Leslie Ramirez began her career with the Los Angeles School Police Department in 1991. She has served for more than three decades with a focus on safety and education. In 2019 she was appointed Chief of Police for the LASPD - the 2nd largest school district in the nation. Chief Ramirez grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of the University of La Verne with a major in Organizational Management. Leslie enjoys participating in student-centered programs and frequently gives her time and support to student advisory groups, community outreach events, and Special Olympics programs. She is currently a member of the Peace Officer Association of Los Angeles County, the California Police Chiefs, and California College and University Police Chiefs Associations. Recently, Chief Ramirez has led the LASPD during turbulent times, guiding her agency through both defunding and the removal of LASPD police officers from the schools. Leslie and Rudy Perez will share the lessons learned from this experience.
Rudy Perez was born in Guatemala and is a 22-year veteran of the Los Angeles School Police Department. He has worked a variety of assignments including policing school campuses, interagency task forces, gang detail, training unit and lead detective for the threat assessment unit and Mental Health team. Perez is currently working as the Adjutant to the Chief of Police for the LASPD. Rudy is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Management and has completed dozens of specialized leadership and executive training courses. In addition, he sits on several national boards and organizations. He is Vice President of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) and is Vice President of the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations, which addresses political and legislative LEO challenges. CCLEA represents over 100,000 police officers across the state of California.
Kathryn is the Chief Deputy District Attorney at the Yamhill County DA’s office. In addition to mentoring and supervising prosecutors, Kathryn is responsible for the prosecution of major crimes, as well as chairing the Yamhill County Child Abuse MDT and Sexual Assault Response Team. Kathryn started with the DA's office in 2007 carrying a misdemeanor caseload. She was promoted to a DDA II in 2008 when she was assigned to prosecute juvenile crime with a specialization in sex offense prosecution. In 2010, she was promoted to child sex offense prosecution. In 2018 Kathryn was promoted to Chief and has handled multiple homicide trials while continuing to carry a child sexual abuse caseload. Kathryn attended the University of Oregon, graduating with a B.A. major in Spanish and a minor in Sociology. Kathryn then gained her M.S.W. from Portland State and started her career in the criminal justice system as a Victim’s Advocate with the Multnomah County DA’s office. Kathryn worked as a Probation Officer with Multnomah County Department of Community Justice. Inspired by her experiences across the spectrum of the criminal justice system, Kathryn enrolled at Lewis and Clark Law School, attending classes at night while she continued to work as a PO. Kathryn’s goal was to become a prosecutor to help protect the community, achieve justice for victims and help to ensure fair and equitable outcomes to those involved in the criminal justice system.
In 2018 Karin retired from the Corvallis Police Department after serving 25 years as a police officer. During her tenure, she served in patrol, crime prevention, training, SRO and detective. She was CPD's lead child abuse investigator. Karin is trained as a child forensic interviewer and has conducted hundreds of interviews of children. Karin served on the Major Crimes Team and assisted with numerous homicide investigations occurring in Corvallis and Benton County. In 2003, Karin was part of the team that investigated the death of Karly Sheehan, the namesake of Karly’s Law. Karin has since provided training to Law Enforcement Officers, DHS workers and Health Care providers, regionally in Oregon, on the requirements of Karly’s Law and how to investigate physical abuse to children. In 2009, Karin began working part-time at DPSST as an instructor and continues to serve in that capacity in her retirement. Karin's presentation explains how Karly’s Law came about by providing a synopsis of the two child abuse investigations prior to Karly's homicide.
Robert retired as a Commander for the Portland Police Bureau in 2018. He worked with PPB for over 27 years before transitioning to a role in the office of Mayor Ted Wheeler in 2019. He worked Patrol/SWAT while also a trainer in firearms, defensive tactics, less lethal, survival attitudes, suicide prevention, and emotional survival. He also supported officers and their families with peer support and chaplaincy services and helped to facilitate mental health services. Mayor Wheeler hired King as his Senior Policy Advisor for Public Safety in 2019, a role that was one of the most challenging of his career. An unprecedented increase in violence in 2020 resulted in over 150 officers retiring/resigning from PPB and the most challenging year in PPB history. King was a survivor of a traumatic incident in 1991 that shaped and influenced the rest of his career. That 30-year career in public service is rooted in a deep desire to support law enforcement officers and their families. Robert now serves as the National Director of Training for Con10gency to improve the training, survivability and knowledge of law enforcement.
Verkada is the leader in cloud-based enterprise building security. By building high-end hardware on an intuitive, cloud-based software platform, modern enterprises are able to run safer, smarter buildings across all of their locations. More than 5,000 organizations, including 28 Fortune 500 companies, use Verkada to protect people and assets, secure facilities, and gain new insights that improve the efficiency of their operations. Verkada’s vision is to be the operating system that runs every building in the world. www.verkada.com
Verkada is a 2022 PLATINUM level sponsor
REECE is a Portland-based company with a tradition of great service and support. They offer the best in access control, video surveillance, intrusion monitoring and fire safety. REECE maintains strong relationships with the world’s leading security manufacturers to provide best-in-class technology solutions. They work with a wide range of businesses, school districts, and government agencies. rcss.us
REECE is a 2022 SILVER level sponsor
TC Chevy is a locally-owned dealership in Ashland. The full-service dealership, which has been operating since 1985, offers a no-pressure hassle-free shopping experience, selling both new and pre-owned vehicles, and they are one of the leading Chevrolet dealers in Southern Oregon. OSROA is excited to welcome TC Chevy as a partner and we appreciate their commitment to safer schools and safer kids! www.tcchevy.com
TC Chevy is a 2022 BRONZE level sponsor
