Dr. Alison Mackey is a seasoned educator with over two decades of university-level teaching experience at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Her diverse teaching background encompasses traditional residential programs, online courses, hybrid formats, and project-based learning. Dr. Mackey's primary area of expertise is strategic management, but her teaching portfolio also includes business ethics, leadership, entrepreneurship, teams, and compensation and benefits.

As a researcher, Professor Mackey focuses on how firms gain competitive advantage through human capital, with a particular emphasis on executive talent and corporate social responsibility. Her work has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Perspectives, Journal of Management, and Organizational Dynamics. Dr. Mackey's academic and professional achievements have earned her several accolades, such as the Wiley Blackwell Outstanding Dissertation award from the Business Policy and Strategy Division of the Academy of Management. She also serves on the editorial boards of the Strategic Management Journal and the Journal of Management.

Before joining Clarkson University, Dr. Mackey held teaching positions at various institutions, including the University of Utah, Westminster College, Texas A&M University, and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Additionally, she spent three years as a visiting scholar at Brigham Young University (BYU). Dr. Mackey earned her PhD in Business Strategy from The Ohio State University and holds a Master's in Business Administration and a Master's in Organizational Behavior from BYU. Her undergraduate degree is in economics, also from BYU.

For the past eleven years, Michael has been working at Saint Mary's as a Program Director while previously spending 12 years in leadership positions within a multi-national S&P 100 company. In his corporate role, he led teams in business intelligence and negotiation strategy optimization, often traveling to Asia and Europe for customer and supplier negotiations. He also focused on building intelligence-gathering capabilities and improving operations across the buy-and-sell side of organizations.

In addition to his practical experience, Michael holds a master's in business and certifications in data science. He is currently in the final term of a Ph.D. program specializing in Artificial Intelligence adoption strategies.

Michael is highly respected among his peers as an expert in GenAI and related technologies, with a strong interest in AI's application in society. Recently, he secured a National Science Foundation grant for Saint Mary’s to establish a Center for Business Analytics. This center will facilitate the development of training workshops and research projects on artificial intelligence adoption strategies for both students and industry partners.

Emily Redinbaugh is the Assistant Director, Content Marketing, Communications & Community Initiatives for Bellevue University. With over twenty years of experience, Emily has worked with national corporations/organizations in providing learning programs to help employees gain industry and business-specific knowledge. Emily’s experience spans the fields of marketing, adult education and human capital. Prior to her joining the Bellevue University team, she worked in the music and family entertainment arena as the Marketing Manager in Mankato, MN.

Currently, Emily directs and oversees Bellevue University’s content marketing strategies and campaigns in all Strategic Partnership Key Market Areas: Corporate Learning Solutions, Premier Partnership Network, International, and Government. She is also the host of weekly inspirational webinar series Tuesday Takeaways.

She develops and manages various strategic marketing campaigns for major partner accounts to evolve educational partnerships, develop new market service offerings and provide educational opportunities for these partner employees and members. She creates white papers, articles for publication, and professional presentations for team members and leadership. She also is an adjunct faculty member for the University.

Emily holds a M.A in Management from Bellevue University and a bachelor’s degree in Music Management from Luther College, Decorah, IA.

In her free time, Emily can be found at her daughter Elanor’s (Nora),18 or son Nowell’s,16, sports and school activities. She and her husband, Boyd, own The Simple Man, a men’s mercantile in Omaha. They love watching sporting events, spending time with friends and embarrassing the kids as often as possible.

Jorday Taswell currently serves as a Personnel Research Psychologist and EAP Coordinator for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where she addresses disparities and provides technical assistance in Federal agency Employee Wellness Programs. She previously worked as a statistician at the Department of Commerce prior to obtaining her Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology with a concentration in Diversity and Social Change. She also possesses a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biology.

Dr Philip Chambers is an Instructional Design Specialist at Oregon State University Ecampus. He has worked in multiple countries across three continents and is currently researching artificial intelligence in education. Philip recently authored a book chapter on accessible course design for the Quality Matters book 'Guide to Digital Accessibility'.

Meredith is the Director, Career Management for Villanova University. In this position, she is responsible for creating and leading the strategy for delivering career services at scale to all Villanova University alumni, graduate students, and adult learners in the College of Professional Studies. Meredith is charged with developing a mission and long-term plan to deliver comprehensive career management services, professional development, and networking opportunities, and enhancing the university’s capacity to build mentoring relationships with alumni and current students by facilitating various in-person and virtual engagement opportunities. Meredith’s role connects alumni back to the university through career and networking events and works to create opportunities for experienced hires and engage with alumni clubs to develop leads for new employers.

Meredith’s professional experience spans more than 25 years within areas including corporate human resources, career coaching, and professional development in higher education. Previous organizations include the Temple University Fox School of Business, Careers on the Move, SAP America, and NovaCare, Inc.

Meredith holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from Villanova University and an MBA from Temple University Fox School of Business, with a concentration in Human Resource Administration.

Mrs. Tina Rose received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. She then went onto pursue her Master’s degree in Education from Bloomsburg University in 2002. Prior to her employment at Penn State, Tina worked in the social services field in mental health and in child welfare as a mental health counselor and social worker.

Tina began her Penn State career at the Wilkes-Barre campus in 2008 as a part-time Career and Technical degree counselor. She then went on to secure a position at Penn State Schuylkill in 2010 as Coordinator of Career Services, Student Leadership, and Community Service.

After accompanying a colleague on an embedded course travel trip to Honduras in 2018, Tina incorporated the trip into her own class so that students could have that option of this experiential learning experience. Students had the option to travel to Honduras as part of a medical brigade helping children and families suffering from malnutrition. She has since traveled with students to Honduras five times, most recently traveling with six students, from a variety of the Penn State colleges, this past March 2024. Tina strongly believes in these co-curricular experiences for students as they graduate, head out into their professional fields, and enter the world of work. In 2020, Ms. Rose joined the Business Career Center in the Smeal College of Business as the Assistant Director of Employer Relations. She enjoyed working with employers and assisting them in connecting with Smeal students to develop robust relationships with the college of business. She missed interacting directly with the students, and accepted her current role as Director of Student Programming and Development in 2022.

Tina is a huge fan of fitness and teaches Spin classes at a local gym near her home. She also started virtual fitness training and group classes during the pandemic which she still continues teaching today through Zoom. She lives in Mountaintop, PA with her husband, Shawn, a CPA. She has three children, Lauren, 23, a 2023 Risk Management graduate of Smeal, Julia, 21, a current third-year MAcc student at Smeal, and Grant,19, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student at Penn State. She also adores animals and rescues English Bulldogs.

Dr. Ebert is a core Professor and Program Director at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and directs the M.S. in Data Intelligence and GeoAnalytics (DIGA) and M.S. in Cybersecurity programs. He also oversees the GIS Certificate and Data Engineering Certificate programs as well as the Cybersecurity Management and Cybersecurity Technology Certificate Programs and technology surrounding those fields including artificial intelligence and machine learning. He has nearly 20 years of applied experience in higher education, government, technology, data, and analytic-related fields and serves as an appointed Land Information Committee member in local government. Prior to his time at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, he worked in local government IT management and geospatial technology overseeing the resource conservation and land information departments. He collaborates with regional organizations and national companies including the Mayo Clinic, RetailStat, Allina Health, Artic Wolf, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – US Secret Service, the Defense Alliance, and has presented research at Google Headquarters as well as the MN GIS/LIS Consortium, Mid-West GeoCON, and a number of local podcasts. In addition, he serves as a regular content contributor panelist for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) content hosted by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. He has received numerous grants spanning government initiatives and IT/technology research and is responsible for program administration, technology implementation, developing contracts, fiscal monitoring, grant/research, program accreditation, student research, and facilitating and teaching and learning objectives in the fields of analytics, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, data engineering, and GIS technology. He also serves as the chair of the rank and promotion committee at Saint Mary’s University and has served on curriculum, assessment, and policy committees as well as is on the higher education board of the MN GIS/LIS Consortium. Dr. Ebert holds a Bachelor of Science in Hydrogeology from Winona State University, a Master of Science in Resource Analysis from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Eric recently became the OPM Manager for Future of Work group. He is a Strategic Planner and Human Centered Design Practitioner, Facilitator, Public Speaker, and Team Builder that works with agencies to reframe their perspective and think differently about the future. He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Joint Professional Military Education Level 1 certification, and a Masters Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He has attended advanced facilitator training at the Luma Institute, the University of Houston Foresight Certification Program, and facilitated multiple workshops for Senior Coast Guard leaders, Senior Federal Executives, and foreign countries. He teaches Human Centered Design and foresight methods, and provides foresight guidance to multiple federal agencies. He is married to Chelsea Hartz of Columbia Maryland and together they have two children; Lucas and Sydney.

Jason Gibson is an academically trained futurist with a master’s degree in Foresight from the University of Houston. He is currently a Strategic Foresight Program Analyst with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management with a focus on the Future of Work. He is responsible for applying strategic foresight methodologies within the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and assisting other Federal agencies develop foresight competencies.

Elsayed Issa is an assistant professor of computational linguistics at the School of Languages and Cultures at Purdue University. His research program lies at the intersection of natural language processing, education technology, conversational AI, and speech technology.

Dr. Garcia has served over three decades as a public safety, education, and security professional. He has trained thousands of individuals in leadership and personal development initiatives, public administration, strategic management, and problem-solving. He has served as a subject matter expert in leadership and public safety and has appeared on international, national, and local television programs. He also serves as a subject matter expert where he develops and enhances Social Sciences’ curriculum and with program evaluations. He has completed numerous deployments and missions to Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and across the US where his original interactive programs have enjoyed great success and acceptance. Hector has also presented professional development workshops for the FBI National Academy, the US Department of State, and numerous federal agencies. Dr. Garcia serves as a grant peer reviewer and subject matter expert for the US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and other federal entities. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for the Graduate Criminal Justice programs at Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Campus.

Dr. Romano-Arnold has served in the field of higher education for over 25 years, focusing much of her career to changing traditional college practices to better serve the needs of community college transfer students and working adult students. She spent over 12 years at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), leading large teams geographically dispersed throughout the country. While at UMGC, she developed and grew the university’s community college program to become the #1 transfer institution in the state along with creating significant policy reform and innovative institutional practices. Dr. Romano-Arnold is now with University of the People where she is expanding UoPeople’s innovative education model to better serve community college and transfer students globally.

Prior to Champlain, Dr. Magalhães was a researcher of the Software Engineering and Management Group (SEMAG) of the Algoritmi Research Center (University of Minho) and an Assistant Professor of the Catholic University of Portugal - Braga. He is a member and reviewer of a number of organizations, including the NATO Multinational Cyber Defense Education and Training project and the Editorial Committee of the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics.

Dr. Magalhães has a PhD in Information Systems and Technologies from the University of Minho (Portugal). His research interests focus on information security, intelligence and performance monitoring, and has published widely on security-related topics.

Boris Jukic is a Professor of Operations & Information Systems and Director of the MS in Applied Data Science program at Clarkson University. In addition to leading the program, he teaches courses in Database Modeling, Design and Management as well as Data Warehousing. His research interests include the techniques for unstructured data processing, application of data management and presentation strategies in e-business and e-commerce; as well as IT architecture and its impact on organizations' measurements of success. He is a PhD graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Bergeron retired from the United States Army in 2011 after a 23-year career within the Military Police Corps and Special Operations Forces. His last assignment was as the Battalion Commander, Chair, and Professor of Military Science at the University of North Alabama Army ROTC program. His education includes undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and Political Science, a Master’s Degree in International Relations, and a Doctorate of Science in Emergency Management.

He is an Associate Professor who teaches both Criminal Justice and Security and Emergency Management at the University of North Alabama and serves as the founding Director of the North Alabama Public Service Training Center in Florence, Alabama. He has presented at numerous US and international institutions on various topics and has traveled widely, having been assigned, deployed to, or worked in over thirty-five countries on four different continents and has served multiple combat tours.

Al Zainea has over 30 years of leadership in higher education. He holds a BA in Outdoor and Environmental Recreation and a MA in Recreation Administration, both from Central Michigan University. He is ABD in Higher Education Administration. Al currently serves as the Executive Director of Academic and Professional Programs located in CMU Innovation and Online and directs the MSA Program.

rior to serving in his current capacity, Al held full-time positions including Interim Director, Product Development, faculty member in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration, General Academic Advisor in the Towers Residence Hall, and Graduate Assistant in Campus Recreation. His academic interest includes emotional and cultural intelligence, organizational leadership, social interaction concepts, and field-to-table recreation. He has been awarded the Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Student Advising by the National Academic Advising Association and acknowledged by students with the “Best Instructor Award.”

In addition to decades of experience in senior leadership positions, Carrie Stringham has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in business and health care, both adjunct and full time, for more than 25 years. Carrie is experienced in the creation, implementation, and administration of compensation programs, policies, procedures, recruiting and staffing programs, evaluation systems, human resource information systems, and employee benefits. She has created entire human resource platforms for organizations in varied industries including health care and mining. She is also an experienced consultant and trainer in organizational behavior and leadership.

Carrie is currently a professor in human resources for the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue University Global. Carrie’s doctorate is in organizational leadership. She holds a Master of Science in Administrative Studies with a human resource option and has undergraduate degrees in organizational behavior and business management, is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), is Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certified, and is Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) certified.

Dr. Shane Kelley, Ed.D. is the Associate Dean for Public Safety and Legal Studies programs at Purdue University Global. As a faculty member and leader with over twenty years of higher education experience in student support, faculty administration, and the online classroom, he began his time at Purdue Global in 2005. Dr. Kelley previously served as academic chair for graduate and undergraduate public safety programs and academic chair for undergraduate criminal justice programs prior to that. Before becoming academic chair in 2010, he served as Associate Director of Academic Advising for the Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Nursing programs after being promoted as an Academic Advising manager. He has also developed online course curriculum for Pearson Education and is an Air Force veteran. Dr. Kelley’s research in criminal justice strongly focuses on diversity, including social justice and policy, collective efficacy, and critical criminology. As a higher education administrator, Dr. Kelley focuses on e-service learning, online higher education administration, and faculty and student satisfaction. He currently serves as a reviewer for Education Journal, an international publication.

Marv Meissner is a Quality and Training Executive with nearly 40 years’ corporate experience in leadership roles within manufacturing, transactional, and administrative environments,. Marv possesses a strong background with specialties in: Leadership, Lean Six Sigma, Total Quality, Continuous Improvement, Change Management, and Training.

In Villanova University’s College of Professional Studies, Marv is a Professor of the Practice who teaches within both the credit and non-credit programs, as well as providing customized training for corporations. Marv earned a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Syracuse University.

Alex has been working in higher education for the past 7 years where he started in admissions specializing in transfer student success and initiatives. At OSU, he worked in graduate student benefits and advising, supporting a diverse group of students. Prior to working for OSU, he also has experience in project management, non-profit administration, and accounting/finance. Alex is very passionate about supporting students holistically, and he employs a student-centric, proactive mindset when meeting with students. His background is in trauma-informed care, and as such the aim to meet students where they are and advocate for them in the way that best fits their needs. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking around the Pacific Northwest with his partner, sewing and other textile arts, live music, and spending time with their 3 cats.

Leela has lived in Oregon for most of her life and attended OSU right out of high school as a first-generation college student. She struggled through her undergraduate degree and has often said that she does the work she does because she wishes she would have had a her when in college. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she traveled to many different parts of the country and the world. She lived in Brazil and became a fluent Portuguese speaker, and then came back to the United States and worked in Social Work for about five years before deciding to make a career change to Higher Education. In 2010, she began pursuing a graduate degree online, and absolutely loved the online learning experience! She's been working to support students in Higher Education since 2011 and served in many roles at different types of institutions throughout her career and focused work on serving students of various identities underrepresented in higher education. She's worked to mitigate barriers to access and success for these students and have had the honor of watching them persist, succeed, and excel in this environment. Coaching is a newer role and she really appreciates the opportunity for student empowerment that comes from the coaching process. Outside of work, she spends most of her time with family and is passionate about Psychology, and is generally fascinated by humans and our interactions and relationships with each other. She loves food, cooking, and sharing food with friends and family. She also really enjoy fitness and is focused on lifelong health.

Dr. Tomoko Y. Steen is the Director of two graduate programs, Biomedical Science Policy and Advocacy and Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases, and a Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Over the years, Dr. Steen has been active in many scientific research. Currently, she is working on microbiomics, focusing on the biological effects of radiation on gut microbiota and the gut-brain axis. Effects of COVID-19 infections on the gut microbiome and immune systems, including cases of long-term COVID-19. She also works on international collaborations regarding COVID-19's public health management in Asia, Russia, and Oceania.

Dr. Steen has advised various governmental and non-profit organizations domestically and internationally on everything from big data, AI, public health, WMD, Nuclear Safety, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Regulations and Bioethical Examinations of Emerging Technologies. She leads several other working groups, including the Emerging Technology Working Group, the East Asian STM Working Group, currently working on "Riding COVID waves in Asia, Oceania, and Russia," and the BioNuclear Working Group with colleagues at the US Department of State and DTRA/DoD. For the last three decades, she has been invited to present on diverse topics at domestic and international conferences, including Kyoto STS Forum and Biosecurity Meeting hosted at WHO/UNODA/UNIDIR.

Eric Lagally earned a B.S. in Physics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served as an assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and has taught high school, undergraduate, and graduate learners in math, biology, chemistry, physics, and chemical engineering. Eric began at Western Governors University as a course instructor in General Education beginning in 2013 and has served as a Program Manager, a Senior Manager , and an Administrative Director. His current role is Program Director and Associate Dean in the School of Technology, where he leads conceptualization, redevelopment, and quality improvement for three data analytics programs, partnering with industry experts and employers to ensure the alignment of the program outcomes with job demand and expectations. Additionally, he supports the performance and growth of faculty members across the data analytics programs to ensure high-quality student experiences as they progress toward their degrees.

Dr. Garcia has served over three decades as a public safety, education, and security professional. He has trained thousands of individuals in leadership and personal development initiatives, public administration, strategic management, and problem-solving. He has served as a subject matter expert in leadership and public safety and has appeared on international, national, and local television programs. He also serves as a subject matter expert where he develops and enhances Social Sciences’ curriculum and with program evaluations. He has completed numerous deployments and missions to Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and across the US where his original interactive programs have enjoyed great success and acceptance. Hector has also presented professional development workshops for the FBI National Academy, the US Department of State, and numerous federal agencies. Dr. Garcia serves as a grant peer reviewer and subject matter expert for the US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and other federal entities. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for the Graduate Criminal Justice programs at Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Campus.

Dr. Trace Lasley is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology in American University’s School of Public Affairs. His research focuses on illicit organization behavior including strategy, tactics, recruitment, and funding of violent groups including terrorists, transnational criminals, and insurgents. His research has appeared in Conflict Management and Peace Science, Risk Analysis, and Third World Quarterly. He teaches courses on terrorism and homeland security policy including Domestic Terrorism and Political Violence, the Crime and Conflict Nexus, and the Principles of Homeland Security.

Dr. Lasley also leads the SPA Professional Development Series for students in public service to help with career planning, resumes, interviewing, Plain Writing, and other practical skills. He also co-leads the Homeland Security Communications Lab, an extracurricular workshop supporting students poised for careers in the homeland security enterprise by developing advanced skills in research, writing, and briefing for senior executives.

In addition to his teaching appointment, Dr. Lasley is an atrocity prevention policy advisor at the US State Department in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky.

James Deater is a 28-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, 25 of which he spent in the Criminal Investigation Division. He investigated/supervised large-scale national and international drug trafficking organizations, homicides and gangs. Deater also assisted the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on numerous occasions. Deater has authored well over 100 wiretaps, co-authored an additional 25 and has been assigned as case manager on more than 20 additional cases where wiretaps were utilized. He has been deputized by the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service. He regularly testifies as an expert witness in the fields of electronic surveillance, wiretaps, cell phone/smartphone countermeasures, and Social Media investigations in State and Federal court systems. James holds degrees in Intelligence studies and National Security studies from American Military University.

Since retirement Deater has worked as a contractor with his company for the United States Intelligence Community for the past 5 years providing sensitive information relating to national security issues and Department of Defense taskings. Deater has taught both investigative and intelligence methods throughout the world for several universities, State Department, FBI and multiple state/local government agencies.

Chris Millet is the Senior Director of World Campus Learning Design at Penn State, where he oversees a team responsible for faculty development and the design and development of a diverse portfolio of online academic programs. He provides leadership for university policies and organizational processes related to online learning and educational technology. His current work focuses on learning analytics, applications of artificial intelligence in education, and building a data-informed decision-making culture at Penn State. Chris is currently pursuing a Ph.D. where he is researching AI to support learning.

James Deater is a 28-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, 25 of which he spent in the Criminal Investigation Division. He investigated/supervised large-scale national and international drug trafficking organizations, homicides and gangs. Deater also assisted the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on numerous occasions. Deater has authored well over 100 wiretaps, co-authored an additional 25 and has been assigned as case manager on more than 20 additional cases where wiretaps were utilized. He has been deputized by the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service. He regularly testifies as an expert witness in the fields of electronic surveillance, wiretaps, cell phone/smartphone countermeasures, and Social Media investigations in State and Federal court systems. James holds degrees in Intelligence studies and National Security studies from American Military University.

Since retirement Deater has worked as a contractor with his company for the United States Intelligence Community for the past 5 years providing sensitive information relating to national security issues and Department of Defense taskings. Deater has taught both investigative and intelligence methods throughout the world for several universities, State Department, FBI and multiple state/local government agencies. 

Mr. Delinski retired from the Metro Transit Police Department in 2014 after 25 years of distinguished service. At the time of retirement, he was the Deputy Chief of Patrol Operations. In this capacity, Delinski not only managed over 300 police officers and officials, but he was also integrated into the law enforcement community of the Washington, D.C. region. This included an extensive law enforcement network that included local, state and Federal executives.

Earlier in his policing career, Mr. Delinski served in a variety of assignments such as the Training Division Commander, District Commander, Deputy Chief of Homeland Security, Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, Public Information Officer, Homeland Security Grant Administration, and co-chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Police Chief’s Committee.

Mr. Murtha currently is employed as a Collegiate Associate Professor by the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) overseeing the Homeland Security Program and serves on UMGC’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Staff Diversity Advisory Council. Mr. Murtha has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels at Webster University, Bethel University, and Los Angeles Pacific University.

He is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Buffalo (B.S.), Michigan State University (M.S.), Naval Postgraduate School-Center for Homeland Defense & Security (Executive Leadership Program), and U.S. Army Command & General Staff College.

He was employed with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 1987 until his retirement in 2018 as the Unit Chief of DEA’s Tactical Training Unit, Office of Training, Quantico, VA. Mr. Murtha retired after 31 years with DEA and 38 years in total years in law enforcement experience and held a variety of positions throughout the United States.

Dr. Trace Lasley is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology in American University’s School of Public Affairs. His research focuses on illicit organization behavior including strategy, tactics, recruitment, and funding of violent groups including terrorists, transnational criminals, and insurgents. His research has appeared in Conflict Management and Peace Science, Risk Analysis, and Third World Quarterly. He teaches courses on terrorism and homeland security policy including Domestic Terrorism and Political Violence, the Crime and Conflict Nexus, and the Principles of Homeland Security.

Dr. Lasley also leads the SPA Professional Development Series for students in public service to help with career planning, resumes, interviewing, Plain Writing, and other practical skills. He also co-leads the Homeland Security Communications Lab, an extracurricular workshop supporting students poised for careers in the homeland security enterprise by developing advanced skills in research, writing, and briefing for senior executives. In addition to his teaching appointment, Dr. Lasley is an atrocity prevention policy advisor at the US State Department in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky.

James Deater is a 28-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, 25 of which he spent in the Criminal Investigation Division. He investigated/supervised large-scale national and international drug trafficking organizations, homicides and gangs. Deater also assisted the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on numerous occasions. Deater has authored well over 100 wiretaps, co-authored an additional 25 and has been assigned as case manager on more than 20 additional cases where wiretaps were utilized. He has been deputized by the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service. He regularly testifies as an expert witness in the fields of electronic surveillance, wiretaps, cell phone/smartphone countermeasures, and Social Media investigations in State and Federal court systems. James holds degrees in Intelligence studies and National Security studies from American Military University.

Since retirement Deater has worked as a contractor with his company for the United States Intelligence Community for the past 5 years providing sensitive information relating to national security issues and Department of Defense taskings. Deater has taught both investigative and intelligence methods throughout the world for several universities, State Department, FBI and multiple state/local government agencies. 

Mr. Delinski retired from the Metro Transit Police Department in 2014 after 25 years of distinguished service. At the time of retirement, he was the Deputy Chief of Patrol Operations. In this capacity, Delinski not only managed over 300 police officers and officials, but he was also integrated into the law enforcement community of the Washington, D.C. region. This included an extensive law enforcement network that included local, state and Federal executives.

Earlier in his policing career, Mr. Delinski served in a variety of assignments such as the Training Division Commander, District Commander, Deputy Chief of Homeland Security, Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, Public Information Officer, Homeland Security Grant Administration, and co-chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Police Chief’s Committee.

Karlos DelToro has over 30 years of human resources and administrative/management experience. He is a Senior Federal Recruitment Advisor with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, providing employment-related guidance to agencies and the public. Karlos earned a BS in Economics from the City College of NY.

Frank Goertner is the Director for Federal and Veteran Affairs and Director of the Technology Management Graduate Program at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. The Smith school promotes business as everybody's business, and Frank works to apply that same principle to the business of U.S. government and national security. To help, he founded Maryland’s Initiative for Veteran Lifelong Leadership; leads Smith’s Future of Government Management Initiative; and co-designed UMD’s first graduate level curriculum to combine instruction from UMCP’s schools of business, engineering and public policy. A retired U.S. Naval Aviator and Foreign Area Officer, Frank also enjoys educating, researching and writing on public-private innovation and civil-military affairs in today’s America. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Masters in International Relations and MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park.

James Deater is a 28-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, 25 of which he spent in the Criminal Investigation Division. He investigated/supervised large-scale national and international drug trafficking organizations, homicides and gangs. Deater also assisted the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on numerous occasions. Deater has authored well over 100 wiretaps, co-authored an additional 25 and has been assigned as case manager on more than 20 additional cases where wiretaps were utilized. He has been deputized by the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service. He regularly testifies as an expert witness in the fields of electronic surveillance, wiretaps, cell phone/smartphone countermeasures, and Social Media investigations in State and Federal court systems. James holds degrees in Intelligence studies and National Security studies from American Military University.

Since retirement Deater has worked as a contractor with his company for the United States Intelligence Community for the past 5 years providing sensitive information relating to national security issues and Department of Defense taskings. Deater has taught both investigative and intelligence methods throughout the world for several universities, State Department, FBI and multiple state/local government agencies. 

Karlos DelToro has over 30 years of human resources and administrative/management experience. He is a Senior Federal Recruitment Advisor with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, providing employment-related guidance to agencies and the public. Karlos earned a BS in Economics from the City College of NY.