JUST ANNOUNCED: NSA WINTER KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Matt Griffin is a six-year U.S. Navy veteran and a fifteen-year law enforcement veteran. Today Matt works full-time for Axon as a Solutions Specialist for Virtual Reality. Additionally, he is a national speaker, mentor, and consultant who wants to change the culture around mental health and law enforcement, members of the military, Emergency Services, and Fire Fighters. Matt is also the author of the #1 Amazon bestselling book “The Journey to Midnight.”

Matt will be the keynote speaker for the Opening General Session on Saturday, February 6th, at 3:30pm. He will share his journey from his time in service with the US Navy through a successful law enforcement career that almost broke him. Now retired from law enforcement, Matt is a national speaker focusing on officer wellness and ending the stigma around mental illness.

Gordon Graham is a 33-year veteran (now retired) of California law enforcement. In this capacity, he served as a street cop, supervisor, manager, and executive. Mr. Graham was awarded a B.A. in Business from San Francisco State College, a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach, a master’s degree in Safety and Systems Management from the University of Southern California, and a juris doctorate from Western State University. He has taken his background as a cop, risk manager and attorney and is the co-founder of Lexipol, a company designed to standardize public safety practices around America. He has presented to law enforcement personnel from around the world and has spoken for the NSA for years.

Gordon will close out the 2022 Winter Conference with his talk, “Your Black Swan is Someone’s Gray Rhino,” on Monday, February 7th, at 3:30pm. From Gordon, “There are two very popular books out now – The Black Swan – and The Gray Rhino. Black Swans are the Unknown Unknowns – Gray Rhinos are massive beasts coming right at us yet we refuse to get out of the way. This is my 50th year in the profession (almost, really 49 but who is counting) and I can tell the audience with certainty that there are very, very few Black Swans in the world of Sheriff operations. Most of your tragedies (injuries, deaths, lawsuits, embarrassments, loss of public trust, criminal issues) are coming right at us – we should see them coming – but we don’t. The reason (in my thinking) is we are not learning from past tragedies. I have put together a six-step approach on “how to make the knowledge of all the knowledge of one” – what is known throughout the profession should be known by everyone in the profession and that is what I plan to deliver.”