RTI Policing Symposium: Data Driven Reform in Policing

Trevor Allen was named Director of the North Carolina Justice Academy in 2017. Trevor began his law enforcement career in 1992 with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff. In 1993, Trevor joined the Salisbury Police Department where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant of Professional Standards. In 2020, Trevor began developing and delivering law enforcement in-service mandates and train-the-trainer courses using classroom, eLearning and blended mediums in 26 states. Trevor began his career with the North Carolina Department of Justice in 2013, as a Research and Planning specialist and became a Deputy Director of the department in 2014 where he led the Training and Research Section of the Criminal Justice Standards Division. Trevor earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Catawba College and his Master’s degree in Justice Administration from Methodist University.

Lieutenant Alan Balog is a 15-year veteran of law enforcement. During his career, Lt. Balog has served in all areas of policing including patrol, investigations, and administration. He is currently assigned to the Professional Standards Division with supervisory oversight of internal affairs, recruitment/hiring, evidence control, and the use of force review committee. Throughout his career he has implemented evidence-based solutions to public safety issues. This evidence-based focus has included design of the Burlington Police Department intelligence-led policing strategy (19% reduction in Part 1 crime), design and implementation of a countywide opioid response strategy (60% reduction in overdoses & 65% reduction in overdose deaths), and the elimination of illegal gambling (sweepstakes / fish games) in Burlington. Lieutenant Balog holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in Public Safety Leadership and Administration from Arizona State University. Lieutenant Balog was selected as the 2019 North Carolina Police Executive of the Year by the North Carolina Police Executives Association. He is married to Lindsay Balog and has two adorable children, Sophie, and Logan.

Duren Banks, PhD is the Division Vice President for Applied Justice Research at RTI International, which includes research centers focused on community safety, law enforcement, forensic and investigative sciences, courts, and corrections. She is an expert on many aspects of the court system in the United States, along with related issues of juvenile justice, school safety, and the interaction of law enforcement and community groups. Dr. Banks’ work helps local and state agencies respond to criminal justice concerns. She plays a key role in several ongoing surveys, including the Survey of Law Enforcement Personnel in the Arrest-Related Deaths Program. As part of the White House Now is the Time initiative, she is leading the evaluation of school safety programs, including the Project AWARE effort to respond to mental health issues in schools. Before joining RTI in 2012, Dr. Banks served as chief of the Prosecution and Adjudication Statistics Unit of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, overseeing multiple national data-collection projects related to the nation’s court system. Dr. Banks earned her master’s degree and doctorate in Criminology from the University of Maryland.

Lorenzo M. Boyd, PhD is a nationally recognized expert in police-community relations and an authority on urban policing. Dr. Boyd currently serves as the Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion and former Director of the Center for Advanced Policing at the University of New Haven. His 14-year service as a deputy sheriff in Boston informs his 20-year career in higher education. He effectively translates research and theory into practice, making him a sought-after consultant, trainer, and speaker for departments and communities across the country. Dr. Boyd conducts professional development training with a central focus on building levels of empathy, lived experience, and cultural competence among police personnel. He works with police leaders around the country to determine training needs and develops interactive professional development sessions that include real-life scenarios and role play. Dr. Boyd regularly appears on local, regional, national, and international media outlets to discuss policing in the aftermath of high-profile cases. Dr. Boyd is the former president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science and a life member of National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He earned his doctorate from Northeastern University. He also holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts.

Audria Bridges was named Assistant Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in June of 2020. Bridges received her undergraduate degree in political science and criminal justice from North Carolina State University in 1994. Bridges began her law enforcement career in 1996 as a patrol officer for the Concord Police Department. In 1996, Bridges was the recipient of the Most Outstanding Student Award for Rowan-Cabarrus Basic Law Enforcement Training where she currently serves as the Criminal Justice Advisory Chair. In 1998, Bridges was hired by the SBI and attended the SBI 28th Special Agent Academy. Bridges was assigned as a drug agent for the Coastal-Wilmington District office where she managed state and federal drug cases, often providing lead undercover assistance. In 2006, Bridges earned an MBA from Pfeiffer University. In 2009, Bridges was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Southern Piedmont-Charlotte District. In 2011, Bridges was selected and successfully completed the FBI National Academy (Session #247). In 2015, Bridges was promoted to Special Agent in Charge of the Southern Piedmont -Charlotte District office. Bridges led and managed numerous complex public corruptions and use of force cases while engaging community leaders in the Charlotte metro area. Since being promoted to Assistant Director, Bridges has influenced and enhanced a diversity and inclusion action plan for the SBI, one of the SBI’s top priorities. Bridges also oversees the Special Investigations Unit, Internal Affairs Unit, Inspections and Compliance Unit, Financial Crimes Unit, and the Case Records Management System.

Matthew Brody serves as special advisor to the director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in the areas of strategy and planning under a cooperation agreement between the SBI and The University of North Carolina (UNC) System. Matt is presently Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of the UNC System and has previously held management positions with UNC-Chapel Hill, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Duke University. As a law enforcement administrator, Matt previously served as an Assistant Director of the Duke University Police Department and began his career as a law enforcement analyst and Police Planning & IT Administrator with the Durham, North Carolina Police Department. He has bachelor’s degree in information systems management and a master’s degree in management from the University of Maryland University College. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) and a member of the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners.

Robert A. Brown, PhD is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from Hampton University, his M.S. in Criminology from Indiana State University, and his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to earning his doctorate, he worked as a sentencing mitigation specialist for the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) coordinating offender-specific rehabilitation and supervision plans for offenders at the state and federal levels. Dr. Brown's research focuses on street-level interactions between police officers and citizens (e.g., citation, arrest, use of force), the influence of race and gender (of officials and offenders) on criminal justice processing, and the impact of intermediate sanctions and problem-solving courts on rehabilitation and criminal justice processing. His scholarly work has been published in Justice Quarterly; The Journal of Criminal Justice; Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management; The Journal of Crime and Justice; The Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice; Criminal Justice Studies; and "The Blackwell Companion to Criminology."

Monica Croskey Chaparro serves as the Assistant Budget & Management Services Director for the City of Durham, North Carolina. In her role, Monica leads the Office of Performance and Innovation overseeing enterprise-level strategic planning, performance management, process improvement and innovation. Prior to joining the City of Durham, Monica served as the Strategic Planning & Performance Manager for the City of Raleigh where she developed and implemented the Capital City’s first-ever strategic plan and performance management system. She has served in similar capacities in Mecklenburg County, NC and Rock Hill, SC. Monica began her career by gaining valuable operational department experience with Charlotte Water. Monica earned a Master of Public Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Winthrop University.

Eric Hutchison, PhD is the owner of Hutchison Consulting, a firm specializing in Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and Employee Engagement. Founded in 2015, his firm works with individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector. Eric’s background includes more than 25 years of professional experience and 15 years of teaching undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. While building a professional career in the financial industry, he led teams responsible for national branding, product development, strategy and distribution, and mergers and acquisitions. While working on his doctorate, Eric’s professional experience expanded to include the design, development, and administration of public safety job analysis and examinations (entry-level and promotional) and the training of community members who participate as community evaluators in a police and fire selection process. Eric presented his research on community involvement in police officer selection at two international conferences: the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP) in 2019 and The Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists (SIOP) in 2020. This year, Eric will be presenting at the SIOP conference with a team of researchers on Advancing the Effort to Engage the Community in Police Officer Selection. Eric holds a BA in Marketing from Kent State University, an MBA from Otterbein University, and an MS and PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Walden University.

Lieutenant Kelly Muniz is a Southern California native who has served the Los Angeles Police Department for more than 21 years in a variety of assignments to include Gang and Narcotics Division, Internal Affairs, Metropolitan Division, the Office of Operations and now the Acting Commanding Officer of the Detective Support and Vice Division. Most of the personnel assigned to the Detective Support and Vice Division work in mental health crisis response or follow up and are partnered with clinicians from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Lt. Muniz lead the recent implementation of the Didi Hirsch 911 diversion line, providing an opportunity for those suffering from a non-violent mental health crisis to obtain treatment without a police response. In May of 2019, Lt. Muniz completed a master’s degree in Executive Leadership from the University of Southern California, which included research on police response to homelessness and law enforcement’s role in identifying homegrown violent extremism.

Detective Elizabeth Reyes was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In 1999, she was first hired with the City of Los Angeles as a legal clerk at the City Attorney’s Office where she first worked alongside members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In 2001, she joined the Department and worked a variety of assignments as a police officer, including five years at the Mental Evaluation Unit (MEU), Crisis Response Support Section, where she found her passion. While at MEU, she completed her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Criminal Justice. In 2014, she promoted to the rank of detective in Hollywood Area and went on to investigate sensitive/high profile cases at the Abused Child Unit, Threat Management Unit, and Internal Affairs. In 2019, Detective Reyes returned to the MEU, where she is currently the acting officer-in-charge of the Administrative-Training Detail. She is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of the Department’s training curricula regarding police interactions with persons suffering from a mental illness, including the internationally recognized Mental Health Intervention Training (MHIT). She reviews and writes the Department’s policies and procedures involving interactions with persons suffering from a mental illness. For the past six years, she has been an active member of the Department’s Peer Support Program and uses her platform at MHIT to encourage officers to recognize the importance of officer wellness by sharing her personal experiences, to reduce the stigma of mental illness. Elizabeth has been married to her husband, David, for 15 years and is the proud mother of two sons, ages 13 and 10.

Jennifer Rineer, PhD is an expert in the health and well-being of employees and organizations. As a member of our Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science, she applies her academic background in industrial and organizational psychology and occupational health to workplace and workforce surveys, qualitative studies, employee trainings and evaluations in criminal justice contexts. Her research focuses on worker health, job-related stress, diversity and inclusion, organizational effectiveness, and related topics. Currently, Dr. Rineer serves as co-principal investigator for a Department of Justice-funded project to develop programs to reduce stress for law-enforcement officers across the United States. She is also a task lead on two foundation-funded projects to implement and evaluate pretrial reform initiatives in jurisdictions throughout the country. Dr. Rineer serves as the Deputy Chair for RTI’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. Dr. Rineer earned her master’s degree and doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Portland State University.

Chief Chris Skinner became Eugene’s police chief on April 30, 2018. Previously Chief Skinner served as Richland, Washington’s, chief of police since 2011. He began his public safety career in Oregon with the Monmouth Police Department where he served as a reserve officer from 1989 to 1991. During his tenure with the Hillsboro Police Department from 2001 to 2011, Chief Skinner moved up the ranks from police lieutenant, to commander, and then deputy chief. While there, he had the opportunity to work with diverse populations and initiated a Domestic Violence Response Team to better serve victims of domestic abuse in the community. In Richland, Chief Skinner focused on growing the police department’s communication and community policing efforts while implementing data-driven initiatives to reduce crime. He served as a co-chair of the Tri-City Coalition against Trafficking and the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Taskforce against the Trafficking of Humans. Within his department, he also created an Internet Crimes against Children taskforce. Chief Skinner is a founding co-chair of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chief’s Public Trust Committee, which uses 21st Century Policing to guide work aimed at building trust between public safety agencies and communities across Washington. He is currently 2nd vice president for Oregon Association Chiefs of Police. Chief Skinner earned a master’s degree in business administration from George Fox University and a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement and psychology from Western Oregon University. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Jameila “Meme” Styles founded MEASURE in 2015 to promote the use of evidence-based projects and tools to tell real-life stories behind the numbers. As a catalyst for systems change, MEASURE has grown to a fully operational nonprofit social enterprise that provides free data support to Black and Brown-led organizations, while charging white-led organizations the full rate of MEASURE’s services to contribute to this anti-racist revenue model. Mrs. Styles is a AARO Fellow, past-Chairwoman of Miss Juneteenth, Austin Police Chief’s Award of Excellence recipient, Austin 40 under 40 WINNER 2019, past-Chairwoman of African TV5 (AFTV5) and the Austin Black Chamber's 2017 Community Leader of the Year. Mrs. Styles holds a Bachelor's of Science in Communications, Masters Of Public Administration and is certified in Performance Measurement through George Washington University College of Professional Studies.

Sergeant Ryan Todd has been with the Greensboro Police Department for just over 17 years. Previously, Sgt. Todd was over Greensboro Police Department’s Public Housing Unit. Sgt. Todd has been an active member of Greensboro Police Department’s Recruitment team for over 8 years and in 2019, he became in charge of the whole Recruiting and Background Investigation Unit. Sgt. Todd is a committee member of Greensboro Police Department’s LGBT+ Task Force and was recently on Greensboro’s Safer City Summit Equal Housing Coalition.

Commander Kevin Warych started his law enforcement career in 2001 with the Green Bay Police Department (WI). Over the past 19 years Commander Warych has held positions as a patrol officer, field training officer, field training supervisor, patrol lieutenant and captain. As a District Captain, he was responsible for one of the four districts. As a Captain, he led the Professional Standards Division, led the Community Policing Division by implementing crime reduction strategies, and was the Chief of Staff assisting the Chief of Police. As Captain, he developed strong community engagement ties. He is dedicated to bringing residents together to enhance the quality of life for all. In 2017, he received the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 40 under 40 award for his tireless work in community engagement. He has built strong community connections to help break social barriers in the Hispanic, Somali/Muslim, and Black communities. Currently as Commander of Operations he leads the patrol division and oversees the department specialty units which includes the SWAT, Dive, Marine, K9, and PRIDE Teams. He is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of officers and passing on his knowledge and experience to all officers to make the strong and needed community connections for the future. Commander Warych has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Quality from Marian College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Spanish from UW-Oshkosh. He is a 2019 graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston, Massachusetts. He and his wife are blessed with three children and spend most of their time with their children’s activities.