Member and Advisory Board Member for the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) and the past editor of the ILEETA Journal.

Mike Brave

Legal Advisor & Advisory Board Member

Michael Brave is the President of LAAW International, Inc., and the former President of the International Force Institute, Inc. He is also the Director of Law Enforcement and Security Consulting for API Services, Inc. His experience includes involvement in a wide-range of comprehensive law enforcement and private security risk/liability and litigation management services including: training programs, policy development and review, liability/risk assessments, training appraisals, department audits, post critical incident analysis, etc. He has also served as a litigation consultant and an expert witness in federal civil rights issues; sudden custody and/or unforeseeable death; positional asphyxia; restraint; handcuffing; law enforcement policy, training, supervision, discipline, retention, and termination; use of force (including deadly force, batons, pepper spray, electronic restraint, physical restraint, neck restraints, defensive tactics); vehicle operations (including pursuits, road blocks, emergency operation, occupant restraint); canines; jail issues (including suicides); failure to protect; failure to provide medical care, failure to act; and numerous other cases. Mr. Brave is formerly the Chief of the Intelligence and Investigative Operations Unit, Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), United States Department of Justice (DOJ), in Washington, D.C. In that position, he oversaw several highly sensitive law enforcement programs. Mr. Brave also held the concurrent position of Deputy Director for International Operations of the Federal Witness Security Program where he coordinated the foreign aspects of the Program, including a portion of Plan Colombia, for the official who oversaw the Program in the DOJ. Mr. Brave=s other DOJ duties included: OEO Use-of-Force and Firearms Training Officer, Criminal Division Security Officer, and Division Watch Officer. Mr. Brave was also a Special Deputy United States Marshall and his National Security Information security clearance was above Top Secret. As a certified, and nationally recognized, instructor in several facets of deadly force, many non-lethal, and less-than-lethal programs, several law enforcement vehicle operation programs, and others, Mike has presented hundreds of law enforcement risk/liability management programs across the country, and numerous internationally (including the United Kingdom and Mexico). Mike has also served as the lead attorney for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration for their Occupant Restraint Risk Management Program. Mike is (since 1983) a certified Wisconsin law enforcement officer. Additionally, he has served as a (part-time) police legal advisor, trainer, field training officer, and patrol captain. Mike is the Legal Advisor and an Ex-Officio Advisory Board member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. Mike has served on the National Advisory Boards of the Police Law Institute, the Jail Law Institute, and Defense Training International, Inc. He is a former member of the Executive Board of the American Society for Law Enforcement Training (ASLET). He also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Legal Officers’ Section of the IACP and is a former consultant to the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Manual. Mike has published articles in periodicals including the Police Chief, American City & County, the Prosecutor, Police & Security News, Public Risk, the ASLET Journal, Casino Enterprise Management, the International Use of Force Journal, the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Manual, and others; and has also presented several programs on the Law Enforcement Television Network. Mike’s prior experience includes being an attorney for a St. Paul (MN) law firm with special emphasis on municipal and liability defense, and being the personnel and special projects director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a leading provider of attorney litigation education. Mr. Brave holds a Juris Doctor degree from Hamline University School of Law, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Management Technology from the University of Wisconsin – Stout. He has been certified as a Certified Protection Specialist and a Certified Security Trainer. He is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court; the 7th, 8th, and D.C. Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal; Wisconsin and Minnesota State Courts; and others.

Dennis Carroll

Advisory Board Member

Dennis served in Law Enforcement for 28 years, retiring as Lieutenant of Police with the Schaumburg Illinois Police Department July of 2007. Dennis worked patrol operations, FTO, defensive tactics instructor, firearms instructor, ICE Narcotics-Money Laundering Task Force, patrol Sergeant, training director, tactical unit commander, investigations, community relations, PIO, range master – armorer, patrol watch commander and graduated from Northwestern University Traffic Institute Staff & Command Class 133. He is a certified University of Illinois – Police Training Institute Master Firearms Instructor, and has instructor certifications in Patrol Rifle, Pistol, Revolver, Shotgun, SMG, Less Lethal and Ballistic Shield. He is a certified armorer for the 1911 system, AR-15, and Sig Sauer weapon platforms. Dennis serves as a Sig Sauer Academy Instructor. Dennis currently works with a Department of Defense Contractor manufacturing military and law enforcement weapon systems and weapon components. Dennis serves ILEETA as an Advisory Board member, Conference Planning Committee, and as the ILEETA Cup Match Director. He is a member of; International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, Illinois Tactical Officers Association, National Tactical Officers Association, NRA-Patron Life, United States Practical Shooting Association and is certified as Nationals Range Officer Institute, Range Officer.

Raymond Cordell

Advisory Board Member

Raymond E. Cordell currently serves as Deputy Chief of Police in the Village of South Barrington, Illinois. Second in command and responsible for a $2.2 million budget, he is direct supervisor of a sworn force of 24 and four civilian employees. He is the author of all general orders and implements policy for the department. He serves as the training manager, community policing project manager, and racial profiling/traffic data collection project manager. He is also a State of Illinois certified firearms instructor. A 20 + year veteran of the department, Deputy Chief Cordell has held positions of increased responsibility throughout his career. Concurrent with his law enforcement employment, Deputy Chief Cordell is an associate in Charles A. Gruber Consulting, a private consulting company concentrated primarily on matters of concern to law enforcement, where he researches topics related to police use of force, and makes curriculum and policy recommendations pertaining to police use of force. Deputy Chief Cordell has many professional memberships and civic affiliations including the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the Illinois Tactical Officers Association; Lexipol Illinois Advisory Board; Northwestern University Center for Public Safety and Roosevelt University alumni associations; and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, where he serves as vice-chairman of the training committee. Ray is a graduate of Roosevelt University and currently enrolled in a Master of Public Administration program at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command and their Senior Management Leadership Program.

Todd Fletcher

Advisory Board Member

Todd Fletcher has over 30 years of law enforcement experience as a patrol officer, criminal detective, patrol sergeant, and training sergeant. Todd is a field training officer, empty hand control tactics, Taser, collapsible baton, pepper spray, Use of Force, and firearms instructor. He is also an AR-15/M-16/M-4, Glock, Sig P320, and Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol armorer.

Todd presents law enforcement firearms training at the basic, advanced, and instructor development levels. He has presented training at various regional, national, and international conferences for law enforcement, private security, and military personnel including the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) Conference.

Todd has written numerous articles on firearms training, building search training, leadership, instructor development, and active shooter training for professional publications including The ILEETA Journal. He is also a regular columnist for PoliceOne.com, American Police Beat magazine, and Police & Security News.

LouAnn Hamblin

Advisory Board Member

Lou Ann Hamblin retired from a Michigan-based police department after having proudly served the law enforcement profession for 22 years. Lou Ann has had many roles during her law enforcement career to include uniform patrol, bike patrol, training, undercover street narcotics and prostitution operations. She also had a temporary assignment with a DEA Task Force. She holds a master’s degree in Human Performance Technology and Instructional Design from the University of Michigan. In 2015 She received alumnus of the year from U of M’s School of Education for the work she has done in public service training.

Lou Ann is co-owner of LouKa Tactical, a law enforcement training and consulting service provider operating since 1999. Lou Ann holds instructor certifications in a variety of disciplines. She specializes in training female officers and has personally trained over 4600 law enforcement women in pistol alone. She is a Team One Network adjunct instructor and a Master Pistol Instructor through H/K and IALEFI. Since 1997 she has instructed internationally in the areas of instructor development, training for specialty units and officer survival to include presentations at: The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), National Tactical Officer’s Association (NTOA), Michigan Tactical Officer’s Association (MTOA) International Association of Women Police (IAWP) and A Girl and a Gun conferences, to name a few.

Lou Ann authored the “Firearms Training” chapter in International Police Mountain Bike Association’s (IPMBA) Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling 2nd edition has authored many articles appearing in Law and Order, Police Marksman, the IPMBA Newsletter, the ILEETA Journal, IALEFI’S Firearms Instructor, and has served on IALEFI’s board of directors since 2006. She currently serves on the advisory board for PoliceOne.com and is a former consultant and presenter with Calibre Press-Women’s Street Survival Seminars. Lou Ann is a charter member of ILEETA, was ILEETA’s Iron Cop in 2009 and spoke at the inaugural Emerson Hour.

Brian Hill

Advisory Board Member

Brian, an ILEETA charter member, works for an agency in the Denver metro area. He has over 20 of law enforcement experience. He is also the owner of MentalAmmo.com, a law Enforcement training provider. Brian is a former Vice-Chair for Colorado P.O.S.T. Arrest Control SME Committee. He was a member of the P.O.S.T. committee for 15 years. He is also the editor of the Officer Safety/Use of Force section of the ILEETA Journal. Brian is also an advisor for Blue H.E.L.P.

Timothy Janowick

Advisory Board Member

Timothy Janowick is the Deputy Chief of the Field Operations Division with the Mount Prospect (IL) Police Department where he has served since July 1994 and a charter member of ILEETA. During his career, he has served as an evidence technician, youth officer, supervisor of the Major Accident Investigation Team, patrol sergeant, trainer, training coordinator, and Operations Commander. In 2004, the agency tasked him with developing the department’s first in-house training program. Over 6 years, the program grew to include 33 instructors teaching topics including first aid/CPR, use of force, defensive tactics, use of intermediary weapons, racial profiling, firearms tactics, ballistic shield use for patrol, physical fitness and nutrition, and police suicide awareness. Janowick specializes in teaching use of force, racial profiling, adult learning, and management/leadership. He continues to provide training to the Mount Prospect Police Department, to police recruits as an adjunct instructor with the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage, and to law enforcement officers as an instructor with the North East Multi-Regional Training Group (NEMRT), ILEETA, and other law enforcement organizations. He served as an Advisory Board member for the Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association (IPITA) for several years, a local precursor to ILEETA. Professional memberships include the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the American Society for Training and Development, and the Illinois Tactical Officers Association.

Daryl Johnson

Advisory Board Member

During a 20 year Air Force career, Daryl competed nationally and internationally for the USAF team. Daryl retired in 1995 from military and competitive martial arts. Daryl Johnson started his law enforcement career as a Teller County Sheriff’s deputy and moved on to Colorado Springs PD. Daryl retired from the SWAT team, continued into a security position with NASA in Louisiana and then close protection for ExxonMobil Country Mgr in Papua New Guinea. Daryl continued to UAE to train the Abu Dhabi Police Dept and the royal family protection team until 2016. His favorite subjects are Use of Force, Defensive Tactics, and Firearms. Daryl is a 6th Degree Black Belt (Master Instructor) of Sanuces Ryu Jiu-Jitsu and has been training since he was 11 years old. As a certified instructor for over 40 years, his training includes CQB, ground defense, stick and knife tactics. Daryl has utilized some of these tactics as a law enforcement officer and has proven their effectiveness on the street. Daryl is currently training civilians in self-protection.

Robert “Coach” Lindsey

Advisory Board Member

“Coach ” is a retired law enforcement officer of 35 years.  Since retirement he continues to publish and teach basic and advanced courses at the academy and college levels. He is a graduate of Loyola University, New Orleans and  the FBI National  Academy.  He continues to devote his life to keeping officers safe in the performance of their duties and is the author of the “Mental Preparation for Winning and Surviving On and Off Duty” series.

David McRoberts

Advisory Board Member

David W. McRoberts served the citizens of Kenosha County Wisconsin 26 years as a Municipal Police Officer for the Twin Lakes Police Dept., as a Deputy Sheriff, advancing through the ranks to Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain. The scope of his responsibilities included: Patrol Operations Supervisor, Patrol Operations Shift Commander, Jail Administrator, Detentions Division Commander, and Unit Commander of the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department Tactical Response Team (SWAT). Since 1985 David W. McRoberts, (“Mac”) has been a Wisconsin State Certified Law Enforcement Instructor for the Department of Justice/Division of Training and Standards. He is a national trainer and has delivered a diverse variety of instructional blocks to thousands of law enforcement officers, emergency and protective service personnel as well as private citizens. As a trainer and presenter, he has been featured as a speaker at many professional conferences and workshops. David is the author of many written contributions to various publications, periodicals and professional journals nationwide. In 1994 David was assigned Jail Transition Team duties for Kenosha County to work in concert with design and construction professionals for the construction of a new 600 bed Detention Facility, and a 200 bed Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Upon completion he assumed the Detentions Division Command responsibilities to develop the operational programming and policies to operate the new jail facilities, and manage the 1000 inmate population. A husband, and father of three, David is a career law enforcement professional.

Eric Nowicki

Advisory Board Member

Eric Nowicki is an Officer with the Muskego, Wisconsin, Police Department and a 15 year law enforcement veteran. Eric holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S. from Cardinal Stritch University. His current assignment is as a School Resource Officer. He is the survivor of an encounter where the subject he and his partner confronted was fatally shot, which was ruled a justified shooting. He has taught across the nation in various Use of Force topics and regularly teaches Traffic Stops with Lt. Harvey Hedden at Milwaukee Area Technical College. He is also an Instructor Trainer in both OCAT (Oleoresin Capsicum Aerosol Training) and PATH (Practical and Tactical Handcuffing).

Mark Pearce

Advisory Board Member

Mark Pearce is Training Director for the Decisive Tactics Group, based in the UK. Mark is a part time Staff Protection Trainer for Hertfordshire Constabulary in the UK, and for the last four and a half years has been back on uniformed patrol duties in a neighbourhood team. Mark has been teaching in the law enforcement field for over 23 years. He is a use of force specialist and has many years experience in teaching confrontational management skills, including escalating to the lawful use of deadly force. He is an acknowledged trainer at the local government level, able to train and certify in many areas of Unarmed Defensive Tactics, Baton, Handcuffs, Chemical agents, and TASER. Mark is a former staff firearms instructor at Grant Akin & Lang, one of the UK’s’ premier shooting schools, and is a current staff instructor for LFI in Florida.

Laura Scarry

Advisory Board Member

Laura L. Scarry is a charter member of ILEETA and has given presentations at several ILEETA conferences. She is a partner in the law firm of DeAno & Scarry, with offices located in Wheaton & Chicago, IL, where the majority of her practice involves representing police officers and their agencies against claims of civil rights violations in both state and federal courts. She is also a former police officer with the Lake Forest, Illinois, Police Department.

Ron Scheidt

Advisory Board Member

Ron Scheidt is the Director of Safety Training with Community Corrections Institute and a retired Senior United States Probation Officer with the District of Nebraska. He has an extensive background in martial arts and street survival tactics.  Ron has instructed on a variety of law enforcement topics throughout the United States and is a charter member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association.

Larry Smith

Advisory Board Member

Larry Smith is a retired lieutenant from the San Diego, California, Police Department. He has 34 years police experience and 38 years of college level teaching experience. He served as a field training officer and an in-service training coordinator for the department and was the lead Arrest and Control Instructor at the San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Academy. He is an active law enforcement trainer with LS Enterprises.

Tony Zanti

Advisory Board Member

A former Campus Patrolman, Deputy Sheriff and Police Officer in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area, Tony Zanti served twice in the US Army, first as a member of the military police and then as a medic, also gaining brief but meaningful training in the intelligence and special forces fields. He holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the State University of New York, and he now operates out of Italy in the executive protection field, also offering tactical training to police and military operators internationally.

Expert witness, tactical journalist and author, he wrote three books and over one hundred articles – mostly in Italian – on the subjects of security and tactical training. Tony created DCS (Dynamic Combat Shooting®), a realistic reactive shooting method geared towards operator survivability, characterized by innovative techniques and tactics, which are often opposed to the traditional tactical training doctrine.

Advisory Board Members Emeritus

These members have served ILEETA’s Advisory Board.

Alexis Artwohl

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Alexis Artwohl, Ph.D. is a law enforcement trainer and consultant who provides training and consultation across the USA and Canada. Her areas of training include: achieving peak performance in high stress situations, preparing to survive deadly force encounters, investigating critical incidents and officer-involved shootings, and managing the psychological damage caused by trauma and organizational stress. Dr. Artwohl is co-author of the book DEADLY FORCE ENCOUNTERS: WHAT COPS NEED TO KNOW TO MENTALLY PREPARE FOR AND SURVIVE A GUNFIGHT, written with retired police officer Loren W. Christensen. During her 16 years as a private practice clinical and police psychologist, she provided traumatic incident debriefings and psychotherapy to numerous public safety personnel and their family members.

Roy Bethge

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Roy Bethge is a veteran police leader with more than 29 years of law enforcement experience. He retired in May of 2017 as Deputy Chief of the Buffalo Grove Police Department in Northern Illinois. He holds a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Columbia College and has an extensive background as a trainer in the subject areas of leadership development, officer safety, use of force, and adult learning. Mr. Bethge is the co-founder and lead instructor of The Virtus Group, Inc. which brings innovative leadership training and development to law enforcement professionals around the country. As part of that endeavor, Mr. Bethge is the co-creator of the WINx: Inspiring Leadership in Law Enforcement conference which is a TED-styled experience focused on law enforcement professionals. He is also the Executive Director of Below 100, a not-for-profit organization trying to reduce police officer line-of duty-deaths and preventable injuries, an instructor for Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training as well as a private consultant.

Bill Harvey

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

William L. “Bill” Harvey was the chief of police of the Ephrata Police Department (PA) . Prior to this he was the chief of police for the Lebanon City Police Department (PA) for over six years. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps. Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department. He served in field operations, investigations and support services, and completed his career there as the director of training. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). He has published over 500 articles in professional periodicals and continues to  lecture nationwide. He retired back to Central Virginia.

Tom Engelmann

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Tom Engelmann has more than 30 years of police experience. He began his career as a military police officer in 1975. His civilian law enforcement career began in 1979 and he has served at the local, county and state level. Tom became a firearms instructor in 1987 and a defensive tactics instructor in 1993. He retired from the Nassau County (NY) Police Department in 1999. In 2000 Tom and his family relocated to the Syracuse, New York area. He accepted a position with the Cazenovia Police Department. In 2005 Tom was appointed as the Director of Campus Safety for Cazenovia College. He continues to serve as a part time officer with the Cazenovia Police Department. He is also an instructor at the Delaware County (NY) Law Enforcement Academy and the Otsego County (NY) Law Enforcement Academy. Tom is a member of IALEFI, the New York State Tactical Officers Association, the Northeast Colleges and Universities Security Association and a charter member of ILEETA. He is a member of the Law Enforcement Ambassador program of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund and has represented ILEETA during National Police Week in Washington DC since 2004.

Dave Grossman

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Lt. Col. Grossman is a former West Point psychology professor, Army Ranger, internationally recognized scholar, author, soldier, and speaker, and author of the Pulitzer-nominated book On Killing. Col. Grossman is co-author of Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill. He has authored/co-authored three entries to the Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict and an entry to The Oxford Companion to American Military History, He is one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of human aggression and the roots of violent crime, as well as how to deal with and prevent killing. Col. Grossman has testified before U.S. Senate and Congressional committees and numerous state legislatures with regard to the effects of violence in the media on children. He trained mental health professionals in the aftermath of the Jonesboro shootings, and has been an expert witness and consultant in several murder cases including those of Timothy McVeigh and Michael Carneal. In the year 2000, Col. Grossman presented papers to the annual conventions of the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association.

Rick Rosenthal

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Rick has walked the walk on both sides of the street when it comes to law enforcement – media relations. First, he was (and is) a journalist. For 30 years Rick was a TV and radio news anchorman and reporter (22 years on the air in Chicago, including 10 years as senior news anchor on superstation WGN-TV.) Rick left broadcasting in 1993. In 1995 he began a new career providing media relations training to agencies of law enforcement around the country. In those nine years he has trained thousands of officers from hundreds of local, county, state and federal agencies. The media relations manual that he wrote to accompany his training is considered one of the definitive publications on law enforcement media relations. Rick has been the principal police – media relations instructor for the Executive Management programs of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety (formerly the Traffic Institute); the Command Officer Development programs of the Southern Police Institute; and the Executive Management Institute programs of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). From 1996 to 2002 Rick was also the monthly media relations columnist for Law & Order magazine. In 2000 his columns for L&O were recognized by the International Union of Police Associations with a Quill and Badge Award for excellence in law enforcement journalism. Rick graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1967 with a degree in Political Science/International Law. Rick is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists; the Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association; the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association; the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers; and the Illinois and International Associations of Chiefs of Police. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the National Law Enforcement and Security Institute.

Guy Rossi

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Guy Rossi is a retired Police Sergeant of the Rochester, New York Police Department who specialized in patrol, recruit, field training and defensive tactics instruction. He has been a nationally recognized law enforcement trainer since 1982. His experiences in officer survival skills have been published in over two hundred magazine articles and chapters in books on training. Upon retiring from active duty he was employed as a Program Coordinator of Curriculum Development for the Public Safety Training Facility of Monroe Community College (MCC). Presently he is a Program Coordinator of Curriculum Development for the Homeland Security Management Institute of MCC. Guy has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education – Instructional Design. He is also a proud charter member of the International Law Enforcement and Educators Training Association (ILEETA) and serves as the Editor of the prestigious ILEETA Review. In his spare time Guy continues to peck away at law enforcement training related articles as well as a serial killer novel he has been working on entitled, “Bloodline.”

Chuck Soltys

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Chuck Soltys is a 24 year law enforcement veteran. He began his career as a municipal police officer in 1986 in Illinois, serving three years in the patrol division and two years in the criminal investigations division. In 1991, Chuck joined the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a special agent. In his 18 years with the DEA, he has been assigned to enforcement groups that specialize in the investigation of large scale international drug trafficking cartels, money laundering investigations, telephone intercept/wire tap investigations, the Mobile Enforcement Team (MET) which focuses on street gang related drug trafficking, and served three tours of duty on a jungle operations team in South and Central America as a member of Operation Snowcap (the DEA jungle interdiction program targeting clandestine narcotics production in the cocaine producing source countries). Chuck is a certified firearms/tactics/DT instructor and Tactical Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) and served as the Primary Firearms & Tactics Instructor and Tactical Emergency Medical Service coordinator for the Chicago Field Division for five years. During that time, he was responsible for the coordination and training of DEA agents and task force officers as well as state, county, and municipal police officers in the five states that comprise the Chicago Field Division. He is currently assigned to a general street enforcement group. Chuck holds numerous instructor certifications and has instructed extensively in the United States as well as South and Central America, Africa, and Europe. Chuck is a Charter Member of ILEETA and holds membership in the Illinois Tactical Officers Association (ITOA) where he is a member of the ITOA Board of Directors and TEMS Committee Co-Chair. Chuck belongs to the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), as well as numerous other professional organizations. Chuck has written numerous articles and is a contributing writer to PoliceOne.com. Chuck has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, where he earned two varsity letters as a Spartan football player.

Michael O’Malley

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Michael O’Malley is President and Owner of Personal Protection Consultants, Inc. of Kulpsville, PA. Since 1990, Personal Protection Consultants has offered personal safety and security consultations to organizations such as police, corporations, security, correctional, and civic agencies. Mike and PPCI Training recently took over the administration of the OCAT® and PATHTM Training programs. Mike served a total of 15 years as a Pennsylvania municipal police officer, five of those years as a detective. He also worked for three years as a correctional officer. He was a Police Defensive Tactics Instructor for over twenty years and has been an Instructor for the Montgomery County, PA Police Academy for over six years. Mike is also certified in Pennsylvania as an Instructor in Municipal Police Training and Lethal Weapons Training Acts (120 and 235). He is a certified instructor trainer in several nationally recognized training programs such as Management of Aggressive Behavior (MOAB®), Oleoresin Capsicum Aerosol Training (OCAT®), PATHTM, Monadnock Expandable Baton, and CASCO Expandable Baton. Mike has trained and certified thousands of civilians, security and law enforcement personnel in corporations, schools, police agencies, civic organizations, hospitals, correctional facilities, military and other federal institutions in all aspects of personal safety.

Roland Ouellette

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Roland Ouellette is President and Founder of MOAB® Training International, Inc., one of the nation’s leading training organizations that specialize in management of aggressive behavior training. Since 1983, he has been providing training and consulting services to numerous corporations, law enforcement organizations, security, academic, healthcare, military and federal agencies. Over 4,000 national and international agencies have benefited from his work Mr. Ouellette brings over 30 years of experience as a trainer in the fields of law enforcement, military, corrections, private security, and healthcare. He has taught courses and lectured on Use-of-Force to law enforcement, military, corrections, and private security groups throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, Trinidad, Switzerland, and England. He is a retired lieutenant from the Connecticut State Police Department, served in the Army Security Agency, was a supervisor for the Connecticut Department of Corrections, and was an adjunct faculty member teaching law enforcement and security courses at Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College. He is well known for his development of the “Management of Aggressive Behavior” (MOAB®) program and is the author of the book by that title. He is also a contributing author of the highly acclaimed book, “Total Survival” and the co-developer of the Oleoresin Capsicum Aerosol Training (OCAT®) program and manual. He has presented at the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Annual Seminars in St. Louis, Atlanta, and New Orleans. He has also provided training in “aggressive behavior” and “use of force” for members of ASIS chapters in Maine, North Carolina, Michigan, New York, California, Delaware, Washington DC, and Connecticut.

Joe Sciammarella, MD, FACP, FACEP

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Joseph Sciammarella, MD, FACP, FACEP, is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. He is a full-time Emergency Medicine physician and has practiced Emergency Medicine for 23 years. Dr. Sciammarella served as the full-time Medical Director of the Suffolk County, NY Emergency Medical Services system from 1989-1994. He is the author of numerous scientific articles, has written chapters in several emergency medicine textbooks, and is the author/editor of an Emergency Medicine board review CD-ROM program. He has lectured extensively before national and international emergency medicine and cardiovascular care audiences. In 1994, Dr. Sciammarella was a featured participant on the nationally broadcast PBS documentary “When Seconds Count”. Dr. Sciammarella studied Bo Fung Do Kung Fu under Phil Messina at Modern Warrior in Lindenhurst, NY for 10 years and continues to serve as Modern Warrior’s Medical Consultant. He is also an AWSDA-certified Rape Prevention Instructor, a member of the American Society for Law Enforcement Training and is a charter member and Medical Adviser to ILEETA. From 1999 – 2000 he served as the medical consultant for the defense team in the Amadou Diallo murder trial in New York State. In 2004, at the age of 50, Dr. Sciammarella was sworn into the U.S. Army reserve as a Major in the Medical Corps. Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Sciammarella is a veteran of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Neal Trautman

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Dr. Trautman is Director of both the Global Institute of Law Enforcement Supervision at the University of Southern MS and the nonprofit National Institute of Ethics. He is also the President of the International Association of Ethics Trainers and was previously a founder of the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN). He completed his doctorate course work at the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami. His dissertation and doctorate degree was fulfilled at St. John’s University. Neal has authored ten textbooks, been the researcher for extensive national studies, instructed over 600 ethics seminars and was bestowed the ASLET, Joseph Boyd Award for Service to Society. He chaired the International Association of Chiefs of Police Ethics Sub-Committee; Chaired the American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers, Ethics Committee; Co-chaired the IACP Police Image and Ethics Committee; and Chaired the ASLET Professional Development Committee.

In Memory of Phil Brankin

Advisory Board Member Emeritus

Philip A. Brankin joined NEMRT in July of 1986, as the Administrative Operations Coordinator. He was promoted to Deputy Director in November of 1989 and then again to Director in May of 1992. He has a B.A. in History from DePaul University and an M.S. in Management from National College of Education. A veteran of four years in the U.S. Army where he attained the rank of Captain, Phil also spent fourteen years in law enforcement, reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He has extensive experience in patrol, investigations and police management. During Phil’s tenure at NEMRT, revenues were increased by 266%, and the fund balance grew by 1,152%. During the same period, the number of member agencies participating in NEMRT rose from 223 to 320. The number of in-service training classes, programs and workshops increased from 484 in 1992 to 879 in 2002. In November of 1999, NEMRT was certified by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). It was the fifth such certified training agency in the nation. In July of 2003, NEMRT become only the second public safety training academy in the nation to be fully accredited by CALEA. John is a charter member of ILEETA.

In memory of ILEETA Founder Ed Nowicki

Executive Director Emeritus – Advisory Board Member 1947-2019

Ed Nowicki was ILEETA’s first Executive Director, and continued in his role as an ILEETA Charter Member, and member of the Advisory Board. Ed was also Executive Director of the National Criminal Justice Training Council (NCJTC) and a 33 year law enforcement veteran. Ed held a B.S. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Management. A recipient of many prestigious awards, Ed was been judicially recognized as a use of force expert in many courts across the nation and he has taught various use of force programs both across the nation and internationally. He developed the NCJTC Use of Force Program and was a Master Instructor in both the OCAT Program and the NCJTC Handcuffing Program, in addition to being an Instructor Trainer with the Tasertron TASER. Ed was a survivor of six separate shooting incidents, and he has authored a number of books and over 200 law enforcement articles. He also wrote the “Use of Force” column for Law and Order magazine.  Ed believed that ILEETA could help trainers better prepare criminal justice professionals for the difficult and dangerous work they do and thereby keep their communities safe.  Ed founded ILEETA in 2003 with a simple philosophy of great communications, benefits and an annual conference that has become the largest gathering of criminal justice trainers in the world.

In memory of Chuck Mader 1943-2020

Advisory Board Member

Chuck Mader had over thirty years of progressive experience in the law enforcement profession. His experience included duty assignments as a uniform patrol officer; juvenile officer; detective; detective/sergeant; detective/commander; operations commander; and deputy chief. Chuck was also been a sworn police officer for the Village of Bloomingdale since 1973 and would eventually serve as the Deputy Chief, serving as second-in-command of the police department. His responsibilities in this position involved the coordination of the three major divisions (Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations/Youth Division and Administrative Services Division). Chuck was also the Range Master; Defensive Tactics Coordinator; Director of the Physical Fitness Program; Tactical Response Team Commander; and Training Director.

In Memory of Advisory Board Member Jim Smith 1952-2017

Jim Smith served law enforcement and law enforcement training for more than four decades. He started his career as a Military Policeman, serving in Viet Nam MP Units in 1971-1972. In 1973 he began his formal law enforcement career with the Fair Lawn (NJ) Police Department. Then he served from 1977 the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office moving to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department in 1980. Then from 1988 to 1994 he served as Chief of Police for the Village of Lake Moor (IL), the Town Of Randall (WI), and the Village Of Round Lake Heights (IL).In 1994 he served with Northeast Multi-Regional Training Inc. (NEMRT)Migrating to New York in 2000 where he began his Railroad Police Service. He retired in 2017 as a Special Agent with The CSXT Railroad where he was the unit training officer and at the time of his death, was the Chief of Blackriver and Western railroad line in New Jersey. Jim was a Charter member of the American Society of Law Enforcement trainers and he was a founding Member and Advisory Board Member of the Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association (IPITA). A Charter Member and Advisory Board Member of ILEETA and past Chairman of the Trinity of Dedication Foundation He has written several articles over the years, for publications such as Police Marksman, American Police Beat, and Police and Security News. In addition he writes regular columns for the Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association Newsletter (IPITA), The ILEETA Use of Force Journal and the ILEETA Digest and the ILEETA Review. Currently he is host of the popular weekend radio talk show “Let’s Talk Justice America” airing every Saturday Afternoon on the Blog Talk Radio Network.  Jim’s family meant everything to him and he loved to cook and barbeque.  He would often be invited to the home of a friend and be found helping prepare the meal.  Quietly and often without notice, Jim worked tirelessly since the inception of ILEETA to help make the organization a success as was a mentor to many other trainers who continue to benefit from his professionalism and fellowship.

In Memory of Advisory Board Member Brian Stover 1954-2013

Sgt. Brian Stover of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was, a 31-year law enforcement veteran and law enforcement trainer. Prior to joining the LASD, Stover served with state, county and municipal police agencies in Illinois. He had been involved in training officers since 1978. His areas of expertise included officer survival, firearms, less-lethal weapons, defensive tactics, baton and use of force. He was a court-recognized expert in baton use, firearms training, and use of force. He had appeared on television as a use-of-force expert. Brian was a Charter Member and Advisory Board Member of ILEETA, and served as conference staff since the inception of the association. He was an Advisory Board member and regular contributor to Police Magazine. Brian also served in the Civil Air Patrol.