Aaron has over 17 years of instructional experience ranging from graduate level to seminar-style instruction for both public and private sector organizations. He previously served as a master instructor for the Wisconsin Department of Justice Instructor Development Program. Aaron has served as an administrator responsible for coordinating law enforcement academies/jail academies, continuing education programs and advanced criminal justice training. In these roles he has been involved with instructor hiring and evaluation, instructor development, curricula design and audit. In addition, he is a member of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) Curriculum Review Committee that focuses on international instructional certification for law enforcement curriculum.

Amber Haluska is an Associate Principal at Wausau West High School in Wausau, Wisconsin. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology (Behavior Analysis Emphasis) and her graduate degree in School Psychology from UW-Eau Claire. She began her professional career as a School Psychologist and, from there, transitioned into a Program Director role for an Alternative School for students with significant behavioral needs. She completed both her Principal and Director of Special Education/Pupil Services license from St. Cloud State University. In the Wausau School District, Amber served as the Pupil Services Associate Principal for John Muir Middle School for 5 years prior to transitioning to Associate Principal at Wausau West High School for the past 3 years. Primarily, Amber has led efforts regarding students receiving special education services, school-wide safety and emergency procedures, truancy, English learners, and student discipline.

Angela Rodgers is an Associate Principal at John Muir Middle School in Wausau, Wisconsin. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Special Education and her graduate degree in Instructional Leadership from UW-Oshkosh. She began her teaching career as a Special Education teacher in the Appleton Area School District and worked with students who had emotional and behavioral disabilities and, from there, transitioned into leadership in the Wausau School District. In the Wausau School District, Angela served as the Pupil Services and Special Education Associate Principal for Horace Mann Middle School for 4 years prior to transitioning to Associate Principal at John Muir Middle School for the past 3 years. Through her experiences as a Special Education teacher and school leader, Angela has led efforts regarding students receiving special education services, school-wide safety, Head Chair for Marathon County Truancy, and student discipline.

Chris Prochut (pro-hut) is a mental health advocate and law enforcement suicide prevention trainer. Over the past ten years, Chris has had the honor to present to over 16,000 law enforcement officers across the United States and Canada on the topics of suicide and depression warning signs, medication myths, department policy revision, and told of his personal experience with the stigma of mental health issues. Chris is a member of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Death Response (LEDR) Team, a former trainer in QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) suicide prevention program, a FBI National Academy (FBINA) Enrichment Speaker, a FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) Officer Safety and Wellness Committee Member, and an active volunteer with BringChange2Mind; an organization founded by Actress Glenn Close to end the stigma surrounding mental illness Chris resides in Hartford, Wisconsin with his wife Jennifer and their children Chase (19) and Ashlyn (15).

Dana Miller is an Associate with the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College. Dana holds a master's degree in criminal justice, and she has worked extensively in education and harm prevention surrounding technology in the state of Wisconsin. Dana is a former Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Commander; in her tenure with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Dana managed the program operations for the ICAC Task Force, including managing Wisconsin CyberTips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and collaborating with Wisconsin law enforcement regarding investigations, outreach, and training events. Throughout her career, Dana has provided online safety outreach to over 30,000 people. She is creator and co-creator of multiple Wisconsin online safety programs and initiatives that continue to be utilized, and she teaches online safety primary prevention and responding to sextortion classes throughout the nation.

Dane Coonen has worked for the Appleton Police Department since 2006. He spent time on patrol and later took a position as an Elementary School Resource Officer. While working as an SRO, he was also assigned as a sensitive crimes investigator handling numerous sexual assaults and child abuse cases. Throughout the 6 years as an SRO, he became the lead trainer for active attack incidents at APD. While developing a working knowledge of active attack response, he developed an expertise in threat assessments. Dane is now assigned as the Threat Assessment Officer for the Appleton Police Department where he works with local, state, and federal agencies.

Dr. Brian Van Brunt has served as the assistant deputy director for training at Secure Community Network and is the lead content expert for InterACTT.org. Formerly a partner with TNG and the president of NABITA, the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment, Brian has provided consulting services to schools, colleges, and universities across the country and abroad on a wide variety of topics related to threat assessment, student mental health, counseling, campus violence, and behavioral intervention.He has reached well over 150,000 individual staff and faculty at colleges and workplaces across the country through on-site and virtual trainings, and remote, asynchronous training modules on violence, mental health, and suicide prevention. Brian has taught at several universities and colleges over his career. He has offered classes in counseling theory, ethics, program evaluation, statistics, and sociology for both graduate and undergraduate.

Dr. Hector R. Garcia is a 34-year veteran law enforcement, security, and education professional. He holds a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He has served in various capacities including 20+ years of experience in school police ranging from SRO to middle and executive management. Dr. Garcia has trained thousands of law enforcement and civilians in leadership, school safety, emergency management, criminal justice, public safety administration, and safety/security topics. Dr. Garcia has partnered with the US Department of State as a Police Advisor in Africa and in Central America to further democratic policing principles and rule of law implementation in these regions. He is credited with the development and implementation of the first SRO programs in North Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. He believes that knowledge and education are the keys to success in all endeavors.

Elizabeth Champion, MS, received a BS in English with a Technical Writing Emphasis and a BS in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an MS in Applied Psychology with a Community Health Emphasis at Sacred Heart University. Ms. Champion is currently the Executive Director of Child Advocacy Centers of Wisconsin, the statewide chapter supporting Wisconsin’s 15 child advocacy centers, 2 satellite centers, and other multidisciplinary teams investigating suspected child maltreatment statewide. Previously, Ms. Champion was the Children’s Justice Act Coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and the Executive Director of a community-based domestic and sexual abuse program. Ms. Champion serves on multiple statewide committees involved in child maltreatment, including the Children’s Justice Act Task Force, the Office of Crime Victim Services Grant Advisory Board, the Wisconsin Drug Endangered Children Steering Committee, and more.

Liz Ghilardi, MSW, LCSW received her BA at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Social Welfare and her MSW at Washington University, George Warren Brown School of Social Work in St. Louis. Ms. Ghilardi is currently the Forensic Interview Program Supervisor for Child Advocacy and Protection Services within Children’s Wisconsin. She has been employed at Children’s Wisconsin since l990. She has been with the Child Advocacy Center, working as a forensic interviewer, since l992. She has completed over 2000 interviews with children regarding allegations of child maltreatment and witness to violence. Ms. Ghilardi provides training for professionals, paraprofessionals & foster parents on issues of child sexual abuse, interviewing children, and sexualized behavior. She has also testified in court as an expert witness regarding child sexual abuse and interviewing. She currently supervises 10 forensic interviewers in the Children’s Wisconsin System throughout the state of Wisconsin as well.

Ms. Straub has been working in the violence prevention & intervention field for 25+ years and has worked with youth and families for more than 30 years. In addition to providing advocacy and support, Jane is a national trainer on topics such as the impact of trauma (ACE Study), trauma-responsive care, child sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual violence, stalking, trafficking, cyber/bullying, reproductive coercion, healthy relationships, consent and supporting disclosure. She was instrumental in creating the curriculum “From Trauma to Resilience: Fostering Hope through Trauma Informed Care”. Her training audience ranges from pre-school to college-age students, victim/survivors to offenders, parents, teachers, community leaders and all professionals working with youth and adults. One of Jane’s goals is to work collaboratively with fields such as law enforcement, all components of health, education, social services, and business to collectively connect the dots of risk & prevention.

Detective Sergeant Josh Uhernik (Retired) has 15 years of law enforcement experience and over 20 years of being an educator. He has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in criminal justice. Josh has served in many positions including Acting Chief, Shift Commander, Field Training Coordinator, and street crimes/drug investigations supervisor. Josh teaches as an adjunct instructor at a POST certified Police Academy on the Western Slope of Colorado facilitating many investigative classes. He has worked as lead detective in organizing marijuana investigations and has worked closely with the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division. He is a Colorado POST certified marijuana instructor and is a qualified expert witness in the Colorado 9th Judicial District in marijuana. He currently works as an instructor for Advanced Police Concepts as a Marijuana Subject Matter Expert, and he works for the Garfield County School District as a High School Special Education Teacher.

Kimberly has over twenty years of experience working as a Law Enforcement Officer and over 14 years teaching Criminal Justice courses at the university level. She holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice, earned at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Kimberly serves as a TEAM ADAM Consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). In this role, she assists police agencies in abducted or kidnapped missing children and long-term missing cases, human trafficking, and internet-based crimes. She also is the CART Coordinator (Child Abduction Response Team) for the Central Florida and Pasco County areas for NCMEC, coordinating efforts and additional resources amongst law enforcement agencies during child abductions. Her expertise derives from her years working in the Special Victim’s Unit for Orlando Police Department as a detective working missing juvenile, human trafficking, and cases of neglect, abuse, and sexual abuse.

Laura Clary has been a Registered Nurse-Forensic Nurse Examiner with the GBMC SAFE, DV & Child Protection Program for over 12 years. She is certified to care for patients across the lifespan that have been a victim of sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence & human trafficking. Mrs. Clary obtained National Professional Certification as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A) from the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) in 2013 & SANE-P in 2022. Mrs. Clary is an active member of the ANA, IAFN as well as the Maryland Child Abuse Medical Providers. She has trained nurses & physicians from all over the country. For her work caring for victims, she has received numerous accolades, including Baltimore's Top Nurse in 2016 & 2020. In May of 2017, she was nationally recognized and was awarded America's Most Amazing Nurse from Prevention Magazine & The Dr's television show. In 2018, she was awarded Baltimore's Woman of the Year.

Lauren Maldonado is currently the SRO for District 109 in Deerfield, Illinois. Her role covers school safety, community liaison, and teaching. She is contracted out within the district to work in 6 different schools, four K-5th grade schools (one school includes a preschool) and two 6-8th grade schools. For seven years, Lauren was an elementary school teacher and had extensive experience with differentiation within the classroom. She has transitioned this skill set into her police career by having outstanding strategies for engaging her elementary and middle school audience to absorb the knowledge she delivers.

Lynn Cook, MSW, CAPSW received her MSW at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 2008. Lynn works at Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services as the Children’s Justice Act Program and Policy Analyst where she is responsible for implementing statewide initiatives that improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse. Lynn's work history includes working as a Forensic Interviewer at the Milwaukee Child Advocacy Center where she conducted over 2,000 interviews, seven years as a Sensitive Crimes Advocate at the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, and work as a Prevention Education Coordinator in Racine Public Schools. Lynn is a contributor and faculty member of the Wisconsin Forensic Interview Guidelines and frequently testifies as an expert on criminal child abuse cases. She is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and holds a certificate in Trauma Counseling.

Lt. Mark Lowther (Retired) is a US Marine Corps veteran. Lt. Lowther has 31 years in public safety. He has served as a SWAT hostage negotiator for a major portion of his career. His background and experience come from serving on two Metro SWAT teams. He has personally been involved in numerous threatened suicide and SWAT negotiations including barricaded gunmen and hostage incidents. Lt. Lowther has spent most of his career in assignments involving crisis negotiation, suicide intervention, verbal de-escalation, peer support, Autism awareness, and mental illness. He has instructed law enforcement locally, nationally, and internationally on those topics. In addition to his law enforcement training, he has received specialized training in crisis counseling and psychological first aid. He currently volunteers working on a crisis hotline, and as a Peer Support team member with his service dog Dexter. Mark, although retired from full time law enforcement, continues to serve part time.

Melinda Tempelis is the District Attorney for Outagamie County and has been a prosecutor since 2003. In 2002, Ms. Tempelis received her law degree from UW-Madison and obtained a master’s in public affairs from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW – Madison. Ms. Tempelis has handled a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases, as well as juvenile delinquency and CHIPS cases. She specializes in victim crimes, including homicides, sexual assault, and child maltreatment cases. She is active on many multi-disciplinary committees and organizations associated with the criminal justice system. Ms. Tempelis has done training on a wide variety of topics for Fox Valley Technical College, the Office of Justice Assistance, and the Department of Justice. Ms. Tempelis is also a member of the Governor's Juvenile Justice Commission and a board member of the Wisconsin District Attorney's Association.

Nina is a retired Senior Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, having 25 years of distinguished service, holding top secret clearance, & earning title of Senior Special Agent. Nina is a certified master instructor for ATF at the National Academy in Glynco, GA. There, she instructs courses on explosives investigation, undercover investigation (basic & advanced), interviewing, and train the trainer. Nina conducted complex firearms, narcotics, explosive, and arson investigations, domestic & international terrorism investigations, and undercover investigations. Her significant career investigations include the Unabom investigation, the Williams Brothers investigation (arson of multiple synagogues, a reproductive health center & a double murder), and international terrorism cases following 9/11 with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Nina’s investigative work has been featured on syndicated shows including Forensic Files, Investigation Discovery and more.

Pat Griesbach is currently a Detective Sergeant for the Grand Chute Police Department and has been employed there since 2003. After having worked patrol, he was assigned as an investigator with the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Drug Unit until being assigned as a full-time investigator. Pat has served on the Outagamie County Multi-Jurisdiction Emergency Response Team (SWAT) since 2007 and is an instructor in multiple disciplines.

Detective Kilpatrick has been a police officer with the Baltimore County Police Department for over 18 years. Early on, Detective Kilpatrick utilized social media to establish the structure of drug organizations. One of the investigations resulted in the dismantling of a rouge unit within the Baltimore Police Department. The investigation was documented in a book and TV series titled We Own This City. Detective Kilpatrick was then assigned to the Special Victims Unit. Detective Kilpatrick continued to leverage social media and open-source resources to locate suspects of sexual assault and rape. Detective Kilpatrick has continued to learn to increase his knowledge of OSINT, SOCMINT, and other open-source resources. Detective Kilpatrick is a Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission: Certified Instructor, a Certified Cyber Crime Intelligence Analyst through NWC3, and has attended numerous pieces of training in digital forensics and online investigations and techniques.

Susan has nearly 25 years’ experience in the Criminal Justice arena to include over 7 years teaching tertiary education. Susan started her criminal justice career in Green Bay at the Green Bay Correctional Institution as a student at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. At the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay she received the honored Chancellor’s Medallion and high honors. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration, she was quickly promoted to Lieutenant with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department. During her tenure with Waukesha, she received her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Criminal Justice Administration. Susan is a master threat assessment trainer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, trained by the I Love You Guys Foundation in standard response protocol and standard reunification method and lead the development of the statewide school threat reporting system-Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin.

Trish Kilpin is the Director of the Wisconsin Office of School Safety. She was appointed to this position in February of 2022. Prior to serving in this role, she was a school social worker for over 30 years. Trish earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was named the Wisconsin School Social Worker’s Association’s School Social Worker of the Year in 1997, and Wisconsin Teacher of the Year in 2021. She is a certified National Association of School Psychologist (NASP) PREPaRE 1 and 2 Trainer, a Sources of Strength Trainer, and a National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office (NTER) Master Trainer.