HONORARY CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chief Mary Ann Viverette has been with the Gaithersburg Police since 1979, holding all ranks until her appointment as Chief of Police in 1986. Chief Viverette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement/ Criminology and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management, both from the University of Maryland. She also graduated from the FBI National Academy, Session 155, in 1988. Chief Viverette is currently the Vice President on the Board of Officers of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). In 1996, Chief Viverette was a founding member and is a Vice-President of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. She has been a member of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association since her appointment in 1986 and serves on the Maryland Chiefs’ Executive and Training Committees. In 1995, the Gaithersburg Police Department received the US Conference of Mayor’s Livability Award for its Community Policing efforts citywide.

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Louis A. Mayo has been engaged in advancing policing nationwide since 1967; and study, research operations and training for over 50 years. He is President of Mayo, Mayo and Associates, Inc. which is devoted to solving police management and operations problems and he is the founder of the Police Association for College Education.  As staff co-founder of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) he directed nationwide training programs to improve policing and all other components of the criminal justice system. Many improvements in policing today were initiated or significantly advanced by his efforts, including: "Police Family Crisis Intervention and Conflict Management", "Managing Criminal Investigations", "Managing Patrol Operations", Cutback Management", Maintaining Municipal Integrity", "Full Service Neighborhood Team Policing", and "Differential Police Response to Calls for Service."  His personal research on "Police Pursuit Policy" was cited by the Texas Supreme Court in their landmark decision on this subject. 

Lt. Col Jeffrey D. Coons is a police officer for the South Kingstown, RI Police Department and serving on active duty with the Rhode Island National Guard.  He has over nine years police experience.  Born in New Bedford, MA, he was graduated in 1977 from Northeastern University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice.  In 1981, after working on the Bangor, ME Police Department, Officer Coons was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.  Officer Coons left the Army in 1992 and joined the South Kingstown Police Department.  He is a 2000 graduate of Salve Regina University where he earned a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice. His current assignment with the Rhode Island National Guard is Deputy Inspector General.  He resides in South Kingstown where, as a former Eagle Scout, he helps his son’s troop as an Assistant Scoutmaster.  Officer Coons has three children, Jeffrey Jr. 16, Rachel 14 and Laura 12.

Lt. Charles J. Hawkins was the Executive Director of the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions, at Woodstock, Maryland from 1993 until his retirement in January 2004. Don has a BA degree in Education from the University of Mississippi and a MA degree in Psychology from Bowie State College.  Don was chairman of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association’s Training Committee, Chairman of the Maryland Correctional Administrators Association’s Training Committee, and Co-Chairman of the Maryland Sheriffs’ Association’s Training Committee.  He also served on the Executive Boards of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, the Maryland Sheriffs’ Association and the Maryland Correctional Administrators Association.  Don is a Past-President of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training. A lifelong Maryland resident, he has been married for 35 years, has two children and one grandchild.

Dr. Thomas V. Svogun received his B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Boston College and his J.D. from Cornell University.  He has practiced law in New York and is Professor of Administration of Justice at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.  For many years, he served as the Director of the Administration of Justice Graduate Program at Salve Regina and was founder and Director of the University’s Institute for Justice and Police. He recently served as a member of the Round Table on Justice and the Criminal Law at Oxford University.

Dr. William Tafoya, Ph.D. is a Professor at the Criminal Justice Department, School of Public Safety & Professional Studies, University of New Haven. Dr. Tafoya is a retired Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He gained notoriety for his contributions in the infamous UNABOM investigation, which was concluded in 1996 with the subsequent conviction in federal court of Theodore Kaczynski. For 12 months, on loan from the FBI, Dr. Tafoya served as a Research Fellow with the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future for the 101st Session of the U. S. Congress. There he conducted research on the use of high technology and future crime. He remains the only law enforcement officer ever invited to serve in this capacity. He is the first law enforcement officer to make investigative use of the Internet in 1993 as well as the World Wide Web. He recently completed service on the National Cybercrime Training Partnership (NCTP) of the U.S. Department of Justice. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Policing of Cyberspace as well the Police Association for College Education. As a faculty member he teaches graduate courses in computer crime investigation as well as research methods and statistics. Dr. Tafoya's research interests include intrusion detection, terrorism (international and cyberterrorism), and creative problem solving as well as national security issues such as homeland security. He is the founder of the Society of Police Futurists International.

Ms. Peggy E. Triplett has devoted over 30 years to improving local policing, primarily  through Federal programs.  She was on the staff of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice in the 1960’s followed by the staff of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in the 1970’s  She was also special assistant to the New York City Police Commissioner.  More recently she has been a consultant to assist police departments in improving their management and operations.