2026 Conference Speakers

Rebekah Mastrella
Georgian College

Rebekah Mastrella is a research assistant in the Community Resilience and Mental Health Lab at Georgian College. She is the research lead on a number of projects. She started her journey with the lab as student researcher in October 2023 while she worked towards her honours bachelor’s degree in counselling psychology from Georgian College, graduating with honours in June 2024. She has grown from strength to strength since then. Rebekah is also volunteers with the Neurolinguistics Lab at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Eleanor Gittens, Ph.D.
Georgian College

Eleanor Gittens, Ph.D. is a professor and program coordinator in Community Safety portfolio at Georgian College. She teaches primarily in the Police Studies degree and Police Foundations programs. She has taught courses in Contemporary Social Movements, Research Methods for Policing, Community Policing, Cybercrime, Mental Health Issues in Policing and Cross-Cultural Communications. Dr Gittens spearheads student-based research with various community partners. Her current research interests lie in academic integrity, mental wellness and resilience, diversity training, diversity hiring, the spatial behaviour of offenders, the development of criminal behaviour and the progression of the criminal career; sexual violence, evidence-based policing; and community policing. She holds several grants in pursuit of her research interests.

Betty Froese
Vancouver Police Department

Betty Froese is the Director of Learning & Development for the Vancouver Police Department, where she leads transformative initiatives as they pertain to training, talent development, and organizational learning. She oversees a diverse portfolio that includes curriculum design, instructional innovation, digital learning transformation, and leadership development for both sworn members and civilian professionals.

With more than two decades of experience in public safety training, Betty is recognized for her ability to anticipate emerging trends and translate them into practical, future focused learning strategies.

Betty has led key modernization efforts within the VPD Training Section, including the integration of digital platforms and contemporary pedagogical models that support adaptive, evidence-based policing. In addition, she has been serving as the business lead for the implementation of a new learning management system. Her work has been instrumental in preparing the VPD for the evolving realities of policing, while aligning departmental capability-building with broader digital transformation goals across the organization.

Known for her passion for evidence-based training, Betty is committed to building learning ecosystems that strengthen readiness, enhance professionalism, and uphold the vision of preparing police officers for the future NOW.

Kelly Wong, MA
Surrey Police Service

Inspector Kelly Wong leads the Professional Skills Section at Surrey Police Service, overseeing organizational training, leadership development, compliance, and professional standards education. Since SPS’s inception, she has been responsible for designing and implementing training systems from the ground up, including governance frameworks, budget oversight, curriculum development, and technology integration. Kelly has extensive experience aligning a long-term, systems-based approach to police education in a rapidly growing organization.

Irwin M. Cohen, PhD
University of the Fraser Valley

Dr. Irwin M. Cohen is the Director of the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), the Director of the Crime Lab at UFV, and an Associate Professor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UFV. Dr. Cohen has completed over 150 research projects on a wide range of topics, including policing, public safety, serious and violent young offenders, crime reduction strategies, gambling, mental health and addictions, and terrorism.

Steven MacDonald
Safer Schools Together

Steven MacDonald is the Executive Director at Safer Schools Together, where he plays a crucial role in developing and delivering training programs to professionals across North America—including law enforcement, school districts, and federal agencies.

With a background in political science, language analytics, and artificial intelligence, Steven brings a unique expertise in social media threat assessment, online safety, and risk assessment, enabling him to support countless safety teams in navigating high-profile school security cases.

Ryan Buhrig, MA
Surrey Police Service

Sergeant Ryan Buhrig is a key member of the Professional Skills Section and plays a central role in the technical design, configuration, and ongoing optimization of  Surrey Police Service’s training systems. He has been instrumental in customizing the CPKN LMS, integrating it with internal data tools, and translating operational training needs into functional system solutions. Ryan brings a practitioner’s perspective to learning technology, ensuring systems remain usable, scalable, and aligned with frontline realities.

Karine Descormiers, PhD
University of the Fraser Valley

Dr. Karine Descormiers is an Assistant Professor for the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley. She has a PhD in Criminology from Simon Fraser University and over 10 years of experience in public safety and policing as a professional researcher. Her academic and applied work bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering students a grounded understanding of contemporary criminal justice issues. Dr. Descormiers’s research interests include gang involvement and disengagement, organized crime, program evaluation and police accountability.

Carlos Ponce, PhD
University of the Fraser Valley

Dr. Carlos Ponce is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley and a Research Associate with the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. His research focuses on extortion, criminal governance, gangs, and organized crime, concentrating primarily on Latin America. Much of his work has been conducted within criminal justice agencies and through partnerships with law enforcement and non-profit organizations.

Amanda McCormick, PhD
University of the Fraser Valley

Dr. Amanda McCormick is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, a Research Associate with the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research, and a Commitment Leader for the Reducing Domestic Violence Community of Practice for the Peace and Reconciliation Centre at the University of the Fraser Valley. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence with an emphasis on enhancing police knowledge and responses to strangulation as a form of violence against women. Dr. McCormick has over 10 years of experience working on various policing and public safety issues, including intimate partner violence, elder abuse, gambling, and mental health.