Isabel Logan, Ed.D, LCSW, Executive Director for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work and an Associate Professor of the School of Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Logan spearheaded and co-founded 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 also maintains a small consulting and clinical practice. She 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 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. In the fall of 2025, Dr. Logan’s article, Preparing Social Workers for emerging roles in Police Social Work was voted the best conceptual article of the year by the Journal of Social Work Education. Dr. Logan is also a police certified instructor for and CIT Crisis Coordinator and Facilitator.
Loida Reyes, Ph.D., LMSW, Leadership Specialist for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work. Dr. Reyes is an Associate Professor of the School of Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. Her research critically investigates the intersections of child welfare, culturally responsive social work practice, and workforce development, emphasizing leadership and organizational management within public service systems. Through a policy-oriented lens, her work addresses structural inequities and explores evidence-based strategies to strengthen service delivery and educational outcomes in marginalized communities. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, where her scholarship centered on advancing educational equity for students bused to suburban schools in pursuit of equal educational opportunities. Her work highlights the systemic barriers these students face and offers policy-informed strategies to create inclusive, affirming spaces that promote belonging and achievement. Dr. Reyes brings more than 26 years of experience in Child Welfare, where she held many leadership roles, and led initiatives in workforce development, continuous quality improvement, and change management. Her academic work is further guided by her dedication to increasing access to higher education for marginalized and first-generation college students.
Lieutenant Nicholas Rankin- Interim Director of Law Enforcement for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work. He is a 17-year veteran of the Norwich Police Department. He spends much of his work at the intersection of public safety, social work, and community trust. His work examines the roots of division and fear and identifies practical approaches that restore relationship and trust after conflict. He co-founded Rose City United, a cross-sector collaboration of local Black Lives Matter activists and police officers centered on community healing and shared action. He also helped launch Norwich’s Recovery Coach Program to link individuals to care, recovery supports, and resources at key points of contact. Along the way, these partnerships have received recognition from the Norwich NAACP (President’s Award, 2016), the NAACP Youth Council (President’s Award, 2021), and the New England Chiefs of Police Association (Community Policing Award, 2021). Rose City United received the NAACP Daniel Jenkins II Memorial Award (2021) and recognition from the Connecticut General Assembly and Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and the Recovery Coach Program received the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce Collaboration of the Year Award.
Robert G. Madden, LCSW, JD, Consultant of Social Work Practice Standards and Ethics for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work.
Captain Garon DelMonte- Director of Policy and Training for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work. 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.
Jennifer Hippie - Research Assistant for the SWLE Center for Police Social Work. Jennifer Hippie serves as the Division Director on the Northwest Campus for the Indiana University School of Social Work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (LCAC), and a former Licensed School Social Worker in Indiana. In addition to her academic leadership, she is currently pursuing a PhD part-time at the Indiana University School of Social Work and is a PhD candidate. Jennifer brings extensive experience from various clinical settings, working with diverse populations. Her research focuses on enhancing mental health support in community and college campus settings, with a particular emphasis on leveraging interprofessional social work partnerships to support the decriminalization of mental health issues.
Jeanette Borunda, LCSW, 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, PawsitivelyTransformational 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.