Global Security & Protection Experts

Chuck Tobin

President & Chief Executive Officer

Chuck Tobin has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of AT-RISK International since 2003, bringing over 35 years of experience protecting people, property, and operations for clients worldwide. Mr. Tobin is the recipient of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner’s Medal for assisting with creating the first government-mandated statewide threat assessment program in the United States.

Mr. Tobin serves as Chair of Standards and Guidelines on the ASIS Executive Protection Council and President of the International Protective Security Board (IPSB). Within the ASIS Executive Protection Council, he has led the Standards and Guidelines endeavor since 2019, in which he oversees the drafting of recommended practices, principles, and policies for protectors globally. In addition, he was an integral part of the ASIS Executive Protection Core Competencies project, which brought together subject matter experts from around the world to create higher standards for the security industry.

For over 20 years, Mr. Tobin has assisted the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) in a volunteer capacity. From 2013 to 2017, he acted as President of the association. Before this role, he was chairman of ATAP’s Certification Committee. In addition, Mr. Tobin developed the security industry’s first Certified Threat Manager (CTM) credential, providing proof of knowledge and management abilities in violence risk assessment. Mr. Tobin earned his CTM certification in 2015.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of AT-RISK International, Mr. Tobin develops best practices and leads complex threat investigations and executive protection risk assessments for clients. He has also served as National Director of Security and consultant to United States Presidential, Prime Minister, and international elected official campaigns worldwide. In addition, Mr. Tobin is a speaker, author, and on-camera contributor with expertise in executive protection programming, comprehensive security management, threat assessment, and threat management. He co-authored a chapter in the International Handbook of Threat Assessment 2nd edition on protective intelligence and threat assessment and co-authored a chapter in the book Applied Biosecurity: Global Health, Biodefense, and Developing Technologies on threat assessment in laboratory environments.

Michelle Calhoun

Senior Director of Program Development

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Michelle Calhoun joined AT-RISK International as the Senior Director of Program Development. In this role, she integrates behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) into various service practices and sets the BTAM methodology standard across the organization to best benefit AT-RISK’s clients. Ms. Calhoun brings over 15 years of experience from the public and private sectors, including roles with the Social Security Administration and DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, where she worked as a physical security specialist, workplace violence prevention program manager, and harassment investigator.

Ms. Calhoun has also served as a private international behavioral risk consultant, a management analyst for the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu (Nairobi-based), and a supporter of several initiatives at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. She is recognized for building comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs and managing dispersed threat assessment teams. Her contributions have been acknowledged by OPM, DHS, ISC, DoD, and the White House in workgroups on insider threat, workplace, and gender-based violence.

Ms. Calhoun’s commitment to professional development is evident in her certifications as a mediator, certified threat manager (CTM), certified in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST), and a certified mPEAK mindfulness coach. Her active involvement in the field is further demonstrated by her memberships in the APA, MPME, the McCain Institute’s Prevention Practitioner’s Network, and the Counterterrorism Preparedness Network (CPTN). She also serves as Treasurer on the Board of AfATAP and has held leadership positions within ATAP.

Ms. Calhoun has taught academic and professional writing at UMGC and developmental and abnormal psychology at SNHU. She holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland. She is pursuing an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Capella University.

Amber Cooley

Vice President & Chief Growth Officer

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Amber Cooley brings over 25 years of experience in strategic marketing, communications, and project management, including more than 15 years in the security consulting and investigations industry. As Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, she conveys the company’s key missions by managing communications, marketing, and client and partner program relations. She oversees proposals and CRM and project management systems to drive growth and help ensure a seamless client experience.

Before joining AT-RISK, Ms. Cooley led marketing and communications for GardaWorld (formerly Vance International), a global investigation and security consulting firm. She implemented marketing and positioning initiatives, targeted industry publications, and executed sponsored events to enhance brand value. Her career also includes strategic marketing roles in technology and real estate organizations.

In her current role, Ms. Cooley effectively communicates the AT-RISK story through corporate branding, digital experiences, promotions, events, and media/public relations. She is an accomplished communicator with a proven track record of building brand strategies through integrated campaigns in both private start-ups and public firms.

Chala McDonald

Director of Embedded Accounts

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Chala McDonald joined AT-RISK International in 2022 and is currently the Director of Embedded Accounts. She is dedicated to providing exceptional client service and supporting the career growth and development of those on her team. Ms. McDonald believes in AT-RISK’s mission and values the importance of protecting communities and colleagues and making the world a safer place.

Ms. McDonald began her professional career over 20 years ago as a nuclear analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, where she gained extensive experience in proliferant countries’ nuclear programs. Her favorite highlight during this time was serving overseas and representing U.S. interests in inhibiting those countries from developing and using nuclear weapons.

After moving to San Antonio in 2013, Ms. McDonald transitioned her focus to positively impacting her local community, largely through work with nonprofit organizations and serving on the Board of Directors with the Junior League of San Antonio.

Ms. McDonald is a proud alumna of Tennessee Technological University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, and of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned a Master of Science degree in Chemistry.

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Joshua Quigley

Director of Intelligence

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Joshua Quigley presently leads AT-RISK International’s Global Risk Intelligence (GRI) team to assist clients in gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information that enables them to make informed decisions regarding how best to manage risks and achieve strategic results. Mr. Quigley is a certified, veteran law enforcement officer and licensed attorney with 20 years of decorated public service to the state of Florida who recently retired as a special agent supervisor with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

During his tenure with the FDLE, Mr. Quigley founded and led the Protective Intelligence Unit, which delivers continuous intelligence support to the FDLE’s Protective Services Bureau – the component responsible for the safety and security of Florida’s Governor and first family. His operational integration of behavioral threat assessment and management and protective intelligence significantly enhanced their overall safety and security.

Mr. Quigley’s other strategic achievements include authoring Florida’s Strategy for Targeted Violence Prevention, the nation’s first comprehensive state law enforcement strategy to counter all forms of targeted violence, and designing the FDLE’s Targeted Violence Prevention Program, which is responsible for implementing Florida’s strategy.

Mr. Quigley brings a wealth of subject matter expertise across multiple public safety and domestic (i.e., homeland) security disciplines that are leveraged to deliver training courses, intelligence briefings, and program presentations to multidisciplinary and executive audiences. He is also an active member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and a founding member of the Counterterrorism Preparedness Network’s Threat Assessment Board.

Mr. Quigley earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Florida State University, a master’s degree in international relations and national security from Troy University, and a juris doctor in law from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Rick Parfitt

Director of Threat Management

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In 2022, Rick Parfitt joined AT-RISK International to serve as the Director of Threat Management, where he is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the development and implementation of security strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate potential threats, helping to ensure the safety and security of clients and their assets.

Prior to joining AT-RISK International, Mr. Parfitt held several high-level municipal and campus policing positions in both Pennsylvania and Florida. In Florida, he created a campus police agency and served as its chief for 11 years. Additionally, Mr. Parfitt served as the Director of Safety and Security for a large Florida school district, where he developed their behavioral threat management program, creating teams in 119 schools and training over 1,200 school administrators, school mental health personnel, and school resource officers. He also served as a police academy instructor and an adjunct college instructor in Pennsylvania and Florida colleges.

Mr. Parfitt is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), where he served as the first president of ATAP’s Florida Chapter and a Certified Threat Manager through the Association. He has been a member of several professional law enforcement organizations, including the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), the FBI National Academy Associates, and the Florida and Southwest Florida Police Chief’s Associations.

He has authored articles in several publications, including the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, the Campus Law Enforcement Journal, The Florida Police Chief, and many others. Mr. Parfitt holds a Master of Arts degree from California University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, 195th Session.

Kateryna Bender

Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer

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Kateryna Bender has been an integral part of AT-RISK since joining the organization in 2010. In her role as Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Ms. Bender works to create a global vision for the administrative and operational growth of the organization.

She provides input in new business expansion strategies and planning, success forecasting and risk management, creates new business plans and leads international business administration and organizational development. Ms. Bender oversees finance, human resources and legal/regulatory compliance.

Born and raised in Ukraine, Ms. Bender has a master’s degree in Languages from the University of Ukraine and speaks Russian, native Ukrainian, English, French and German. Her linguistic skills are an asset to AT-RISK and its overseas personnel.

Ms. Bender takes an active role in the Human Resources community. Since 2016 she has been serving in various board-role capacities for the Northern Virginia Society for Human Resource Management (NOVA SHRM) chapter, wrapping up her Presidential term in 2019 and beginning her Executive Director period in 2022. She also serves as District Director for the Metro District for the Virginia SHRM State Council.

Ms. Bender is also a member of the National Association of Professional and Executive Women, which recognized her in 2012 as an exclusive member in the Women of Excellence Registry.

Our extensive course curriculum combines tactical theory with real-world applications to cover a broad range of topics, including:

Corporate Workplace
Violence in the workplace is often complicated and multi-dimensional. Training a corporate team in behavioral threat assessment and management protocols and promoting an employee culture of shared responsibility for safety and support are essential strategies to prevent workplace violence.
Corporate Workplace Courses

Education
Multidisciplinary threat assessment and threat management teams help ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for students, teachers and administrators. A well-developed threat assessment and threat management team of trained professionals is one of the best methods to prevent acts of targeted violence in schools.
Education Courses

Healthcare
Protecting our healthcare facilities and keeping our medical professionals safe is more important than ever. Our curriculum equips candidates with proactive strategies to safeguard their healthcare facilities and protect their clinicians against unwanted acts of targeted violence.
Healthcare Courses

Human Resources
Human resource professionals often find themselves in a unique position as both the leaders of workplace violence prevention and the targets of employee rage. In many cases, HR professionals find themselves unsure or underequipped to handle violent acts. By studying behavioral threat assessment and management strategies, HR professionals will learn to recognize employees who exhibit unsettling behavior patterns or present a risk of workplace violence.
Human Resources Courses

Intel Analysts
Intelligence analysts are vital for preventing and managing threats of terrorism or targeted violence. Analysts must develop a better understanding of threat assessment and target violence dynamics across tactical and strategic intelligence operations to effectively inform the threat assessment and management process.
Intel Analysts Courses

Law Enforcement
Law enforcement officers require a collaborative approach to address complex issues within their communities. Our curriculum teaches candidates how to mitigate the risks of terrorism and targeted violence by integrating threat assessment and management protocols into their everyday operations.
Law Enforcement Courses

Social Services
Social service workers are at the forefront of our communities. By understanding strategic behavioral threat assessment and management protocols, social workers can prepare themselves to assess, support and intervene in crisis situations.
Social Services Courses

For a complete list of course offerings, please click below.
VIEW COURSE CATALOG

Matthew Speidel

Operations Manager

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Matthew Speidel brings over 15 years of investigative and military experience to AT-RISK International. His impressive career in the security and protection industry includes extensive training in personnel recovery, critical systems protection and criminal investigations.

As an Operations Manager for AT-RISK, Mr. Speidel leads program development for new business services. Working with security personnel to screen potential threats, he provides strategic advice to clients, supports operations and facilitates safety measures at the client site. Through his commitment to this role, Mr. Speidel oversees the continuity of AT-RISK’s operational standards and protects our clients by cultivating safe environments.

Mr. Speidel began his career as a Civil Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Army Reserve, leading a squad of two-dozen soldiers and working as a military liaison to the United Nations. He served for three years as a Federal Air Marshal, conducting high-level surveillance and open-source intelligence on foreign countries. During his time as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service, Mr. Speidel was responsible for investigating cyber and financial criminal activity, initiating protection operations in overseas environments and coordinating a protective intelligence response during active security breaches. He successfully showcased his tactical advantages by responding to a nationally televised White House intruder.

Throughout his career, Mr. Speidel has been recognized for his valiance and leadership and remains an active member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and is a proud advocate for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Jennifer Otremba

Senior Operations Manager

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Jennifer Otremba brings over 10 years of professional experience and over 20 years of military experience to AT-RISK. Her expertise leading multi-disciplinary teams responsible for responding to critical workplace violence situations and emergent crises assists AT-RISK in mitigating corporate liability and brand/reputation risks, while also protecting corporate assets and human capital.

Currently, Ms. Otremba collaborates with AT-RISK threat managers and clients to assess client needs while developing programs, training curriculums and strategies that foster a culture of safety and security. Leveraging her knowledge of threat assessment and management, she provides onsite security for clients both domestically and internationally. Her diverse international experience ranges from managing medical air crews to providing consultations to various corporate partners on how to navigate through multiple crises, including the Middle East uprising in Tahir Square, Egypt.

Ms. Otremba is an accomplished leader, air mission commander, instructor pilot and Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot for the Minnesota Army National Guard.