Policing Leadership Academy (PLA)

Isa Abbassi serves as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Executive of the Paterson, NJ Police Department, and previously worked at the New York Police Department.

Assistant Chief Armando Aguilar oversees the Miami Police Department’s Administration Division. He has been with the Department for more than 20 years.

Chris Amon is the Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Chicago Field Division.

Chief Charlie Beck led the Los Angeles Police Department from 2009 to 2018, and was the Interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from 2019 to 2020.

Commissioner Kevin Bethel leads the Philadelphia Police Department.

Susan Birnbaum is the President and CEO of the New York City Police Foundation.

Commissioner Bill Bratton currently serves as co-chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council and as an Executive Chairman, Risk Advisory at Teneo. He led the Los Angeles Police Department from 2002 to 2009 and the New York Police Department from 1994 to 1996 and 2014 to 2016.

Captain Matt D’Andrea serves with the Worcester (MA) Police Department and represents PLA Cohort 5 as an Alumni Representative to the Advisory Committee.

Karen Freeman-Wilson is the current President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. Prior to that, she served as the Mayor of Gary, Indiana and the Attorney General for Indiana.

Lieutenant Greg Galliano oversees Patrol Operations for the Sacramento Police Department, and represents PLA Cohort 3 as an Alumni Representative to the Advisory Committee.

Colonel Jeffrey Glover leads the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and is the past president of the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Joseph Gramaglia previously served as the Commissioner of the Buffalo, NY Police Department.

Gil Kerlikowske is the former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and previously served as the Commissioner of the Buffalo, NY Police Department and Chief of the Seattle Police Department.

Chief Kathy Lester leads the Sacramento Police Department.

Sean Malinowski leads the Policing Lab, and previously served as the Chief of Staff at the Los Angeles Police Department.

Andy Marsh was appointed the CEO of the U.K. College of Policing in 2021. He previously served as the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset and Chief Constable of Hampshire.

Michael Masters is the National Director & CEO of the Secure Community Network. He is the former Executive Director of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Cook County, IL. Mr. Masters is currently serving on the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security and Advisory Committee.

General Stanley McChrystal is the founder of the McChrystal Group and the former commander of US Army and International Security Assistance Force and Joint Special Operations Command.

Major Emanuel McCown serves with the DeKalb County Police Department, and represents PLA Cohort 4 as an Alumni Representative to the Advisory Committee.

Liz Murrill was inaugurated as Louisiana’s 46th Attorney General in 2024.

Chief Paul Noel leads the Knoxville, TN Police Department.

Mayor Michael Nutter served two terms as Mayor of Philadelphia. Nutter served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, president of the PA Municipal League, and was named Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine. Nutter served in the Department of Homeland Security, is a Professor of Practice at Columbia University, a CNN commentator, Senior Fellow at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and national spokesperson for the What Works Cities program.

Chauncey Parker serves as the Director of the New York/New Jersey HIDTA, a federally-funded grant program that invests in public safety and public health partnerships to build safe and healthy communities. He was appointed to the NYPD as the Deputy Commissioner for Collaborative Policing in 2019. In 2024, Parker was appointed Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, and then Deputy Mayor, a position he served in until March 2025.

Julia Quinn is the Deputy Director of Philanthropy for Citadel, and previously served as Associate Director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab.

Commissioner Chuck Ramsey led the Philadelphia Police Department from 2008 to 2016. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of Metropolitan Police Department of DC.

Trisha Rooney is the Founder, President, and CEO of R4 Services LLC.

Jeffrey Sallet is the former Associate Deputy Director of the FBI. He has more than 25 years of experience in investigations, government regulations, and leadership. Currently, he serves as a Forensic & Integrity Services partner at Ernst & Young.

Maggie Shapack is the Director of Community Engagement for Shapack Partners.

Cornelia Sigworth is the former Associate Deputy Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. She currently works at Axon.

Superintendent Larry Snelling was appointed to lead the Chicago Police Department in 2023 until his retirement in 2026 and was previously the Chief of the Bureau of Counterterrorism at CPD.

Meredith Stricker is a Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives at C Street Advisory Group, having previously served as a Senior Advisor and the Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Policing Leadership Academy. Prior to that position, Meredith spent three years as the Chief of Staff at the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab.

Craig Turk is an Emmy-, Golden Globe-, and WGA Award-nominated writer and producer.

Julie Wertheimer is the Senior Program Officer for the Neubauer Family Foundation.

Julie Wilen is the Executive Director of the Pritzker Foundation.

Rodrigo Canales is the Co-Faculty Director of the Social Impact Program and the Kelli Questrom Associate Professor of Management & Operations at Boston University.

Tracie L. Keesee is the President and COO of the Center for Policing Equity.

Emily Owens is the Chair and Professor of Criminology, Law, and Society and Professor of Economics, University of California, Irvine.

Lawrence Sherman is the Chief Scientific Officer, Metropolitan Police, London & Emeritus Professor, University of Cambridge.

Wes Skogan is a Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University.

David Weisburd is a Distinguished Professor at George Mason University and Executive Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. He is also the Walter E. Meyer Professor Emeritus of Law and Criminal Justice at the Hebrew University Faculty of Law in Jerusalem. Weisburd serves as Chief Science Adviser at the National Policing Institute.