As well as a professional speaker and trainer, Heather Gray is also a retired police officer, with 20 years of experience in a high-crime urban center.

Heather had many firsts to her credit throughout her career. Heather was the first and, at that time, the only female police officer in her home town. After relocating a couple of years later to a larger urban center, Heather went on to become the first female Hostage Negotiator [now known as Crisis Negotiators], receiving advanced training with the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department] and the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA]. The Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team worked jointly with SWAT [Special Weapons and Tactics], responding to dozens of hostage and barricaded gunmen calls and suicidal individuals.

Heather also trained for, and was a member of, the CISM [Critical Incident Stress Management] Team. In her latter years of policing, Heather served as a Detective in CID [Criminal Investigation Division], Child Abuse Unit. Heather has earned a number of commendations in her policing career including, in 1991 Cited for calm under pressure, 1993 Cited for bravery and 1999 Cited for dedicated research, writing and presentation skills.

Heather trained with Gavin de Becker [www.gavindebecker.com]. Gavin de Becker is the best-selling author of The Gift of Fear, Protecting the Gift and Fear Less, and is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on predicting violent behavior. This highly advanced professional development allows Heather to better serve her clients. She uses the Mosaic® system of threat analysis, developed by Gavin de Becker. Heather was the first independent consultant licensed to use this program.

As an expert in her field, Heather is a Professional member of the CAPS network [Canadian Association of Professional Speakers; www.canadianspeakers.org], the International Federation of Professional Speakers and affiliated with the NSA [National Speakers Association, USA; www.nsaspeaker.org].

Heather is an active member of ATAP [Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, USA] and is a presenter at the 2003 International ATAP Conference, being held in Anaheim CA. Heather is also an active member of ASIS International [American Society of Industrial Security] and has presented on the subject of threat assessment protocol.

Heather is a regular contributing writer to Blue Line Magazine [Canada’s National Law Enforcement Magazine] and her writings have been published in many other periodicals, journals, e-zines and newsletters. Heather is also a distance learning instructor for the Police Leadership Certificate Program at Dalhousie University, Halifax NS Canada.