Born in Germany and raised in Southern California, Denise Brown led a life remarkable only in its normalcy until June 12, 1994 when her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered. If you were to ask Denise to describe herself prior to this tragic event, you would have heard, “I’m just a mom from Laguna Beach.” Brown’s life path dramatically altered, she would now tell you that along with her devotion to her son, Sean, she is also committed to raising awareness against domestic violence - a crime that kills three women every day in the United States.
Since early 1995 Denise Brown has traveled to various states speaking on the epidemic of domestic violence. She has addressed university student bodies, men in prison and in batterers’ treatment programs, women at risk, church groups and various educational and legislative forums. Ms. Brown has helped raise funds for local shelters all across the country with her appearances, and has assisted in the success of a major project called the Vine System. This Program is an automated victim notification service of the release of batterers from jail or prison.
As part of her commitment, Ms. Brown has worked to help pass a variety of legislative solutions for domestic violence. One of her most important projects was to lobby on behalf of the Violence Against Women Act. Senator Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania contacted Ms. Brown and asked for her assistance on a portion of the bill that was being stalled in committee in the U.S. Senate. With a potential slashing of its federal allocation to domestic violence services, Denise Brown testified to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act. After her testimony, that portion of the bill’s funding was increased from eighteen million to thirty-two million dollars. U.S. Senators Biden and Hatch have cited Denise Brown as ”having done more for the issue of domestic violence than any other individual.”
Denise Brown has made a life-long commitment to educate the public as well as improve the quality of living for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence, She is determined to banish the darkness and end the silence.
Eric W. Hickey, Ph.D.
Dr. Hickey is the Systemwide Director of the Center for Forensic Studies at Alliant International University where he oversees the growth and development of the largest forensics studies program in the United States. At Alliant he currently teaches courses in profiling sex offenders and sexual predators as well as a course in criminal psychology at California State University, Fresno, CA. Dr. Hickey has taught many courses in criminal personalities, sex crimes and paraphilia, homicide, and psychopathology in universities and colleges, as well as for jail and prison staff. He supervises theses and dissertations involving forensic and criminal psychology. Dr. Hickey has considerable field experience working with the criminally insane, psychopaths, sex offenders and other habitual criminals. He has also served as an adjunct instructor for the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina profiling stalkers and cyber-stalkers.
He publishes books, articles and lectures extensively on the etiology of violence and serial crime. His book, Serial Murderers and Their Victims, 4th ed., Thomson/Wadsworth Publishers, is used as a teaching tool in universities and by law enforcement in studying the nature of violence, criminal personalities and victim-offender relationships. Another of his books, The Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime, Sage Publishers, explores the phenomenon of murder and violence through the eyes of some of the world’s most noted experts. In 2006 he published Sex Crimes and Paraphilia (Prentice-Hall Publishers), a comprehensive examination of sexual perversions, sex offending and sexual predators. His latest coauthored book, The Myth of a Psychiatric Crime Wave, (Carolina Academic Press) examines the misperceptions and reality of the mentally ill and mentally disordered as criminals. He is currently writing another text examining criminal minds and criminal personalities. He is also writing his first novel, The Crib, a disturbing journey into the minds of psychotics, psychopaths and the criminally insane. His expertise is regularly sought by the media including appearances on CNN, Catherine Crier Live, NPR, Larry King Live, 20/20, A&E Biography, Good Morning America, True TV, Discovery and TLC.
He consults with private agencies and testifies as an expert witness in both criminal and civil cases. He is a court qualified expert in paraphilia including pedophilia, child molestation, fetishes; stalking; adult rape and sexual assault; violent criminal behavior including robbery, burglary and homicide (solo and serial).A former consultant to the FBI’s UNABOM Task Force, Dr. Hickey currently assists local, state, and federal law enforcement in training and investigations. This includes assisting Peace Officer Service Training (POST) in developing course material and job aids for investigators. He also conducts seminars for agencies involving the profiling and investigating of sex crimes, arson, robbery, homicide, stalking, workplace violence and terrorism as well as workshops for mental health practitioners. Internationally recognized for his research on multiple homicide offenders, Dr. Hickey has conducted seminars in several countries including Canada, England, France, India and Japan. He has also trained VIP protection specialists in Israel in profiling stalkers. His research involving hundreds of victims of stalking examines the psychology and classification of stalkers, victim-offender relationships, intervention, and threat assessment.
Jo Gillett
Jo serves as one of the executive producers for the Predators TV series. She is also a victim of a convicted stalker and a survivor of domestic abuse. Jo discovered on her own that the key to surviving her situation was, and still is, her own education. Knowing that 1.4 million people report situations similar to hers every year, Jo, with the help of professionals in the entertainment industry and experts in the field of victimization, have worked tirelessly to create a TV series, website Predators TV, and book devoted to educating victims, and potential victims about predator crimes.
"Jo Gillett’s presentations are inspirational. She experienced and SURVIVED extensive abuse to become a champion for crime victim’s rights. Ms. Gillett’s aggressive "Predators" project is a testament to her determination and her commitment to help others. Her story is one of struggle to survivor and it will help other victims, victim advocates, and other human service providers working with victims of crime and violence."
Pam Howard, Global Traumatology
Jeff McKissack
Jeff McKissack is an authority in the field of personal protection. For years he served as the National Representative for the critically-acclaimed CHILD LURES Crime Prevention Program, during which time he personally addressed over 250,000 kids and teens regarding the "lures" used by today’s criminals. He also taught over 40,000 adult professionals within the educational, medical, ministerial, legal, and law-enforcement communities via accredited in-service seminars. From the physical side, Jeff serves as the U.S. Representative for KFM, or the Keysi Fighting Method, featured in such films as "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." It is a street defense system born in Spain with a heavy emphasis on multiple assailant attacks, but now spreading worldwide as people are increasingly becoming more concerned about street violence.
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