Jermaine Galloway, also known as the Tall Cop, has dedicated over 20 years to substance abuse prevention and education after a collegiate basketball career and earning a BA in Sociology. He served 18 years in law enforcement, tackling roles in alcohol enforcement, crime scene investigation, and DUI task forces. In 2007, he founded “Tall Cop Says Stop™,” offering extensive training across the U.S. and Canada. His “High in Plain Sight” program is recognized for its focus on drug and alcohol prevention strategies, training over 825,000 professionals and community members.
Lewis C. Merletti served as the 19th director of the U.S. Secret Service. During his agency tenure, he served as assistant director in the Office of Training, where he was responsible for the curriculum, methodology, and content of training for all Secret Service employees. He served in the Presidential Protection Division under three presidents: Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. Merletti has extensive experience with complex criminal investigations, major task force operations, and Secret Service counter-terrorist operations.
Following his 25-year career with the Secret Service, Merletti spent 10 years overseeing all security operations for NFL team Cleveland Browns and also served as security advisor for the NFL itself.
Merletti currently serves as a consultant, addressing complex security issues and high-threat environments for private individuals and corporations and advising larger tactical and security companies. His team conducts counter-surveillance and deploys state-of-the-art tactical and electronic systems to ensure the safety of his clients and their families within the U.S. and abroad.
Susan Payne is the founder and former executive director of Safe2Tell, a prevention initiative developed as a response to the Columbine tragedy in Colorado. Susan, a 28-year law enforcement veteran, serves as a Special Advisor for USSS, NTAC, NASRO, and DHS in prevention strategies, anonymous reporting, safety intervention, behavioral threat assessment, school safety, crisis response, culture and climate, and restoring a safe learning environment. She has assisted many states in establishing best-practice intelligence-gathering and information-sharing initiatives to focus on violence prevention and early intervention.
Dr. Jessica Leigh Hamilton is the director of The Hamilton Lab and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University—New Brunswick Campus. The Hamilton Lab is focused on identifying risk and protective factors for the development and worsening of depression, suicidal thinking, and self-injurious behaviors among adolescents. The goal of the research is to inform suicide prevention programs and promote adolescent mental health using clinical and developmental science. Dr. Hamilton has over 60 publications in top-tier journals and has contributed to several books on the topic of digital media and mental health. She is very active in professional service, advocacy, and outreach to disseminate mental health information. Dr. Hamilton is involved in the Coalition for the Advancement and Application of Psychological Science (CAAPS) and sits on the board for the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP).
Jose L. Medina is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement and a 20-year owner of Awareness Protective Consultants, doing business as Team APC-Medina Tactical Dynamics. Jose has an extensive background in training and consulting for various groups, such as law enforcement, schools, and corporate industries. Jose Medina created and led his police department’s SWAT team, made immediately after the Columbine shooting in 1999. Part of Jose’s work function as a Tactical Team Leader and Training Coordinator was to establish good working relationships with private businesses in the town he worked, as well as neighboring cities and towns, concerning active shooter situations and potential workplace violence events.
Doug Wyman served in law enforcement for 32 years, retiring as the chief of police for the town of Sandwich, N.H. He currently serves as an investigator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, helping to ensure that its clients, departments, and facilities are working to protect the vulnerable. He is a L.E.A.D. instructor and is also trained in crisis intervention team programs for four states in New England. Wyman is an ordained minister and frequent speaker seeking to share his experiences with tragedy and teach the next generation of police officers about gratitude, forgiveness, and Post Traumatic Growth.
Bart Barta is a retired police commander with more than 31 years of law enforcement experience. He served as the former SWAT and Hostage Negotiations Commander for the Coral Gables Police Department. He also served as the Commander of the Criminal Investigations Division and was responsible for managing the financial operations for a South Florida HIDTA Task Force.
Bart is the proud father of an adult son with autism. He is a certified law enforcement instructor and is recognized by the State of Florida (FDLE) as a subject matter expert in the specialty of autism recognition and response training. For more than 10 years, Bart served as an instructor for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court’s Mental Health Project (Crisis Intervention Team – CIT). For the past fifteen years, Bart has trained more than 12,000 first responders, medical personnel, and community service providers all across the United States on how to recognize and respond to autism and manage risks.
Marina Anderson joined the Department of Children and Families’ Human Trafficking Team in 2015, after starting her career there in 2002 as a Child Protective Investigator specializing in child sexual abuse in Duval County, Florida. She became a Field Support Consultant in 2014 and is recognized for her expertise in safety methodology, training, and mentoring. Anderson has received numerous recognitions and certifications in human trafficking, is an approved Human Trafficking Trainer for agencies throughout Florida, and is involved in several human trafficking coalitions and task forces. She is a member of the Child Abduction Response Teams for Circuits 3, 4, 7, and 8 and is a member of the Florida Gang Investigators Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of North Florida.