Our Team
Rich Stanek is an internationally recognized expert in law enforcement, public safety, and corrections. While licensed as a police officer for nearly four decades, Rich served as Minnesota’s Commissioner of Public Safety and Director of Homeland Security, and as Sheriff of Hennepin County, Minnesota. Sheriff Stanek (ret.) has led national, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and is well-known as an innovator and champion for the public safety mission; he is a published author, frequent conference speaker and media guest.
Rich is the Principal Consultant for Public Safety Strategies Group, LLC (PSSG) a national consulting firm providing subject matter expertise and services for public agencies and private firms across the United States. Rich works with Executive-level leaders from small agencies to Fortune 500 Companies providing PSSG’s clients with a broad portfolio of services, including organizational and leadership studies and guidance, strategic planning, information sharing; leveraging and developing new technology, corporate security, and relationship development.
Rich Stanek’s national leadership influences included Law Enforcement Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was an integral contributor to FirstNet, as a Board member for 6 years. Rich served as President of the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), Vice President of the National Sheriffs Association (NSA), President of the Leaders in International Counterterrorism (LinCT), and President of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association (MSA). He continues his service to the law enforcement community and on behalf of PSSG clients through his membership and work with National Public Safety and Corrections Associations; including the International Association Chiefs of Police, Police Executive Research Forum, National Sheriff’s Association, and Major County Sheriffs of America.
Sheriff Stanek’s legacy continues through his creation of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Community Engagement Team, Jail Mental Health Services Reforms, Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF), Criminal Information Sharing & Analysis Unit (CISA), and construction of the new regional Communications Facility. He is acknowledged to have reduced violent crime across the county by 38% between 2007-2018; he was among the first in the nation to serve as Incident Commander under the National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) after the collapse of the 35 W Bridge in Minneapolis in 2007.
Rich is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice; he earned a Masters’ Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University. He has been married to Sally Stanek since 1986, and they have two adult children. He is an avid Minnesota outdoorsman, and enjoys fishing, boating, hunting, snowmobiling, and even ice fishing in below zero temperatures.
More than 38 years of public safety experience
- Three term Sheriff of Hennepin County, MN
- Retired Captain from the Minneapolis Police Department
- Minnesota's former Commissioner of Public Safety & Director of Homeland Security
State and federal public policy experience
- Vice Chair of the First Responder Network Authority FirstNet Board
- Five term Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- Chair of the MN House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee
Education that matches the experience
- Criminal Justice Degree from the University of Minnesota
- Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University
Dave Mahoney is an internationally recognized expert in law enforcement, public safety, and corrections. While licensed as a police officer for more than four decades, including more than twenty years’ experience as a detective, Dave served four terms as the 52nd Sheriff of Dane County, Wisconsin (2007-2021). Sheriff Mahoney (ret.) has led national, state, and local law enforcement organizations, and is well-known as a champion for community engagement and treatment alternatives to incarceration.
Dave Mahoney is a Senior Consultant with Public Safety Strategies Group, LLC (PSSG) a national consulting firm providing subject matter expertise and services for public agencies and private firms across the United States. Dave works with Executive-level leaders from small agencies to Fortune 500 Companies providing PSSG’s clients with a broad portfolio of services, including organizational and leadership studies and guidance, staffing and labor management, strategic planning, leveraging and developing technology, enterprise security, and relationship development.
Dave Mahoney has shaped and inspired learning and innovation among public safety organizations at the local, state and national level, as President of the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) and on the Executive Board for the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA). He is recognized across the national landscape as an advocate for mental health and substance use treatment for the justice-involved, and for identifying strategies to address racial disparities and disproportionate minority confinement. His comments have been published in the Psychiatric Times (2015), Capital Times (2014, 2015), The Hill (2016), and NPR (2017), among many others.
Sheriff Mahoney earned international recognition and acclaim in 2010, for his leadership in coordinating peaceful protests, protecting 1st Amendment rights, and maintaining the safety of 120,000 protesters and activists — and hundreds of national and international media organizations –who occupied the Wisconsin State Capitol for 120 days consecutively. His legacy continues through service on the Governor’s Council on Homeland Security and the Governor’s Criminal Justice Council.
Dave is a graduate of Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy for Executive Management (2008) and the FBI National Executive Institute (NEI) for Executive Leadership (2013). He has been married to Kathy Mahoney since 1983, and they have 2 adult children. When time allows, he enjoys motorcycling across the country to enjoy the mountain views of West Virginia or Montana, or just to grab a great Memphis barbecue.
Four decades of Law Enforcement & Public Safety Service
- Elected for four terms as 52nd Sheriff of Dane County, Wisconsin
- Leadership positions in Security Services (Jail), Patrol and Special Teams
- Detective for more than 20 years
State and National Leadership and Advocacy
- President, National Sheriffs Association (NSA) 2019-2021
- Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) Exec. Committee
- Member, Governor’s Treatment and Alternatives to Incarceration Committee
- Member, Governor’s Criminal Justice Council, Supreme Court Task Force on Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System
- Areas of focus: Community Engagement, Mental Health, Labor-Management
Education
- Criminal Justice Degree from Mount Scenario College
- Graduate of two FBI Academies (2008)(2013) and the National Sheriffs Institute (2007)
Julianne Ortman is an attorney and managing partner with Public Safety Strategies Group, LLC a national consulting firm providing subject matter expertise and services for public agencies and private firms across the United States. Julianne’s areas of expertise include law enforcement, corrections, mental health, justice, and public safety.
Julianne is licensed to practice law in both Minnesota and Florida and became known for her successes as a trial attorney in several business and constitutional law cases. She is a former public official, elected to serve as a County Commissioner in Carver County, Minnesota followed by four terms as a Minnesota State Senator, where she served as the Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the Senate Tax Committee, and member of the Public Safety and Judiciary Committees.
Julianne served as Chief of Staff for Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, and her leadership assignments from 2007-2018 included Finance, Legal Affairs, Communications, Government Relations, Strategic Planning, award-winning Jail studies and reforms, and the Agency’s internationally recognized Community Engagement Team.
In 2019, Julianne moved to Florida to join the Command Staff for Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, where her chief assignment was to prosecute Risk Protection Order Cases — Florida’s innovative Red Flag Law adopted following the tragic mass shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Julianne is a Subject Matter Expert in the areas of government legal affairs, finance, purchasing, and contracting. She provides professional policy, research, writing and analysis for PSSG’s clients, including grant and proposal writing. She is a trusted advisor on communications strategy, government relations and marketing (including association investment and conference planning and cordination).
Julianne has been married to Ray Ortman since 1989, they have four grown children. She is an avid runner and has finished 8 marathons and an official race in 15 states (and counting!)
An Attorney for Nearly 35 Years
- Current licensing in Minnesota and Florida; previous licensing in Washington D.C. and Virginia
- Skilled trial and business practice with focus on corporate, constitutional, and regulatory law
- Admitted to practice in the United State Supreme Court
State and County Public Policy and Leadership
- Elected Minnesota State Senator 2002-2016; Dep. Majority Leader and Chair of the Tax Committee
- Elected County Commissioner, Carver County, Minnesota
- 1 of 35 Department Directors for one of the nation’s largest counties (Hennepin County Sheriff Chief of Staff)
- Legal Affairs for Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County, Florida
Outstanding Academic Credentials
- Graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota
- University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
John Shuman is a highly trusted, experienced, and internationally recognized security expert, having served as a Special Agent on a wide range of details in the United Secret Service, and as Chief Security Officer/Director in two of the largest corporate enterprises in the world. For nearly 15 years, Secret Service Agent Shuman managed high-level security assignments of national and international significance.
He has trained, prepared and coordinated security teams from posts in the Minneapolis Field Office, the U.S. Vice President’s Protective Division, the United States Secret Service Academy, and the Chicago Field Office. John’s unmatched achievements include responsibility for training and certification programs for agents assigned to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Divisions at the U.S. Secret Service Training Academy. He has designed security and coordinated and trained thousands of law enforcement, fire, and EMS personnel for large scale, high-level, high-profile events in the U.S., Europe, India, and Southeast Asia.
John Shuman’s areas of expertise include Threat and Vulnerability Assessments, Executive Protection for VIP and C-Suite clients, Corporate Security Roadmaps, Security Technology, Security Systems and Investments, and Multi-site Operations. Upon leaving the Secret Service, John served as a top corporate security officer in Fortune 500 multi-national corporations, first for Target Corporation (with oversight for event security, workplace violence mitigation, and global protection of C-Suite leaders Directors) and then with U.S. Bank (with responsibility for the safety and security of 73,000 employees, customers, and contractors; 300 facilities and 300 non-retail facilities in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Mexico).
John Shuman consults as a Security Expert with Public Safety Strategies Group, and also owns and operates a separate corporate entity providing licensed, bonded, and insured armed security, employing retired law enforcement and military professionals. John consults with Fortune 500 companies, public agencies, and high net worth family- owned businesses, advising on all security matters including key personnel; hiring, training, and policy best practices; security budgets, systems, and technology investments; and security strategic planning and project management.
John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He certified as a Criminal Investigator by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and is a graduate of the U.S. Secret Service Academy’s Special Agent Training Course. He has been married to Terri Shuman; they live in North Oaks with their son, Jonah, where John also serves as an elected city councilman.
Nearly 15 Years in Leadership Positions with the United States Secret Service
- Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service with posts in the Minneapolis Field Office, U.S. Vice-President’s Protection Division, the U.S. Secret Service Academy, and the Chicago Field Office.
- Managed and coordinated large scale, high-level, high-profile events: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Chicago, IL; Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL
- Presidential and Vice-Presidential Protection Management and Training
- High-profile investigations with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)
Fortune 500 Multi-National Security Expertise
- Chief Security Officer for U.S. Bank (73,000 employees, 300 retail and 300 non-retail facilities)
- Director, Corporate Security for Target Corporation (international integrity safety program, executive protection for C-Suite and Directors, and special event security)
Education, Certification and Training
- Criminal Justice Degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Certified as a Criminal Investigator by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
- Graduate of the U.S. Secret Service Academy’s Special Agent Training Course
