Jacob Childers
Jacob was born and raised in Farmington, New Mexico. He’s a full-time firefighter for the Farmington Fire Department and serves as a medic on the Farmington Police Department’s SWAT team. Jacob is also a CrossFit coach at Animas Crossfit, specializing in CrossFit level 1 and CrossFit powerlifting

 

Jesse Hickey
Jesse is a US Navy combat veteran who served from 2002 to 2008 as a corpsman with the US Marine Corps Infantry. This is where he was originally exposed to CrossFit and his love for it began. Jesse began coaching CrossFit in 2009 and opened Animas CrossFit with his wife, Stephanie, in the spring of 2010. He was born and raised in Farmington and currently works full time as a professional firefighter. Jesse also serves as a medic on the Farmington Police Department’s SWAT team.

Stephanie Hickey
Stephanie graduated in 2002 from the University of Hartford with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy and has been a practicing physical therapist for 15 years. She specializes in orthopedic and sports physical therapy, manual therapy, craniosacral therapy, and home health.  Stephanie moved to the Four Corners area from New England in 2003 and has been working primarily in Farmington, NM since that time. Stephanie currently owns a small manual therapy practice (Animas Bodywork), and she and her husband co-own Animas CrossFit. Both businesses are in Farmington. As a CrossFit coach, Stephanie trains people of all ability levels ranging from first-time exercisers to competitive athletes, in group and individual settings. When she is not working, Stephanie can be found wrangling her two and four-year-old sons and indulging in her passions for dance, yoga, and travel.

Chief Sylvia Moir
A California native, Chief Moir has 29 years of local police experience. Her vast experience provided her a comprehensive perspective on the rewards and challenges of modern policing in integrated and progressive communities.

Chief Moir was the chief of the El Cerrito Police Department from 2010 until her appointment as the police chief in Tempe, Arizona. In El Cerrito, Chief Moir strengthened the tactical and operational readiness of the department, enhanced training efforts to include fair and impartial policing and mindfulness in policing, launched intelligence and analytic functions for crime suppression, and initiated regional efforts in a variety of areas.

Chief Moir spent most of her early career with the Sacramento Police Department where she served in every division of the department. She was the incident commander on hundreds of planned and spontaneous events and a trainer in the Incident Command System.

Chief Moir was a member of the Sacramento Police Honor Guard for 14 years. She was part of funerals, ceremonial events, and she completed rigorous training with the US Army Old Guard at Fort Myer, VA and Arlington National Cemetery.

Chief Moir has been a facilitator and trainer for in-service and basic academy recruits in a variety of operational and administrative disciplines for over two decades. Chief Moir was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the Commission on California Peace Officer Standards and Training for two terms, and she served on the Executive Committee for the California Police Chiefs Association. She is currently an executive fellow for the Police Foundation, on the Community Policing Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, an advisor for the American Law Institute, and on the Law Enforcement Council for the U.S. Humane Society.

Chief Moir holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento, a Master of Arts in Organizational Management, and a Master of Science degree from the Naval Postgraduate School- Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Chief Moir is a graduate of the California POST Executive School, Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SBSLI) and LAPD West Point Leadership.

She is married, lives in Tempe and enjoys reading, competing in full and half marathons, and cheering on the Boston Red Sox.

Tina Rowe
Tina Rowe had a 33-year career in law enforcement, 25 years with the Denver Police Department, where she retired as a captain in the Patrol Division, and eight years as the presidential-appointed United States Marshal for Colorado.

Tina has been an active speaker and trainer since 1972 and has presented to thousands of audiences all over North America. She wrote what has been called the bible for promotional preparation: A Preparation Guide for the Assessment Center Method (Charles Thomas, publishers). She also wrote, Worship Without Worry, a bundle of documents that helps places of worship plan for the big picture of safety and security. Tina is one of the two “Workplace Doctors” on the Ask the Workplace Doctors website—a site that gives advice about workplace issues to international readers. Her website, tinalewisrowe.com, is a training resource for many people in all professions.

Lt. Cyndy Velazquez
Lt. Cyndy Velazquez has been a police officer in the Village of Lombard, IL for 26 years.  She trained at the Chicago Basic Police Academy in 1990 becoming the first female recipient of the Outstanding Recruit Award.  Working her way through the ranks, Cyndy served as a patrol officer, detective and patrol sergeant before being promoted to lieutenant.  She is a team leader for the DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force and is currently the commander of the Investigations Unit for the Lombard Police Department.

Lt. Velazquez has a master’s degree in organizational behavior and a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement administration.  She attended the Northwestern University School of Staff and Command.  Lt. Velazquez is a defensive tactics instructor and physical fitness instructor at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy where she was named Instructor of the Year in 2013.  She has also taught rape prevention.

Lt. Velazquez served in the United States Army and was granted the Outstanding Squad Leader Award.

Julie Werhnyak
Julie has a law enforcement technology degree from Rio Salado College and a sports management degree from California University of Pennsylvania.

Julie retired from the Tempe Police Department in May of 2016.  As a police officer, she received multiple commendations and departmental awards for her actions in the course of her duties, including, the Police Cross and multiple life saving awards.  She has also been named Officer of the Year and Defensive Tactics Instructor of the Year.

Julie is a subject matter expert in physical fitness for the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, a certified crew member self defense instructor for the Federal Air Marshals and an adjunct faculty member for Rio Salado College. Julie is also a certified personal trainer and mixed martial arts conditioning specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Julie is passionate about teaching and holds certifications in the following areas:  defensive tactics, force on force, impact weapons, firearms, confrontational simulations, high risk vehicle stops and crisis negotiations.  In addition, she has practiced and taught martial arts for over 30 years and is a two time member of the United States National Taekwondo Team.

Julie is the owner of Artemis Self Defense, a company that provides personal safety, defensive tactics, close combat and tactical communication training.