2013 Ex

2015 Executive Training Institute Speaker Bios

KING BANAIAN Professor King Banaian is a professor in the Department of Economics at St. Cloud State University (SCSU). He is also interim dean of the School of Public Affairs Research Institute at SCSU. He holds the Ph.D. in economics from the Claremont Graduate School. He has consulted at the central banks of Ukraine, Egypt and Macedonia and the ministries of finance of Indonesia, Macedonia and Armenia. He is author of The Ukrainian Economy since Independence (Edward Elgar, 1998), co-editor of The Design and Use of Political Economy Indicators (Palgrave, 2008) and more than forty articles and book chapters discussing monetary policy and political economy. He is a senior policy fellow of the Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis. King was state representative in the Minnesota House for District 15B, 2011-13. He is also host of the King Banaian Show on Business 1570 KYCR broadcast in Minneapolis, and co-author of the St. Cloud Quarterly Business Report. He lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with his wife and daughter. A full resume is available by request.

CHIEF JEFF BEAHEN Chief Jeff Beahen has been a licensed police officer for thirty-five years. He is a graduate of Concordia University in St. Paul with a bachelor of arts Degree in Criminal Justice. Chief Beahen is also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Staff and Command in Evanston, Illinois. He has worked as a patrol officer, patrol corporal, criminal investigator, patrol sergeant, assistant chief and chief of police. He was chief in Elk River from 2003-2010 and has been the chief in Rogers from 2012 to present. From 2010-2012 Beahen spent 19 months at BCA as the eCharging DWI Deployment Coordinator. Chief Beahen is currently the president of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association.

MARC BERRIS Marc Berris is an attorney, part-time Meeker County Sheriff’s deputy and on-call firefighter in Golden Valley. Most importantly, Marc is the father of a teenage son with autism. Marc has used his personal and professional experiences to provide training for law enforcement and emergency responders on best practices for interacting with people with autism in the field. Marc has personally facilitated training for more than 750 first responders throughout Minnesota, including presentations at the Minnesota EMS Medical Directors annual conference, the North Memorial’s “Long, Hot Summer” conference, the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center’s annual “Law Enforcement Appreciation” event and to numerous fire departments, rescue squads, sheriff’s offices and police departments. Marc also serves on the board of directors of the Autism Society of Minnesota.

ROB BOE Robert Boe is the public safety projector coordinator for the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. He served as a Prior Lake police officer and Scott County sheriff’s deputy for 29 years. He has held the positions of patrol officer, investigator, supervisor, tactical team member and chief deputy. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and is a certified emergency manager.

DAN CARLSON Pastor Dan Carlson has worked in the law enforcement profession for more than 30 years. He spent 25 years as a police officer with the Eden Prairie Police Department, retiring as the police chief in 2007. Since that time, he has worked full time as the pastor, president and founder of Public Safety Ministries, an interfaith ministry that provides spiritual health care services to public safety professionals throughout Minnesota. Pastor Carlson was ordained in 2010 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He currently serves as the chaplain for several large public safety associations, including the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and provides chaplain services and training to numerous public safety agencies.

ADAM CHRISTOPHER Adam Christopher has been the chief of Montevideo since 2006. He became a police officer in 1991 working for several smaller communities in Minnesota. Chief Christopher has been active in the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association serving on several committees. He values the public's right to know what is happening in their communities. Montevideo Police Department uses Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as social media outlets and has been active in doing so for many years.

MATHEW CLARK Matt Clark, assistant chief of police for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), reporting directly to the chief of police. He oversees the bureau chiefs as they manage the day-to-day operations of the department. The assistant chief provides the chief with information on department strategies and operations and assists the chief with maintaining the core missions of the department. In 1991, Assistant Chief Clark started his law enforcement career in two small Minnesota farm towns. He joined the MPD in 1993. His background includes positions in each of the three department bureaus: Patrol, Investigations and Professional Standards. He has had the pleasure of commanding and supervising numerous units within the Minneapolis Police Department. Assistant Chief Clark most recently commanded the MPD’s Fifth Precinct. He has also held positions as Emergency Services Unit Commander (SWAT, K9, Bomb Unit), Pre-Service Training Unit Commander, Patrol Supervisor, SWAT Team Leader, Financial Crimes Investigator and Police Academy Director. In 2013, Clark graduated from the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association’s Police Executive Leadership Institute. He also attended the Police Executive Leadership Institute (MCCA) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) and graduated from the FBI’s National Academy in 2009. Assistant Chief Clark holds a master’s degree from Concordia University and a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Minnesota, Mankato. In 2008, Clark received an Award of Merit for his command duties at the 35W Bridge Collapse. He also received a Chief’s Award of Merit for his actions during the Republican National Convention. Clark has received a Medal of Valor, three Medals of Commendation, three Awards of Merit, four Unit Citation Awards and two Chief’s Awards of Merit.

SCOTT DREWLO In August of 1980, Scott Drewlo enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and has been in public service ever since. The past 20 of those years have been spent as a police officer in Duluth. Over 17 years with the city of Duluth Police Department and the past nearly three years as the chief of the University of Minnesota Duluth Police Department (UMDPD) He retired from the city of Duluth Police Department (DPD) as a lieutenant in 2012, having had command of the Major Crimes Bureau and lastly of the Department’s Administrative Affairs Division. As the Commander of the Major Crimes Bureau (which contained the Sex Crimes, Abuse and Neglect – SCAN – Unit), Drewlo felt it necessary to effect a shift in the prevailing cultural thought paradigm regarding not only sexual assault investigation and victim-centered service delivery, but also in looking for ways to confront the very real issue of Human Trafficking. From those change agent efforts, a grassroots task force on the issue was formed with Shunu Shrestha from the Program to Aid Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA) as the coordinator and Drewlo from DPD. The task force grew rapidly and now includes many community stakeholders and non-governmental organizational partners that are having a positive community impact. At UMDPD, Chief Drewlo focuses mostly on raising awareness of the issue. He completed his undergraduate studies in sociology, social work and human relations and graduate work in criminal justice studies all at St. Cloud State University and is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command in the Center for Public Safety (SPSC 260).

ERIC GIESEKE Eric Gieseke is the chief of police for the Burnsville Police Department. He has been with the agency for 26 years. He started as an entry-level cadet in 1989 and worked his way through the ranks of patrol officer, sergeant and captain. His agency serves a community of over 60,000 residents each day. The department has 75 sworn officers and 18 civilian members. Chief Gieseke also played a key role in the department’s continued use of technology as the project lead during the introduction and implementation of the city’s on-officer cameras. Gieseke holds a Masters in criminal justice leadership from Concordia University in St. Paul and a bachelor in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 248 in Quantico, Virginia and Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command Session 258.

RYAN KAPAUN In 2007, Ryan Kapaun was hired as Eden Prairie Police Department’s (EPPD) first crime analyst. Among his duties is managing EPPD’s social media presence. Ryan is a past president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Intelligence Analysts (MACIA) and past president of the East African Area Studies Group, which focuses on gangs and crime trends affecting the East African population in Minnesota. In 2010, Ryan was named as MACIA’s Crime Analyst of the Year. In 2014, he received the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association’s Charles Rix Award of Excellence. Ryan has presented to dozens of law enforcement and analyst conferences and organizations about using social media for investigations. Ryan graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

WILLIAM KIRCHHOFF Bill Kirchhoff has 27 years experience managing five police departments which have employed up to seven hundred officers and civilians. Two of the agencies he managed, the Lakewood, Colorado Public Safety Department and the Arlington Texas Police Department were ranked among the Ten Best Suburban Police Departments in the U.S. by an panel of experts hired by the Ladies Home Journal. He is the recipient of the International City/County Management’s Public Safety Program Excellence Award for his development of the Safer Cities Program and was a member of the U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS Advisory Board. As a consultant to law enforcement agencies, Bill Kirchhoff has worked for cities and counties in Mexico, Latin America and the United States. Mr. Kirchhoff served three terms as a commissioner on the National Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies where he participated in the development of policing standards and the evaluation of more than two hundred law enforcement agencies over an eight-year period. Mr. Kirchhoff has taught police management at four universities, including the University of Southern California and the University of Colorado. He has served on the adjunct faculties and lectured on police matters for several universities and organizations including Northwestern University Traffic Institute, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Form and the Law Enforcement Television Network. Mr. Kirchhoff is the author or co-author of numerous law enforcement publications and training programs, including, How Bright is Your Badge?, Command Performance and Leadership & Career Development for Law Enforcement Officials.

KYLE KOENEN Kyle Koenen represents Senate District 17, which includes the counties of Swift, Chippewa, Kandiyohi and most of Renville. Koenen was first elected to the Senate in April of 2012, when he ran in a special election for Senate District 20 to serve the remaining term of the late Senator Gary Kubly. He won election in Senate District 17 in November 2012. Koenen was first elected to the House in 2002 and served until 2012. In addition to serving as the vice chair of the Tax Reform Division, Koenen is currently on the Tax Committee, Environment and Energy Committee and Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. He is also a Majority Whip. A graduate from Maynard High School and Willmar Technical College, Koenen and his wife Sandy live in Clara City, Minnesota. They have four sons and two granddaughters. Koenen was a dairy farmer for 27 years before he was elected to the legislature.

RICHARD LETT Richard Lett led the protection of senior members of the British Royal Family and coordinated protection operations at major state and international events; highlights include the weddings of Prince Charles and Camilla (2005), Prince William and Katherine (2011), the 200-year Commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar (2005) and the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations in (2002 and 2012). In 2012, Richard commanded the VIP protection operation in Central London for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Richard has always been committed to sport, training and youth projects. He has taken several years out of his police career to work as Team Leader for “Drive for Youth”, an ex offender, drug rehabilitation back-to-work program, and Raleigh International, a UK “Youth Gap Year” charity joining expeditions in Zimbabwe, Chile and Belize. In 1991, Richard won the British Sub Aqua Club’s “Wilkinson Sword” for achievements as an Advanced Diving Instructor; in 1995 the BBC produced a documentary highlighting Richard’s role in the rescue of three men, one a US citizen, off the coast of Belize. In 2001, Richard became a Royal Yachting Association Yacht Master Offshore Instructor. In 2012, after 32 years with Scotland Yard’s Royalty Protection Department, Richard retired after the London Olympics Closing Ceremony to be with his wife Margaret, who was born and raised in Minnesota. Immediately after his wedding Richard sailed single-handed in his 32 ft yacht, Pathways to Children across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island. Queen Elizabeth II made Richard a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2013 British New Year’s Honors Awards for his loyal service to the UK and the royal family. He now lives in Minnesota and is kept busy as an Ambassador for Pathways to Children, as a member advocate for the Minnesota Benefits Association (MBA), a non profit representing the MN public sector and motivational speaking.

JEFF MCCORMICK Chief Jeff McCormick started his career in law enforcement in 1989 and has served in a variety of positions including, patrol, investigations, narcotic investigations, firearms instructor, use of force instructor, FTO and D.A.R.E. instructor. He has served as a chief of police since July 2004. Chief McCormick has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Session 240. During his time as chief of police he has served as an instructor for policy development, budgeting and the politics of being a chief at CLEO and Command Academy, as well as presented at Executive Training Institute. As chief he has been involved in a variety of unique events and incidents/ His department has been using officer worn body cameras since 2011.

RAY MCCOY Ray McCoy started his career in law enforcement as a reserve officer with West Hennepin Public Safety in 1980. He was hired by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department in 1983 as a deputy and with West Hennepin Public Safety (WHPS) as a patrol officer in 1984. Ray served in many roles at WHPS including, accident reconstruction, investigator, sergeant and served as director of public safety for 14 years. Director McCoy was an active member of Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association, served on the Minnesota Chief of Police Association’s Executive Training Institute program committee for 12 years and North Memorial Public Safety Awards selection committee. He has been very active in his community serving on church boards, WECan Board and coaching youth football and basketball. Ray has been a firefighter on the Maple Plain Fire Department for 38 years, served as assistant fire chief for five years and fire chief for ten years. Ray retired from law enforcement on April 30, 2014. Retirement has been “phenomenal.” He enjoys camping, making maple syrup, home projects and spending time with his bride, children and grandkids. He enjoys the great opportunity to serve law enforcement through training with LETG software products.

SCOTT NADEAU Scott Nadeau has served as the chief of police for the City of Columbia Heights (CHPD) since April 2008. Chief Nadeau has led a distinguished twenty-eight year career in law enforcement. In the past six years as a police chief he has led his police department’s return to community oriented policing. This transformation has built and expanded important police community partnerships, which has led to six straight years of crime reduction, increased community and stakeholder support as evidenced by active partnerships and survey results. In addition, the community has experienced a sharp decline in youth arrests. The work of the CHPD under Chief Nadeau’s leadership has resulted in numerous awards and recognitions. These include the 2012 IACP Community Policing Award, the 2013 Columbia Heights School District’s Superintendents Award of Excellence, the 2012 Anoka County Public Health Award and others. Prior being hired as the chief of police in Columbia Heights Chief Nadeau served as a police officer (1987), Detective (1998), Sergeant (2002) and Commander (2005) of the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Chief Nadeau is also an educator who has instructed state university classes on a variety of topics since 2003 and has delivered training in classroom, conference and community settings to law enforcement officers and leaders. Chief Nadeau has also authored and co-authored articles and studies on various law enforcement subjects. Chief Nadeau holds a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement (1998) and a master’s degree (2003) in public administration, both from Metropolitan State University. He graduated from the 257th class of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy (2014).

PETER ORPUT Pete Orput is the Washington County attorney. He was elected to that position in November 2010. Prior to becoming county attorney, Pete served as an assistant Hennepin County attorney in the violent crime section of that office. There, Pete prosecuted primarily robberies, weapons and homicide cases. Prior to joining the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, Pete served as general counsel to the Minnesota Department of Corrections and prior to that he served in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office as the deputy attorney general in charge of the public protection section. Pete also served as lead prosecutor for a state anti-gang initiative for five years. In that position with the attorney general’s office, Pete prosecuted gang murders and drug dealing offenses throughout the state. Pete is a former high school history teacher and also served in the United States Marine Corps. He also serves as legal counsel to the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association where he has volunteered his services since 1994.

JOHN PEDERSON Senator John Pederson is currently serving his second term as a Minnesota State Senator for District 14. He is the minority party lead on the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee, as well as a member of the Senate Finance and the Capital Investment Committees. In addition to serving as a state senator, John is a part owner of Amcon Block & Precast, Inc. He has also served on the St. Cloud City Council, Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Commission and as Commissioner of the St. Cloud Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

JEFF POTTS Chief Jeff Potts is a 23-year veteran of law enforcement. He has served the Bloomington Police Department since 1991. He was a patrol officer, sergeant, commander and, since 2008, he has served as the chief of police. Chief Potts graduated from North Hennepin Community College and received his master’s degree in police administration from the University of St. Thomas. In 2001, he attended the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety and in 2007 the FBI National Academy.

TINA LEWIS ROWE Tina Lewis Rowe had a 33-year career in law enforcement, beginning with the Denver Police Department, where she retired as a patrol captain. Rowe then served for eight years as the presidential-appointed United States Marshal for Colorado. She was responsible for the production of the Oklahoma City bombing trails, held in Denver. She is the author of “A Preparation Guide for the Assessment Center Method”. Her material on church safety and security planning has been requested by over 25,000 churches, worldwide and is distributed without charge. She is a member of the FBINAA, 137th Session and has a bachelor of science in Organizational Development. She has trained, presented and consulted full-time since 2002.

KEVIN SABET Kevin Sabet, is an author, consultant, advisor to three U.S. presidential administrations, and assistant professor, He has studied, researched, written about and implemented drug policy for almost 20 years. He has worked in the Clinton (2000), Bush (2002-2003), staffs and in 2011 he stepped down after serving more than two years as the senior advisor to President Obama’s drug control director, having been the only drug policy staffer to have ever served as a political appointee in a Democrat and Republican administration. He has appeared since at the Aspen Ideas and New Yorker festivals, on the Organization of American States blue ribbon commission advising hemispheric drug policy and in hundreds of forums and discussions promoting the ideas outlined in his first book, Reefer Sanity: Seven Great Myths About Marijuana, published by Beaufort. He has been featured on the front page of the New York Times and in virtually every major media publication and news channel on the subject of drug policy. In 2013, Sabet co-founded, with former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), which advocates for a public health based marijuana policy. In addition to being President and CEO of SAM, he is also the Director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Addiction Medicine, and the author of numerous monographs and peer-reviewed journal articles.

NANCY SEGER Nancy Seger joined CornerHouse in February 2011. Nancy has day-to-day responsibility for the management of forensic interview services and medical services delivery. She also conducts forensic interviews with children, adolescents and vulnerable adults. Nancy holds a bachelor of arts in English from Macalester College and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. Nancy's extensive experience as a teacher, childrens mental health manager and community-based youth program manager helps inform her holistic perspective. Nancy is interested in finding creative ways to support all members of the multidisciplinary team.

ANDY SKOOGMAN Andy Skoogman was appointed the executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association in April 2014. Skoogman has extensive experience working with law enforcement and the military in a variety of roles for more than 10 years. He was the public information officer for the St Paul Police Department, the communications director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, an instructor at the BCA Senior Management Series, Metro State University and SKILLS. He’s been a communications and media subject matter expert/consultant with the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency since 2004. Skoogman began his career as a journalist where his reporting earned him three regional Emmy Awards. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and their three children.

SHUNU SHRESTHA Shunu Shrestha is the Trafficking Program Coordinator at Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA). She joined PAVSA in May 2010 to coordinate the Duluth Trafficking Task Force, a new program at that time. The task force continues to be an integral project for the trafficking program at PAVSA. Shunu continues to oversee the task force in addition to supervising the Safe Harbor Northeast Regional Grant to develop a response to sexually exploited and trafficked youth in seven counties – St. Louis, Carlton, Lake, Pine, Koochiching, Kanabec and Cook. Shunu has a masters of arts degree in Human Rights with a focus on violence against women from Columbia University, New York and a bachelor of arts degree in Women’s Studies and English from the College of Saint Catherine, St. Paul. Prior to coming to the United States in 2003, Shunu worked at various nongovernmental organizations in her native country of Nepal, where she actively worked to promote women’s human rights and to end violence against women including trafficking of girls and women.

LEE SJOLANDER Lee Sjolander was born in England, but decided at a very young age that he liked coffee more than tea, so he moved to the United States at the tender age of two-years old. Lee lived with his mother and his siblings all over Minnesota until he was 13-years old. He and his siblings were placed into the foster care system where Lee spent his high school years in Fairmont. Lee started working as a peace officer in 1995. He worked in Kenyon as a patrol officer until 1998. Following Kenyon, Lee worked for the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy, crime prevention officer, school resource officer and investigator where he was assigned to a narcotics task force and general investigations. Lee has received training in the areas of crisis negotiations, child sexual abuse forensic interview training, death investigations, interview & interrogation and drug enforcement administration training, just to name a few. Lee is more excited about his degree from the “School of Hard Knocks” than he is about his formal education. Lee has been Kenyon’s chief of police since 2007 and loves it. He has two full-time co-workers and a handful of part-time officers as well. Lee is very big on networking and knowing the people in the community. Lee started a Facebook page a few years back and now does a daily “blog” on it called, “Thoughts from Chief Sjolander” which is very well received. The Kenyon Police Department’s Facebook page has the largest following of any police department in the state of Minnesota with almost 20,500 followers. Lee lives in Kenyon, is married to Rebecca and has three children-Corey, 26, Bryant, 23, and Layla, 14.

JONAH WEINBERG Jonah Weinberg is executive director of the Autism Society of Minnesota. He brings more than two decades of experience in the nonprofit and public sector, with an emphasis on disability and underserved communities. In 2010 the Autism Society received a grant from the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disability to develop a training program for emergency responders on tools and tactics for interacting with youth and adults with autism. This POST certified training has been facilitated for dozens of organizations across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, including multiple police and sheriff departments, fire and EMS, TSA at the MSP airport, school safety officers, Hennepin County Medical Center’s emergency department, the Barbara Schneider Foundation and others. The Autism Society of Minnesota has been serving the state’s autism community since 1971 and is the oldest nonprofit focused on serving those impacted by autism, from birth through retirement.