Darlene Rogers is a Sergeant with the Rochester Police Department (RPD) and has been with the department for 31-1/2 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Social Policy with the emphasis in law enforcement. She is currently working in the Professional Development Section as the supervisor overseeing the background investigations. She is responsible for supervising the backgrounds for 60% of the City of Rochester employees. During her career she has served as a patrol officer, Drug Abuse Resistance Educator (DARE), Train the Trainer for DARE, patrol Sergeant, Internal Affairs Sergeant, as Liaison for the Chief’s youth initiatives and as the commanding officer of the School Resource Officers. Darlene Resides in Rochester, New York.

Lt. James Perez has worked for the City of Fairfield, CT Police Department for over 28 years. He attended the University of New Haven (CT) and Central Christian College (KS) where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He also successfully completed the Connecticut Police Academy and the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development program. He has held many positions within the agency including a special task force member with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. He has taught the D.A.R.E. program in elementary school and was a member of the S.W.A.T. team for 14 years. Jim has trained law enforcement officers from Canada, Northern Ireland, Australia, Nicaragua, and throughout the United States. His clients include K-12/colleges/universities, municipal, houses of worship, state and federal employees, as well as private industries. Jim as a passion for training and energetic style of teaching make him a well sought-after instructor. His topics of expertise include; active-shooter training, crime prevention and CPTED, racial diversity, de-escalation and compliance communications. He also has a weekly “Crime on the Mind” radio show that is broadcast on WICC am. Jim resides in Fairfield, CT.

Dr. Lorenzo M. Boyd is a nationally recognized expert in police-community relations and an authority on urban policing, diversity issues in criminal justice, race and crime, and criminal justice systems. In July 2020, Dr. Boyd was named the University of New Haven’s vice president for diversity & inclusion and chief diversity officer. Dr. Boyd is also the former president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science and a life member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). He earned his doctorate from Northeastern University, his master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Bord currently resides in New Haven, CT.

Ronnell A. Higgins is the Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety at Yale University, in New Haven, CT. He has served in progressive leadership roles with the Ivy League institution for more than 20 years and has been the Chief of Police since 2011. His professional work at Yale is complemented by his role with the University of New Haven, where he serves as a Practitioner in Residence, a consultant/advisor in the University’s Center for Advanced Policing, and a professor (subjects in criminal justice and policing).

As Yale University’s Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, Ronnell has been highly instrumental in significantly reducing crime on campus, attaining a year-over-year decline in crime every year since 2011 (with 1 exception) and reducing UCR crimes to their lowest levels since Yale began reporting in 1985. He has also spearheaded numerous programs supporting excellence in on-campus safety, community policing, and deep collaborations with stakeholders, leaders, and members of both the University and City of New Haven communities while, at the same time, ensuring leading-edge focus on efforts to thwart terrorism, both bad actor/domestic concerns as well as international activities.

In a career spanning more than two decades, Ronnell has developed a reputation for thought leadership in on-campus policing and is recognized as a talented facilitator of greater integration (merging both the urban and the academic). He has advanced the training and professional development of security officers and safety managers, as well as fully integrated and maximized use of public safety systems, leveraging technology throughout campus.

Ronnell’s expertise has been sought in numerous, high-profile scenarios - including consulting in Ferguson, MO, following the 2017 death of Michael Brown and contributing to the assessment of the St. Louis County PD. Active within the community and industry, he was appointed to serve on the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System by Connecticut State Senator Martin Looney and was appointed as a member of the Police Officers Standards and Training Council (POSTC) by former Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy. He is an Executive Fellow with the Police Foundation and serves as an Executive Board Member with My Brothers' Keeper Mentoring Initiative. A past president of the South-Central Connecticut Chiefs of Police, Ronnell also serves on the executive board for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives for Connecticut (NOBLE). He was recently named among the “Most Influential in Security” by Security magazine.

Over the past few years, Ronnell has augmented his significant professional expertise through his work with the Department of Homeland Security’s graduate education program by completing a Master of Arts degree in Security Studies through an intensive program that included a 2-week California residency once each quarter over the course of four years at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. A graduate of the FBI’s National Academy, Ronnell holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement Administration from the University of New Haven and a certificate in Law Enforcement Education from the University of Virginia. Ronnell has also successfully completed the Crisis Leadership in Higher Education seminar at Harvard's Kennedy Graduate School of Education. 

William McHale has been the Director of Public Safety at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA since 2012. Prior to coming to F&M, Major McHale was the Director of the Bureau of Emergency and Special Operations of the Pennsylvania State Police. The Bureau oversees the Aviation Section, Electronic Surveillance Section, Special Emergency Response Teams (SERT), K9 Units, Hazardous Device and Explosives Section, and the Mounted Unit. Bill is a graduate of Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History. He attended the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in 2006, and obtained a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice through Wilmington University. While at Franklin & Marshall, Bill oversaw the transition to a fully armed Public Safety department. He also initiated a “community policing” model and created several very successful liaison programs with faculty, staff and student groups to enhance campus communications, cooperation and respect. The F&M Department of Public Safety is a fully accredited law enforcement agency in the state of Pennsylvania.