Certified Safe Schools, LLC is honored by the support of a diverse range of active and retired law enforcement professionals – sheriffs, deputies, police chiefs and dedicated officers, who generously lend their time, experience and expertise toward the tactical soundness of this program.
Wayne B. Black has more than forty years of professional security experience in both the public and private sectors. He was selected as the Security Coordinator for the Jewish Olympics Maccabi Games in Boca Raton, Florida. He routinely provides detailed life safety/threat assessments for schools, churches, synagogues, corporations, hospitals and other public facilities. Wayne has personally supervised protection details and special threat assignments in the United States, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South America.
As a contractor for the US Department of Homeland Security after the events of 9/11, he supervised a Red Team conducting threat assessment and penetration surveys at national security events such as Top Officials IV and Super Bowl Arizona. Mr. Black has been qualified to testify as an expert witness regarding security in Federal and State courts. He also served as a law enforcement group supervisor in Janet Reno’s State Attorney Public Corruption/Organized Crime Division in Miami. Prior, he was assigned to the United States Justice Department Inter-Agency Task Force at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) where he received numerous awards and commendations from the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney. He has held national level security clearance(s).
Since February 2009, retired Knox County Sheriff Stephen Luce has served as the Executive Director for the Indiana Sheriffs Association. As the Executive Director he administers all affairs of the Association including statewide training for all Sheriffs and their employees, legislation, fundraising, annual membership drive, acts as a liaison for the Sheriffs in communicating to State Offices and the Governor Pence’s Office, as well as organize and supervise research and educational programs for the Association.
In 1985, Luce began his career in the Knox County Work Release Program as a supervisor and in 1990 he was hired on to the Vincennes Police Department as a Patrolman working much of his time as a School Liaison Officer. In 1997 he was appointed as a Deputy with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and was elected as the Knox County Sheriff in 2002. During his term as the Knox County Sheriff, Luce served on the board of directors for the Indiana Sheriffs Association and in 2007 he was appointed president of the association. In 2007, he was also appointed by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to the Indiana Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Luce graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, in June of 1990 after studying at Indiana University, Hanover College and Murray State University.
Steve Luce’s efforts in working with both the Indiana Sheriff’s Association (ISA) and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA) are recognized as part of a law enforcement collaborative effort at the national level in working diligently toward the improvement of school security in America.
Sheriff Steve further extended this collaborative effort toward sustainable intervention in preventing school violence via new initiatives focused on promoting and accelerating tangible resources to build and maintain protocols that insulate schools from violence. His ongoing efforts in working with school leadership, the judicial system, law enforcement community stakeholders, and their federal partners, continue to this day with school safety resource platforms and initiatives that offer support in creating learning environments that minimize potential threats and maximize resilience, while providing insight to public safety and recognizing that the first responsibility of a school is to educate.
* 2020- Appointed as Co- Chair, National Sheriffs’ Association – School Safety and Security Committee
*2012-2014 National Sheriffs’ Association Jail Advisory Committee Member
*2012-2014 Chairman of the National Sheriffs’ Association of State Sheriffs’ Association Executive Directors
*2013 Vice-Chair of the National Sheriffs’ Association of State Sheriffs’ Association Executive Directors
*2010 Chair of the Indiana Sheriff s Association Sex Offender Registry Committee
*2010 Secretary for the National Sheriff s Association State Executive Directors and Presidents Committee
*Indiana American Legion Lewis Schmidt Law Officer of the Year award (2006)
*Indiana Veteran s of Foreign Wars Law Officer of the Year Award (2008)
Damon Fay is a retired 24-year veteran investigator and Sergeant for the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico. He was a primary case agent for homicides, police officer involved shootings and major violent crimes cases for 14 of his career years. As a supervisor he led an officer involved shooting team and assisted in numerous major crime joint jurisdictional investigations and task force initiatives. Damon is a recognized expert in homicide investigations, police use of force and general police procedures. During his extensive investigative career he has developed nationally accepted procedures for homicide investigation and cold cases. He has become one of the leading circumstantial case specialists in the country. Local, state and federal prosecutors and police command have called upon Fay many times in his career to provide expertise in complex, high profile and highly sensitive investigations. As a Sergeant of the Advanced Training Unit of the Albuquerque Police Academy, Damon and his staff oversaw the specialization training and career advancement of police personnel. He is an instructor in Use of Force and Intermediate Use of Force, Homicide and Cold Case Investigation, Major Case Management, Interview and Interrogations and Contact Weapon Defense. Damon currently lectures, professionally instructs and remains an industry expert witness and technical advisor.
Monte Gould is a former (honorably retired) State of California Peace officer (27 ½ years of service) and SWAT (HRT) member (22 ½ years), former US Marine, and US Army Special Operations Forces (24 years of service) active and reserve SNCO. His last SWAT assignment was as an Assault Team leader and Master SWAT state instructor. He has participated in multiple combat, foreign & domestic and counter-narcotic missions; combat operations with US, Dutch and French Special Forces including the elite French “Commandos Hubert”.
Further working as a contractor in High-risk protection teams with heads of state and clients throughout the world. Monte has attended numerous Civilian Law Enforcement, Army, Marine and Navy special operations related schools, and extraordinary training. He is a certified Firearms Instructor, holding numerous FBI, State of California and manufacture certification relative to weapons instruction and Executive protection. Throughout his career he has attended over 130 different schools, classes and advanced instructor trainings. He possesses specialized knowledge of Hostage rescue in fortified locations / heavily reinforced target locations, urban operations and CQB.
Gulf War veteran Tom Rovetuso is the Owner and Chief Instructor of Angel One Training Group, LLC. A1TG conducts firearms and tactics training for law enforcement, military and civilian clients. Currently serving as a part-time police officer for the Village of Lakemoor, Illinois, assigned as the training officer, Tom is honorably retired after 24 years of service with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office with his last five years assigned to the Training Division as the full time Senior Firearms and Tactics Instructor and part-time Tactical Response Team (TRT). Tom served 23 years as a member of the Tactical Response Team and has extensive training and experience in Police Special Operations and Police Sniping.
While serving on TRT, Tom held the positions of Entry Team Member, Assistant Team Leader, Team Leader, Sniper, Sniper Team Leader, Assistant Field Commander and Field Commander. Tom has extensive experience in school safety critical incident management and active shooter training. Mr. Rovetuso served in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry Sergeant and is a Gulf War Veteran.
Sheriff Ron Skinner began his career in law enforcement in 1972 as a reserve deputy for Washoe County, Nevada. He moved to Emery County, Utah in 1976 to take a full-time deputy position and worked the rest of his career in rural law enforcement agencies in Utah, Colorado, and Nevada, retiring in 2011, after serving four terms as Sheriff of Pershing County, Nevada.
Sheriff Skinner is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and has extensive training and certification in administration, investigation, and community policing. He served as Commissioner on the Nevada Peace Officer Standards and Training Board and was a member of the Governor’s Commission on Substance Abuse, Intervention and Prevention.
In 1976 Sheriff Jim Whalen began his law enforcement career in the U. S. Air Force as a law enforcement specialist. In 1982 he became a police officer for the City of Garden Grove in Orange County, California. During his tenure with Garden Grove, he was a patrol officer, field training officer, a career criminal surveillance team member and a detective. Additionally, while working at Garden Grove he obtained his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from California State University, Fullerton.
Due to residing in Riverside, California, Jim transferred to the Riverside Police Department in 1988. After working for Riverside, Jim and his wife (Bobbie) followed their dream and moved to Jackson (Hole), Wyoming in 1990, where Jim began his Wyoming law enforcement career with the Jackson Police Department. Jim became a school resource officer and DARE officer in 1992. In 1999 he was asked to become the Operations Captain at the Teton County Sheriff’s Office by the newly elected sheriff. During his tenure as captain, Jim obtained his Masters degree in International Criminal Justice through Michigan State University.
In 2009, Jim was appointed Sheriff when the elected sheriff retired midterm. Jim was then successful in two elections after his appointment and served two additional 4-year terms. He retired from law enforcement in January, 2019. Jim is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (class 253) and attended the Southwestern Law Enforcement Legal Institute command college.
Assistant Chief Jason Zdilla retired from the Chandler Police Department in October 2019, after serving the city for 25 years. He has extensive experience in patrol response, criminal investigations including computer forensics and data security, tactical response, homeland security and risk mitigation, and employee development and accountability. Assistant Chief Zdilla holds a Master of Administration from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University.
Jason is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command and has served on the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Technology and Communications subcommittee and the FirstNet Authority as the IACP representative to the Public Safety Advisory Committee.