Isabel Logan, Ed.D, LCSW, is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Social Work & Law Enforcement Project. She earned a BSW from Saint Joseph College (Presently the University of Saint Joseph), an MSW from Fordham University, and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Hartford. Dr. Logan is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. She maintains a small consulting and clinical practice. Dr. Logan began her career in academia as a professor of Social Work at Eastern Connecticut State University in 2016. Before working in academia, she worked 20 years as a social worker for the Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services in New Haven Superior Court and Superior Court for Juvenile Matters at Hartford. In 2001, Dr. Logan was selected by American University to assist with developing the Cultural Proficiency in Drug Court Practice: Training of Trainers Manual for Drug Court Professionals. Her research interests include bilingual professionals, microaggressions, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic issues impacting human service delivery, and, police social work. In 2013, Dr. Logan received The Mary Rosa McDonough Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Saint Joseph, and in 2019, she received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award from Eastern Connecticut State University. Additionally, in 2021, she was awarded a Letter of Appreciation by the Willimantic Police Department. In June 2023, Dr. Logan received the Humanitarian Award from the NAACP Windham/Willimantic Branch in Connecticut and in October 2023 the NASW-CT Chapter Social Worker of the Year Award for her work in Police Social Work.
Robert G. Madden, LCSW, JD, is the Director of Practice Standards and Ethics for the SWLE Project. He is a Professor of Social Work and has been on the faculty at USJ since 1986 serving in various capacities including Department Chair (2013-17) and Special Assistant to the President (2009-2012) and MSW Program Director (2022-23). Professor Madden holds a BSW from Providence College, a MSSW from Columbia University and a law degree (JD) from the University of Connecticut. He has extensive clinical social work experience and currently provides supervision, consultation and training to the social work community. Professor Madden is licensed as an Independent Clinical Social Worker and maintains a small practice focused on trauma.
Professor Madden is the co-editor of Relationship Centered Lawyering: Social Science Theory to Transform Legal Practice (Carolina Academic Press, 2010); and the author of Legal Issues in Social Work, Counseling and Mental Health: Guidelines for Clinical Practice in Psychotherapy (Sage, 1998) and Essential Law for Social Workers (Columbia University Press, 2003) as well as many journal articles related to law in social work practice. He is a frequent trainer and consultant on ethical issues and standards of care in clinical mental health practice.
In 2008, Professor Madden received the Educator of the Year Award from the NASW Connecticut Chapter, in 2014 he was honored with the Stack Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Saint Joseph, and in 2022, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from NASW/CT.
Lieutenant Matthew Solak is the Law Enforcement Director and Co-Founder of the SWLE Project. He is a 17-year veteran of the Willimantic (Connecticut) Police Department, presently serving in the Administration Division. Some of Lieutenant Solak’s prior assignments have included Midnight Shift Sergeant, Community Policing, and Bike Patrol Officer, and he served on the Willimantic Police Department SWAT Team for 9 years. In 2018, Lieutenant Solak created the Willimantic Police Department’s Police-Assisted Recovery HOPE Program, and Lieutenant Solak serves as the Department’s liaison to the Willimantic Community Care Team and the Windham Opioid Task Force. As a Connecticut POSTC-certified Police Instructor, Lieutenant Solak teaches a variety of disciplines, including Instructor Development, Officer Wellness and Police Stress, and Active Threat Response. In 2021, he testified before the Connecticut General Assembly on topics pertaining to Police and Social Work Partnerships, and was a panel presenter at the first annual National Conference on Police Social Work in Bloomington, Indiana. Lieutenant Solak holds a Master’s Degree from Trinity College and is presently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Connecticut.
Jeanette Borunda, LCSW, is the Co-Chair of the Social Work & Law Enforcement Network. She has over 20 years of experience working in the mental health field with people from birth to death through non-profit agencies, hospitals, and the police department. She specializes in working with the LGBTQIA+ community, healing trauma work, intersections of identities, first responders, and military veterans. As the Director of Clinical Services of Behavioral Medicine at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, Jeanette established a Mental Health Court and Partial Hospitalization Program. In 2020, Jeanette began working at the Alamogordo Police Department as the CIT Clinical Director and co-created the Mobile Crisis Response Team. Additionally, Jeanette provides individual therapy through her private practice, Pawsitively Transformational Health and Wellness.
Jeanette serves as the Vice President for the Otero County Community Health Council and on several community-based organizations that focus on behavioral health and crisis intervention. She was previously the Vice President for the NAMI-Southern New Mexico Board of Directors. Jeanette is a team member representing Otero County for the New Mexico Education Judicial Committee for the Summit on Improving the Court & Community Response to Those with Mental Illness Summit and sits on a Familiar Faces Subcommittee for the Counsel of State Governments Justice Center. Throughout her career, she has facilitated trainings and workshops in multiple capacities throughout New Mexico and Washington on topics including Cultural Awareness, Race, Class and Gender, LGBTQ+, and Microaggressions. As a Mental Health First Aid and Crisis Intervention Training Facilitator, Jeanette has trained over 300 professionals and community members in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) in Otero County.
Lieutenant Nicholas Rankin is the Director of Police Social Work Integration for the SWLE Project. He is a 14-year veteran of the Norwich, CT Police Department. A former CIT Officer, Field Training Officer and K-9 Handler, Lieutenant Rankin is the current head of Norwich’s Community Policing and Training & Selections Units. Lieutenant Rankin is a course creator and teacher in De-Escalation as well as Police & the Public; both of which are taught regionally. He is a founding member of the Norwich Police Department’s Recovery Coach Program and a founding member of Rose City United; a community service cooperative comprised of Norwich Police and Black Lives Matter Activists.
Captain Garon DelMonte is the Director of Policy and Training for the SWLE Project. He graduated from the University of New Haven in 2008 and has been a member of the Milford Police Department for over 14 years. In such time he has served as a Field Training Officer, DARE Officer, School Resource Officer and Special Investigation Unit Detective. Captain DelMonte is a Blue Courage and Police Officer Standards and Training Council Instructor in Juvenile Law and Missing Persons. He is also the current Administrative Captain which oversees Internal Affairs, Recruitment, Records and the Police Social Workers.
Sergeant Jessica Brooks is the New York State Liaison for the SWLE Project. She is a 10-year veteran of the City of Newburgh (New York) Police Department and is currently a Patrol Sergeant. During her career, she has served as a Community Affairs Sergeant, Narcotics Investigator, Detective, Field Training Officer, CIT Officer, Crime Scene Technician, and DCJS Certified General Topics Instructor. Sergeant Brooks holds a Master of Science in Investigations with a Financial Crime Concentration from the University of New Haven, where she also earned graduate certificates in Cybercrime, Digital Forensics, and Human Trafficking. Additionally, she earned the Financial Intelligence Specialist designation through ManchesterCF/UNH and is a Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator through Blockchain Intelligence Group.
Melissa Stone, MSW, LCSW, is the Director of Professional Development. She is the Senior Police Social Worker (PSW) at Bloomington (IN) Police Department (BPD). She began the PSW program in March 2019. Melissa received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2014 and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Indiana. Prior to joining BPD, Melissa worked in higher education with students who experienced sexual violence. She also has extensive history working with clients with serious mental illness in home-based, group home, and correctional settings. Melissa assisted with developing the National Conference on Police Social Work, has spoken at numerous conferences on the field of police social work, and continues to regularly consult with law enforcement agencies looking to start their own PSW programs. She is passionate about developing community partnerships, increasing first responder wellness, and increasing access to mental health services in her community.
Samantha Inniss, LCSW, is the Integrated Police Social Work Specialist for Municipalities for the SWLE Project. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in criminal justice from the University of Connecticut, and an MSW from Springfield College. She has experience working with young adult services and was a treatment worker for the State of Connecticut Department of Children & Families. Ms. Inniss has facilitated groups for intensive outpatient programs and relapse prevention at Intercommunity, formerly Alcohol Drug and Recovery Center. She also worked for the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services for ten years. Currently, Ms. Inniss is a Social Work Police Liaison for the Town of West Hartford. In the summer of 2022, she participated in the 2nd Police Social Work Academy hosted by the Social Work & Law Enforcement Project to strengthen her knowledge and skillset when working with the West Hartford Police Department and Town Social Services to integrate her role as a Police Social Worker.
Francelis Gonzalez, LMSW, is the Practicum Specialist and Executive Project Administrator for the SWLE Project. Additionally, she was a police social work intern with the Norwich Police Department under the SWLE Project during the 2021-2022 academic year. She earned a Master of Social Work degree from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. For three years, Francelis worked as a school social worker at an elementary school and an assistant social worker at an alternative high school program for students with behavioral challenges. Francelis has a wide variety of experience working with clients with anxiety, depression, personality disorders, self-harm/suicidal ideation, substance/alcohol use, bipolar disorder, developmental disabilities, and more. She is passionate about working with at-risk youth. Francelis is currently employed as a Social Worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she assists Veterans, their families, and their caregivers in resolving Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) challenges to health and well-being.
Advisory/Board Members
Connecticut
- Chief Paul Hussey – Willimantic Police Department
- Katherine Sallaku – Sacred Heart University
- Meghan Peterson – Institute for Municipal & Regional Policy
Indiana
- La Saundra McCoy, Police Social Worker – Bloomington Police Department
- Erica Rios, Police Social Worker – Griffith Police Department