An Academic Enterprise Dedicated to Public Safety Collaboration 

 OUR INSTRUCTORS

LINDA VELE ALEXANDER, Esq., founder and principal of Alexander Employment Law Consulting, LLC, specializes in advising employers on employment law best practices, training and investigations, with concentrated expertise in government entities. Ms. Alexander’s credentials derive from her twelve years as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey in the Employment Litigation and Counseling sections of the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Law, and special appointment to the Office of State Police Affairs as Legal Counsel to the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

Ms. Alexander’s legal career began with direct commission to the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps where she served on active duty for 6 years, including prestigious assignment as Honors Law Clerk to the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. She currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves, and in 2006 was awarded the distinguished Reginald C. Harmon award as The United States Air Force Air Mobility Command’s Outstanding Reserve JAG of the Year.

ANDREW W. DONOFRIO, MA, is a retired Detective Lieutenant with the Prosecutor’s Office in Bergen County, N.J. Mr. Donofrio was a leading computer forensics examiner for Bergen County with 25 years experience in the field of Law Enforcement. He has conducted over 1000 forensic examinations of computer evidence and frequently lectures on the subject throughout the state. In the late 1990s, he began designing and presenting programs on processing the electronic crime scene for police investigators, as well as comprehensive seminars for parents and educators detailing Internet safety for children. He frequently teaches multi-day courses on computer forensic and computer investigative topics at police academies and universities in New Jersey.

Mr. Donofrio writes regularly on Internet-related and computer forensic issues for a number of law enforcement publications. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a BA in Forensic Psychology and Magna Cum Laude with a MA in Protection / Infrastructure Management at the College. Mr. Donofrio holds numerous computer forensic certifications and has been recognized as a computer forensic expert in New Jersey Superior and Federal Court.

Andrew Donofrio owns his own technology investigation and security company, Cyberology Consulting. Through this company, Mr. Donofrio conducts technology investigations, Internet communication tracing, computer and network forensics, IT penetration testing / vulnerability assessments, security awareness training, Internet privacy issues, e-discovery. 

KIMBERLY LACKEN, Esq., is currently assigned as the Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. In that capacity she oversees most of the Office’s Major Crimes Units including Homicide, Domestic Violence and Arson. She is a member of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office senior staff and is a police legal advisor for the county. 

Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Lacken was an adjunct member of The College of New Jersey Department of Law and Justice from 1995-2002, teaching courses such as Judicial Process, Women in the Criminal Justice System and Homicide. In recent years, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Lacken has taught and guest lectured for several agencies and groups including the New Jersey State Police Academy, the New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigators School, New Jersey International Association for Identification Officers, New Jersey State Police Laboratory Scientists, New Jersey Gang Investigators Association and the East Coast Gang Investigators Association, where her primary focus was forensics in criminal prosecutions and expert testimony. She also routinely instructs at the Mercer County Police Academy.

During her career in the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Lacken has earned the reputation as a well-respected and formidable trial attorney. She has presented expert testimony in countless cases and has cross examined several defense expert witnesses. She has developed an understanding of the way expert testimony is received by courts and juries and how it is presented most effectively.

Kimberly Lacken is a 1988 magna cum laude graduate of Trenton State College where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. In May 1991 she graduated from Rutgers University School of Law at Camden earning her Juris Doctor. After passing the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bars, she was sworn-in as an Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor in December 1991.

VANCE J. MATTIS, MA, retired in 2008 from the New Jersey State Police at the rank of Lieutenant after twenty years of service. Immediately prior to his retirement he commanded the New Jersey State Police Training Bureau’s Law Enforcement Science Unit. Lt. Mattis has extensive experience in teaching, training development, needs assessments, leadership development, strategic planning, in-service training, measurement of training, and the principles and utilization of Return on Investment.
Following his retirement, Mattis started a law enforcement consulting company, which is involved in many law enforcement enhancement initiatives in New Jersey. He serves as the Course Coordinator and Primary Instructor for the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police Front Line Supervision Program, and has developed and delivered leadership training for the New Jersey Regional Intelligence Academy (RIA).

Mattis holds a Master of Administrative Science Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Seton Hall University, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Law Enforcement Science from Mercer County Community College. He is a graduate of the F.B.I. Instructor Development Training Course, New Jersey State Police Instructor Training Course, and the Penn State University Justice and Safety Institute Instructor Development Training Program.

FRANK E. RODGERS, MA, retired as the Deputy Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police in 2007 at the rank of Lt. Colonel after twenty-five years of service. Immediately following his career with the State Police, he was appointed as the first Director of the New Jersey State Park Police in the Department of Environmental Protection and led the agency to become State Accredited and Nationally Recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). He is a Certified Assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and is recognized by the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey and the United States District Court of New Jersey as an expert in law enforcement procedures, policy, training and supervision.
A strong advocate of police professionalism, strategic planning and accountability, he initiated and directed the development of a Manual on Intelligence Led Policing which was published by the Manhattan Institute and has been adopted by the United States Department of Justice as a model for conducting law enforcement operations. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education from Seton Hall University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He is the co-author of a comprehensive published history of the New Jersey State Police and is the recipient of the organization’s highest award, the 1990 Trooper of the Year for his undercover investigative work.
Lt. Colonel Rodgers also owns and operates the Rodgers Group, LLC which is a law enforcement consulting company.

THOMAS P. SOUCHEK, MA, retired as the Director of New Jersey’s Fusion Center, the Regional Operations Intelligence Center in 2011 at the rank of Major after twenty-six years of service. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Executive Officer for the Field Operations and Administration Sections, and as the Commandant of the New Jersey State Police Academy. As Commandant, he developed, implemented, and measured training programs that covered such topics as police reform, the Federal Consent Decree, leadership, supervision, change management, hazing, ethics, and cultural awareness.

A strong advocate of risk management, strategic planning, performance measurement, return on investment, and targeted training, he was critical in assisting the State Police meet and exceed the organizational goals set forth in the Consent Decree. Major Souchek (Ret.) holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, a Master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision and a Human Resources Training and Development certificate from Seton Hall University. Souchek also graduated from the Northwestern University School of Police Staff & Command, and was honored with the Franklin M. Kreml Leadership Award. Mr. Souchek also owns and operates the Oceanus Group, LLC, a private consulting and training company.
 

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is an equal opportunity college. It does not discriminate in admission or access to its programs and activities or in treatment or employment of individuals on the basis of race, gender, national origin or ancestry, age, religion, disability, affectual or sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, and/or liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States.