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Board of Directors

CPKN is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors of senior level policing professionals from police services and training institutions. The Board establishes the organization’s strategic priorities based on the needs of the public safety community.

Chief Pedersen has more than 35 years of exceptional police experience and is well regarded for his contribution to police education.

He holds a Master of Public Administration from Western University, a Diploma in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University, and is a graduate of executive leadership programs from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business, the National Police Improvement Agency in the United Kingdom, and the Senior Management Institute for Police through the Police Executive Research Forum in the United States

He holds the Certified Municipal Manager Police Executive Level 3 Designation and an Executive Diploma in Management Level 7 through the Chartered Management Institute. He is the proud recipient of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.

Paul became the Chief of the Greater Sudbury Police Service in 2014 and continues to be a proponent for change and innovation. He is a strong advocate for community policing and Sudbury’s full circle approach to community safety and wellbeing.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Chief MacSween moved to Ontario in 1987 and began his career with York Regional Police in 1989. He brings a balance of operational, administrative and strategic experience to his current role.

Chief MacSween is responsible for 2,300 employees, an operating and capital budget of $390 million and community safety for 1.2 million citizens.

He has previously served in the #2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau, the Hold-Up Unit and the Community Services Bureau. Deputy Chief MacSween was promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2013 and was assigned to the Duty Inspector Bureau in the Town of Aurora. He also served as an Inspector in the Training and Education Bureau. In 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Superintendent and served as the officer in charge of #2 and #4 District respectively. He served as Superintendent of Operational Command, which includes the 9-1-1 Communications Centre and the Real Time Operations Centre. He was promoted to Deputy Chief on May 15, 2019 and assigned to the Support Branch before assuming the role of Chief on May 1, 2020.

Chief MacSween holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Justice Studies from the University of Guelph and a diploma in Police Foundations Leadership from the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. His professional leadership training includes the Police Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management and the Executive Strategic Management program at the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston, Massachusetts.

He is a recipient of the Governor General’s Exemplary Service 20-year medal and completed his 30th year of policing in October of 2019.  

He currently sits as an Executive Committee Vice President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN). He is also an active member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Forum, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major City Chiefs Association.

Active in the community, Chief MacSween is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors for St. John Ambulance and has previously served as Chair of its Community Services Committee. He has volunteered his time with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics Ontario, including serving on the games organizing committee for the 2013 Special Olympics Summer Games held in York Region. He is also an annual participant in the Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Chief MacSween has extensive experience in the areas of leadership development, performance management, project management, innovation and technology and change management.

He remains proud of the partnerships York Regional Police share with both policing and non-police agencies and the strong relationships that have been developed with the diverse communities in York Region.

Chief MacSween is married with four children and enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Born into a police family in Lachine, Quebec. Chief Dulude is the 7th member of his family to be part of a police force. Starting with his great grandfather and down to him. Shawn began his career in 1993 with the Dorion Police Department as a Patrolman; over time as the departments merged in to the Surete du Quebec this is where Shawn developed his skills as he moved up the ranks.

From 2004-2010 he went from Sargeant to Assistant Director at the Valleyfield detachment. During this time, he went back to school and obtained two University certificates in Police management from the University of Quebec. In 2010 he was commissioned and made the decision to move to Havre St Pierre to become the detachment Commander where he worked with the Mingan and Natashquan Innu First Nations. During his career with the provincial police, he held many different leadership positions in different regions of the province. Quite involved in every local minor hockey association where he and his family lived, Shawn's charity of choice is Special Olympics Quebec. He was Quebec's provincial Torch Run Director from 2016-2018.  

After 15 years with the Surete du Quebec Shawn retired in 2017 and began a new chapter in his career as the Chief of Police with the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service. Spring 2018, Shawn was voted into the Quebec First Nation’s and Inuit Chief's of Police Association as their secretary and most recently voted as their President. He was also on the OACP Board of Directors as representative for First Nation Policing in Ontario. On the  National level, Shawn is vice-president of the First Nation Chiefs of Police Association for the eastern region of the country. 

He has received the Governor General police exemplary service medal as well as the FNCPA's 20 year service medal. 

Chief Nishan Duraiappah was born in Sri Lanka, and immigrated to Canada. He began his career with the Halton Police in December 1995. He served as a Constable for several years in uniform patrol in the towns and cities of Milton, Halton Hills and Burlington and in their general investigative divisions.

Throughout his career he has worked in the Regional Drug & Morality Bureau, Guns & Gangs Unit, District Criminal Investigations and with the RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. He also maintained a strong commitment with many of the Region’s diverse, cultural and faith communities as the Halton Police Diversity & Cultural Relations Coordinator.

Chief Duraiappah has served as the Operations Commander for Milton and Halton Hills, the Commander of the Office of Continuous Improvement and Strategic Management (OCISM) and Chief’s Executive Officer. He was promoted to Deputy Chief in the fall of 2015, charged with leading District Operations for all four municipalities, and the Regional Community Mobilization Bureau, Information Technology and Strategic Management Office.

In October of 2019, Chief Duraiappah was appointed Chief of Peel Regional Police.

Chief Duraiappah holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Toronto, and a Diploma of Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario. Chief Duraiappah serves on the OACP Board of Directors and has served on various OACP Committees throughout his career. He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and is a Member of the Order of Merit Canada (2016).

Chief Duraiappah has maintained a strong commitment to his community and is involved with several sports and hobbies as well as a volunteer board member for the United Way, and the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre in the GTA.

 

Mr. Fady Dagher has over 30 years’ experience in various roles in the police force. He held several positions before being appointed manager, where his keen interest in innovation led him to introduce cutting-edge policing practices and innovative projects to improve the service provided to the public and raise awareness of police duties.

Recognized for his unifying leadership, he was Chief of the Service de police de l'agglomération de Longueuil from 2017 to 2022, before returning to the fold and becoming Chief of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), where he had previously worked for 25 years.

Born in the Ivory Coast to parents of Lebanese origin, Mr. Dagher is the first diversity Chief of the SPVM.

During his long career at the SPVM, he climbed the career ladder, holding in turn the positions as police officer, supervising sergeant, investigating officer, commander (chief of a neighborhood police station), inspector, chief inspector and assistant director. He has been responsible for wide-ranging issues such as mental health, prevention of racial and social profiling, prevention of radicalization leading to violence and the portable camera pilot project. He has also managed complex issues in relation to illegal occupancy of public property, where his mediation skills were put to good use.

Mr. Dagher is an excellent communicator and proud Montréal resident, who has stood out throughout his career due to his ability to forge ties with diverse communities and his keen interest in innovation. He is a polyglot and speaks French, English and Arabic.

He is a seasoned manager and holds an Executive Master's degree in business administration (EMBA) from McGill University and HEC Montréal. Several prizes have also been awarded to him in recent years. He was recently selected for the award for the 15 real influencers in Québec announced by La Presse.

He prefers a vision of policing based on openness and humility towards the public. The objective for Montréal is to have an inclusive police force which, in complete synergy, understands the challenges facing the public, which strengthens residents’ feeling of safety, which works together with partners and which focuses on both preventing and suppressing crime.

Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Ebert assumed her role as the Commanding Officer of RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador on April 25, 2022.

She was born and raised in London, Ontario and joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1997. She has served in various locations and capacities in her 25-year policing career, with postings in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan and, most recently, Prince Edward Island as Commanding Officer of the RCMP there.

In Alberta, she was posted to Hinton Detachment in General Duties and then to Edson Provincial General Investigation Section. She was promoted to the Major Crime Unit in Edmonton in 1998 and promoted to Wood Buffalo Detachment in 2011 as a Team Leader of Serious Crimes and Domestic Violence Units. While at Wood Buffalo, she was designated as an Accredited Team Commander. During her final two years at Wood Buffalo, she managed the Professional Standards and Administrative office and received the Queen's Jubilee Medal.

In 2014, Assistant Commissioner Ebert became the Officer in Charge of the Major Crimes Branch in Saskatchewan; during 2016 she also served as the Acting South District Commander.

She has an extensive background in Major Crimes including homicides, crimes against persons and sensitive investigations and was promoted to Superintendent in January 2017 in the role of Officer in Charge of Major Crimes Branch in Saskatchewan.

In the summer of 2017, Assistant Commissioner Ebert was promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent and was appointed as the Commanding Officer of RCMP Prince Edward Island.

A political science major in University, Assistant Commissioner Ebert holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Lakehead University, a Police Leadership Certificate from Dalhousie University, a Professional Leadership Certificate from the University of Regina and a certificate in NeuroLeadership from the NeuroLeadership Institute NY, as well as other professional police leadership certificates from the Australian Institute of Police Management and Charles Stuart University.

She lives with her husband and youngest child in the community of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s and looks forward to enjoying the coastlines, trails and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Paul was born and raised in the Ottawa area. He joined the RCMP in 1982, and after graduating he was assigned to the RCMP “O” Division (Ontario), Chatham Drug Section. He was transferred to the Kitchener Drug Section in March 1989.

In January of 1991, he was transferred to Regina, and promoted to the rank of Corporal at the RCMP Training Academy (Depot). During his tenure at the Training Academy Paul was promoted to Sergeant as a Team Leader responsible for the supervision of instructors, delivery of the training curriculum and monitoring Cadet performance.

In July 2000, Paul was transferred to the RCMP National Headquarters in Ottawa where he gained experience at the corporate level of the organization. In 2003, he received his Commission as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Commissioner, Central Region. In 2005, Paul was seconded to the Ottawa Police for a period of 15 months as the Officer in Charge (OIC) of Patrol Operations, East Division.

In 2006, he was transferred to Ontario Division HQ in London and promoted to the rank of Superintendent. For the next two years, Paul was the Division Intelligence Officer, and was responsible for the Intelligence Program for the RCMP in Ontario. In August 2008, he assumed the role of OIC “O” Division Federal Operations Support Branch where he provided specialized support to National Security files and, Serious and Organized Crime projects.

In December 2014, Paul was asked to return to the RCMP Training Academy, Depot Division as the OIC Support Services. As a Senior Leader at the Training Academy, Paul was responsible for 14 programs and services that supported Depot Division and training.

Paul retired in the fall of 2016 with almost 35 years with the RCMP.  He joined the Ontario Police College (OPC) in September 2016, which is part of the Public Safety Division of the Ministry of the Solicitor General. His initial position was as the Deputy Director Operations before being appointed as the Director of the College in October 2017. 

In spring of 2018 Paul joined the CPKN National Advisory Committee and in the fall of 2019, he became the co-Chair of the Collaboration and Engagement sub-committee.

In September 2021, Paul took over as Chair of the National Advisory Committee and a member of the Board of Directors.

Paul is committed to life-long learning and is passionate about training. He is looking forward to working closely with CPKN, the Board of Directors and the National Advisory Committee.  

Born and raised in Victoria, Chief Constable Del Manak started his policing career with four years of service with the Vancouver Police Department. He came to VicPD in 1993, where he has served in a variety of sections and roles.

Chief Manak has an extensive traffic safety background. He spent five years in the VicPD Traffic section, where he was a collision analyst and part of the escort and drill team. Selected to set up a provincial government pilot project, Chief Manak helped create the Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU) in the Capital Regional District. The success of this pilot program led to the expansion of other IRSU units throughout the province.

Promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2006, Chief Manak served as the Officer In Charge of Human Resources for over 3 years. He has personally hired more than 60 officers, or nearly one quarter of VicPD’s current members. He then oversaw the Patrol Division until he was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable in 2010. He was promoted to Chief Constable on July 1st, 2017.

Chief Manak is a graduate of the Dalhousie University Police Leadership Program, the FBI's National Academy Program, and is in the process of completing a master’s degree at Simon Fraser University in Terrorism, Risk and Security Studies.

Remaining active in the community remains important to Chief Manak. He is involved in coaching baseball, hockey and soccer and has proudly coached over 30 teams through the years.

Chief Constable Neufeld believes strongly in providing top-quality police service to the community through professionalism, innovation, and inclusive leadership that is supportive of employees.

Neufeld joined the Calgary Police Service in 2019 after serving for two years as the Chief of the Camrose Police Service, a smaller community that gave him the opportunity to build strong partnerships with staff and residents to improve quality of life in the city.

Neufeld is currently a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police board of directors. He also sits on boards for the Burns Memorial Fund, Calgary Police Foundation and YouthLink Interpretive Centre. He recently completed a Masters in criminology and police management at the University of Cambridge and the CACP Executive Global Studies program, where he studied international approaches to cybercrime.

Neufeld began his policing career in 1992 with the Vancouver Police Department. One year later, the illness of a parent brought him to the Edmonton Police Service, where he spent time as a frontline patrol officer and gained experience in undercover operations, incident command, crisis negotiation and as a member of the EPS Public Order Unit. Through his career with EPS, Neufeld was promoted through to the rank of Superintendent and spent time in the Criminal Investigations Division, Internal Affairs, the Intelligence Section, Professional Standards and Human Resources. He also completed two secondments with the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), including one as Director of Investigations.

Neufeld was invested as a member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2014. He is also the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Police Exemplary Service Medal, and the Alberta Law Enforcement Long Service Medal.

Rob O’Reilly is the Chief Learning Officer (CLO) for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  In this role his principle responsibilities include providing corporate leadership in articulating the vision for modernized learning and professional development opportunities across the RCMP. The CLO is also expected to provide executive oversight for the development of national policy and strategic direction governing the learning mandate of the organization.

Rob joined the RCMP in 1996, and spent the early years of his career developing new media tools for Contract & Indigenous Policing and Learning & Development.  In 1998, as the Manager of Technology Assisted Learning he created the first online learning portal for Canadian law enforcement, for which the RCMP won the APEX Award for Leadership in Service Innovation. In 2001, as the RCMP’s e-HR Senior Advisor, Rob drove the migration of the organization’s HR services online.   

In 2002 Rob moved to the Critical Incident Program, creating immersive learning for National Incident Commanders and Crisis Negotiators.  In 2005, he transferred to the RCMP’s National Division as Officer-in-Charge of Operational Readiness & Response, overseeing emergency operational and contingency planning for the National Capital Region.  

In 2009 Rob became Executive Officer & Strategic Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner for Specialized Policing Services (SPS). Still within SPS, in 2012 he was promoted to the Director of Firearms Regulatory Services for the Canadian Firearms Program, providing executive leadership of the national firearms licensing & registration regime. 

Rob’s last role was as Chief of Staff to the RCMP Commissioner, providing strategic advice to her, and ensuring a strong and productive working relationship between the RCMP, the Office of the Minister of Public Safety, and other Public Safely Portfolio Agencies.  Rob assumed his current role as Chief Learning Officer in 2021.

Prior to joining the RCMP, Rob spent several years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, finishing out his time there as Communications Officer for English Language Television.   

Born in Saskatchewan, Rob completed a Specialized Degree in Broadcast Communications at Concordia University in Montreal. He was also awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He currently lives in Ottawa, and has two teenage children.

Danny Paterson has been a police officer for more than 28 years for the City of Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, the last five years as Chief. Throughout his policing career, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to the principles of transparency and accountability while demonstrating respect, consistency and integrity.

Chief Paterson has established a solid expertise in the police community including 15 years in a variety of management and executive positions. A Passionate leader, he is known for his effectiveness in solving problems and meeting the challenges of the mandates entrusted in him. A sought-after teacher, he has created numerous training programs dealing with, among other things, with the use of force and supervision

Chief Paterson is a member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (M.O.M.). He was awarded the Police Meritorious Service Medal. He completed a Master in Public Administration in 2008. He has been a volunteer with many organizations since 2005.

Colin Stairs was appointed as the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Toronto Police Service on March 24, 2020.  In his role as CIO, Colin oversees the Information Management and Information Technology Services pillars and is responsible for furthering the organization’s goal of transforming operational capacity, efficiency and agility through the information and technology portfolios.

Prior to joining the Service, Colin led digital transformations as the CIO in private, public and mental health sectors, creating new capabilities and accelerating innovation throughout the organizations.  Colin was also a founding member of start-ups in software development and management consultancy.

Colin holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.  He has been a guest lecturer in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Portage, a residential drug rehabilitation program for youth.

Sandy Sweet has been an advocate for the integration of enhanced learning technologies within Canada's police community since 2004 when he was part of a group of like minded individuals from the Canadian policing sector to form the Canadian Police Knowledge Network. Since that time a growing network of stakeholders have advanced CPKN from a pioneering concept to a highly successful reality.

With a focus on building productive relationships, Sandy has played a leading role in mobilizing the police community in its transition to online learning models and creating a national knowledge-sharing network of police services and training organizations. He speaks to audiences across Canada and internationally about the challenges of introducing 'disruptive innovations' into organizational culture and the evolution of learning technologies in the policing environment. In 2012, his contributions to the IT industry were recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Innovation and Technology Association of Prince Edward Island.

A native of Nova Scotia, Sandy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Francis Xavier University and a Masters of Business Administration from Dalhousie University.

Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie began his career with the Halton Regional Police Service in 1996. Throughout his career he has served in uniform patrol, Drug Unit, Mobile Surveillance Unit, Homicide Unit, Criminal Investigations Bureau, Domestic Violence Unit and as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief. 

As a Senior Officer he was the Operations Commander in Milton and Halton Hills, District Commander in Oakville, Critical Incident Commander for major public safety incidents and the Commander of Emergency Services, Training, and Human Resource Services. 

He was promoted to Deputy Chief of Regional Operations in 2018, and in October 2019, he started in his current role as Deputy Chief of District Operations. 

Deputy Chief Wilkie holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Criminology from Brock University and is a graduate of the Police Leadership Program and Executive Leadership Program from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. 

In 2016 Roger was the recipient of the Police Exemplary Service Medal and in 2019 he was invested as a Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces by the Governor General of Canada. 

Deputy Chief Wilkie is Vice President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and has Co-Chaired the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee. 

As a community servant, Deputy Chief Wilkie has volunteered in several capacities, most notably as the current Board Chair for the Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), Halton’s Lead Agency for child and youth mental health. 

Deputy Chief Wilkie believes that community safety and well-being is a shared responsibility and is committed to mobilizing and engaging the community and key stakeholders to ensure that the Region of Halton is as safe tomorrow as it is today. He believes in the importance of collaborative and coordinated service delivery and was instrumental in the development of the Halton Region's Situation Table Strategy and Community Safety and Well-being Plan. 

Roger is committed to modernizing policing and leveraging innovation and technology to create a sustainable, adaptive and effective service delivery model. Above all else, he prioritizes people and partnerships.    

Superintendent Shelley Horne began her career with the Vancouver Police Department in 1996 and is currently assigned to Personnel Services. In this role she is responsible for the Labour & Employee Relations, Human Resources, Training & Recruiting, and Professional Standards Sections. Superintendent Horne has a strong background in investigations and prior to her promotion in 2021, she led the Special Investigation Section responsible for investigating sex crimes, child abuse, intimate partner violence, internet child exploitation, high risk offenders and counter exploitation. Previous assignments have included Human Resources, Planning, Research and Audit, as well as Professional Standards as an investigator and delegated discipline authority.

Superintendent Horne is currently a member of the Executive Council for the BC Law Enforcement Torch run and participates annually in events such as the LETR and Polar Plunge to raise funds for Special Olympics of B.C.

Superintendent Horne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia and is the recipient of the Governor General’s Police Exemplary Service Medal and a Commendation from the BC Police Complaint Commissioner.

After an extensive national search facilitated by Leaders International, the Prince Albert Police Service welcomed Farica Prince as their Deputy Chief of Police in October, 2021.

Deputy Chief Prince began her career in October 2001 and was posted to her home community of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation in southern Manitoba, after graduating from RCMP’s Depot Division. Farica has served in the three prairie provinces and four organizations having led many initiatives in various areas of policing; patrol, training, professional standards, communications, detention, recruiting, promotion, information management, policy and procedure.

Deputy Chief Prince is committed to continuous learning, graduating in 2019 from Charles Sturt University with a Bachelor of Policing. Farica is the recipient of the Alberta Emergency Services, Police Exemplary Service and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals.

Farica is actively involved with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), serving as co-chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee as well as a member of the CACP President’s Advisory Council. Deputy Chief Prince is active within Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police and previously with Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police.