Chin Rodger
Chin has collaborated and supported individuals and organizations working on threat assessment, prevention and management. She is continuing to focus her efforts on understanding the pathway to targeted violence and the path forward for assessment, prevention and management. Chin is a board member of The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement having connected with Scarlett Lewis after both experienced the most profound loss from opposite ends of their tragedies -working to bring character and social emotional development to children , and adults in schools, workplace and communities - to choose love, hope and kindness over fear, anger and hate.
Andre Simons
Andre Simons is a Principal within Control Risks’ Crisis and Security Consulting practice for North America, based in Washington DC. Andre focuses on issues of workplace violence prevention and threat management, specializing in active shooter/active assailant prevention and response as well as communicated threats. Andre retired from the FBI as a Supervisory Special Agent after nearly 23 years of service, having devoted over 12 years to developing and advancing the FBI’s behavioral threat assessment program within the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in Quantico, Virginia. Andre served as the Unit Chief of the Behavioral Threat Assessment Center, the Cyber Behavioral Analysis Center, and the Crisis Negotiation Unit. Andre is a Certified Threat ManagerTM and has co-authored and published numerous works on violence prevention and communicated threat analysis, including the chapter “The Assessment of Anonymous Threatening Communications” in The International Handbook of Threat Assessment (2014 and 2nd edition 2021) and the report A Study of the Pre-Attack Behaviors of Active Shooters in the U.S., published by the FBI in 2018. Andre was formerly a member of the National Board for the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and currently serves on ATAP’s Training and Conference Planning Committees. Andre was an instructor at the FBI’s National Academy and holds a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Andre was formerly a police officer and member of the Crisis Intervention Team with the Portland Police Bureau where he routinely assisted persons in crisis and escalated individuals experiencing mental health challenges. Andre also worked in a community mental health center in Washington state providing services for severely behaviorally disturbed adolescents.
Chief Ryan Johansen, San Bruno Police Department
Ryan currently serves as the Chief of Police for the City of San Bruno. San Bruno is a diverse community of approximately 50,000 residents and is located amid the urban sprawl of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 8 miles south of San Francisco. Ryan has been a policing professional for approximately 20 years, and he began this career as a patrol officer with the Southeastern Division of the San Diego Police Department. Ryan transferred to the San Bruno Police Department in 2006 and in the years that followed, Ryan has served in a variety of positions and assignments, including: Police Chief, Incident Commander, Tactical Commander, Field Services Division Lieutenant, Administrative Division Lieutenant, Watch Commander, Public Information Officer, Traffic Sergeant, Patrol Sergeant, Detective Corporal, Gang Unit Supervisor, Patrol Corporal, and Patrol Officer. Ryan served as the Investigations Commander for the San Bruno Gas Pipeline Explosion in 2008, the Incident Commander for the YouTube Active Shooter Incident in 2018, and the Tactical Commander for the Tanforan Mall Active Shooter Incident in 2019. Ryan has provided training in active assailant prevention and response, as well as public/private partnership in critical incident response, all over the United States. Ryan possesses a Bachelor of Applied Sciences Degree in Law Enforcement Management, and he is currently enrolled in the Masters of Homeland Defense and Security Program at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
Doctor Subinoy Das, U.S. Institute for Advanced Sinus Care and Research
Dr. Das is the current CEO of the U.S. Institute for Advanced Sinus Care and Research, and the former Director of The Ohio State University Sinus and Allergy Center. Recognized as one of the nation's best sinus surgeons, he has received a Presidential Citation from the American Rhinologic Society and his NIH-funded research was awarded the 2013 Fowler Award (top basic science research award in otolaryngology) for his work on detecting the cause of sinus infections. Dr. Das was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his bachelor's degree at the University of Virginia, where he received the Alfred Burger Award for the top pre-medical student at the University. He received the Edwin Pullen Full Merit Scholarship to attend the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he was elected President of his class, received Alpha Omega Alpha Honors, and received the Richard Bowman Scholarship for the top clinical performance. He attended the University of North Carolina for residency and completed a fellowship in advanced sinus surgery and anterior skull base surgery at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Das suffers from chronic sinusitis following a high school baseball injury and suboptimal surgery. He is committed to providing the best surgical care that could be found anywhere in the United States, and across the globe, for his patients. He is a leader in minimally invasive sinus surgery, does not use nasal packing, and has helped to develop leading instruments/techniques used in sinus surgery including working on diagnostic tests and therapies to reduce the use of antibiotics for sinus disease, advanced computer guided surgery systems, hydro debridements therapies for sinus disease, and custom molecular-based therapies to avoid sinus surgery.
Brian Uridge, Deputy Director University of Michigan
Brian currently serves as the Deputy Director of DPSS for the University of Michigan and Director of Security for the University of Michigan Health System, Michigan Medicine. Brian is also a sworn police officer for the University. He manages over 200 public safety staff members for a system that has 30,000 employees that see over 2.2 Million patients a year. Brian retired as the Assistant Chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety in Kalamazoo, Michigan after 23 years. He is the recipient of the Kalamazoo Public Safety Medal of Valor and Kalamazoo Public Safety Lifesaving award. Brian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, along with being a Board- Certified Protection Professional (CPP) Board-Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA) and Board-Certified Threat Manager (CTM)
SSA Kendall Donahue, Department of State
Supervisory Special Agent Kendall R. Donahue is the Branch Chief of Investigations for the DS Office of Protective Intelligence Investigations, where she supervises PII’s threat management investigations. SSA Donahue began her career as a DS agent in 2005. SSA Donahue started her career at the DSS New York Field Office, and has served in a wide variety of domestic and overseas assignments to include the Branch Chief of Investigations and Vetting at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq. Prior to joining DS, SSA Donahue was a high school biology teacher. SSA Donahue holds a B.S. in Biological Science and a Masters in Science Education from the University of Georgia.
Russell Palarea, Ph.D.
Dr. Russell Palarea is an internationally recognized expert and thought leader in behavioral threat assessment, having trained a multitude of law enforcement, security services, military, and corporate security personnel in Canada, Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Through his company, Dr. Palarea serves as the contract Consulting Operational Psychologist for the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). He was brought to DSS in 2012 to spearhead the creation of the State Department’s Threat Management Program. Dr. Palarea currently consults on investigations of threats and violence risk against State Department leadership, personnel, facilities, and protectees. He also provides consultation to the DSS Insider Threat Program and other DSS investigative offices. Dr. Palarea is an instructor for the DSS Training Academy instructor and presenter for the DSS Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). Prior to consulting with DSS, Dr. Palarea served for 10 years as a Staff Operational Psychologist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), providing psychological consultation on violent crime and counterterrorism investigations. Additionally, Dr. Palarea has consulted on targeted violence and counterterrorism investigations for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and served as an instructor for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). Dr. Palarea holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Forensic Clinical Psychology from the University of Nebraska. He has been an active member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) since 1996 and served as ATAP’s President from 2017 to 2021. He is also a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.
Stephanie Leite, Psy.D.
Dr. Stephanie Leite is the principal at Forensic Intelligence, LLC. She has worked with high-risk children, adolescents, and adults for over 25 years focusing on the prevention of violence. She is a psychologist holding licenses in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. She has spoken internationally on her favorite topics. She is the current president of the New England Chapter of Threat Assessment Professionals, the president of the forensic division of the Connecticut Psychological Association, and is affiliated with the University of Hartford and Columbia University. She loves complex chewy cases and is always available and approachable.