About the speakers

William J. Bratton
Mr. Bratton is known as one of America’s premier police chiefs, the only person to have led the two largest police forces in the United States, the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. He also served as commissioner for the Boston Police Department. He is Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, whose members provide advice on a variety of homeland security issues to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

Ralph Godbee
Chief of Police Ralph L. Godbee, Jr. began his career with the Detroit Police Department 1987, receiving top honors for academic performance and marksmanship from the Detroit Metropolitan Police Academy. He was appointed Chief of Police in 2010 by the Honorable Mayor of the City of Detroit, Dave Bing. He is president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives – Metro-Detroit Chapter, a member of the board of directors of the Police Executive Research Forum and Trustee of the Detroit Police and Fire Pension Board.

George Kelling, PhD
George L. Kelling is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and a fellow in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Dr. George Kelling is assigned to work with the Detroit Police Department to assist the Department and its leadership in direct problem solving and the implementation of “broken windows” policing strategies. Dr. Kelling’s primary interest is in the identification of problems and the development of tactics to deal with those problems, using the strategies that he and others developed to support the theory of ‘broken windows’ policing.

Isaiah McKinnon, PhD
Dr. Isaiah McKinnon is Associate Professor of Education and Human Services at the University of Detroit Mercy and former Chief of Police of the city of Detroit. He has more than 39 years of experience in the public and private sectors of education, law enforcement and private security. As chief, McKinnon reorganized and restructured the Detroit Police Department and fostered a working relationship with the general community of Detroit, federal agencies, regional law enforcement counterparts and the media.

Barbara McQuade
Barbara L. McQuade was appointed the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan by President Barack Obama in 2010, becoming the first woman to hold that post. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, she was the assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit for 12 years and was deputy chief of the National Security Unit, where she prosecuted cases involving terrorism financing, espionage, export violations, and threats. During her career as a federal prosecutor, Ms. McQuade prosecuted cases involving violent crime, fraud, narcotics, racketeering, and cybercrime.

Carl S. Taylor, PhD
Carl S. Taylor, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Senior Fellow in University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University. Dr. Taylor has conducted extensive field research aimed at reducing violence involving American youth. Having conducted research projects in Detroit over the last two decades, Dr. Taylor has a unique understanding of the problems facing many neighborhoods in urban America. He served on the Michigan Juvenile Justice Committee for more than ten years. He advises projects benefiting youth throughout America and works with communities, foundations and government agencies concerning gangs, youth culture, and violence.

Kym L. Worthy
Kym L. Worthy is the Wayne County Prosecutor. She is the first African American and female to occupy the position, which she has held since 2004. Ms. Worthy started as an assistant prosecutor in Wayne County in 1984, serving over ten years and trying more than 800 cases with a conviction rate of greater than 90 percent. She later became the first African-American selected by the office as a Special Assignment Prosecutor, specializing in high profile murder cases. She later served as a judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court. She remains an advocate for witnesses who risk their lives to testify in court.