Michael Regan has over 19 years of direct experience working as a Deputy Probation Officer and over the last 29 years he has been involved in researching and designing Probation and Correctional programs which have been proven effective at reducing recidivism. As a subject matter expert in “What Works at Reducing Recidivism in Corrections”, Michael has developed and presented hundreds of training courses for Probation and Correctional Departments in California which are based on Evidence Based Practices. Michael’s professional mission is to only offer trainings which are based on empirical research and have been shown to be effective at reducing recidivism.

Michael also has 30 years’ experience training working dogs in obedience herding, and handing. In 2015 Michael Regan became a certified trainer by the National Dangerous Animal Task Force NDATF. In 2015 he developed a K9 Encounters course designed to teach probation officers how to identify and safely work with aggressive dogs in the field. Michael Regan’s program reduced the amount of lethal force incidents used on canines in Kern County.

For the past 20 years, Rhonda has run group homes, level 14 facilities for adolescents, as well as psychiatric health facilities, from the highest to lowest levels of care in the state of California. She has a small private practice, specializing in depression and anxiety for children and adults. Rhonda has provided many trainings for the County of Kern, both probation and behavioral health, as well as in the private sector. She has presented on 2 occasions at the CASRA Conference, and she has guest lectured at California State University, of Bakersfield.

Rhonda is a DBT certified Instructor, and she is trained in Motivational Interviewing, Community Resiliency Model, WRAP, as well as CBT and Solution Focused Principles.

Karen has trained dogs and worked with dog packs for the past 25 years. She attended a six-month shadow program at Cesar Milan’s Dog Psychology Center (“The Dog Whisperer”), and she was mentored by Cesar Milan’s head Fundamentals Trainer. In 2015, Karen was certified as a trainer by the National Dangerous Animal Task Force (NDATF) and helped develop and deliver a K9 Encounters class for probation officers in the field designed to reduce the incidents of lethal dog encounters for law enforcement. The class is now required to be completed by all probation officers who work in an armed field unit. In 2014, Karen also completed a train-the-trainer course for the Static 99R, a legally required assessment tool used to estimate a sexual offender’s risk to reoffend. She has trained numerous officers on the tool in both the basic and recertification courses and is considered an expert on the topic.

Kathy has 18 years of experience in probation including institutions, investigations, supervision, and rehabilitation. She has over 10 years of experience facilitating evidence-based programs and creating treatment packages designed to reduce recidivism. Kathy’s passion for helping others and her knowledge and experience in developing evidence-based programing, has led her to being considered a top subject matter expert in the field.

Liz Madden has served as a Law Enforcement instructor with the Kern High School District, Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) since 2019 and holds a California Teaching Credential in Career Technical Education for Public Services. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in Psychology from California State University, Bakersfield in 1999.

Liz has more than two decades of law enforcement and corrections experience to her role as an STC instructor. She began her career as a Detention Deputy with the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, later serving as a Police Officer with the Bakersfield Police Department. She joined the Kern County Probation Department in 2007 and ultimately concluded her tenure there as a Probation Supervisor.

She is POST- and STC Core-certified and has previously held instructor certifications in Defensive Tactics, Simunitions, and STC Core. Liz also served as a Certified Field Training Officer Coordinator. Her instructional approach is grounded in real-world experience, a strong commitment to professional development, and a passion for preparing the next generation of public safety professionals.

Brent Hughes graduated from Coleman College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree, in Computer Information Science. He retired from the Kern County Probation Department after 28 years in 2024. His last assignment was as a Probation Supervisor in charge of the Special Services Team.

He started his probation career at Juvenile Hall, where he worked in every unit and in most positions including Security transport and Control Coordinator. Once promoted to Probation officer, he worked Juvenile Investigations, Juvenile School Resource Officer, Adult Supervision, and finally the High-Risk Offender Unit. As Supervisor He oversaw all firearms and force on force training for the more than 160-armed Probation Officers in the department. He was tasked with researching and advising the department of new firearm laws and bills that would affect Probation. He retired as an instructor in the following disciplines: Field Training Officer Coordinator, Firearms, Force on Force, Forced Entry, and Citations.

He has been certified by the Police Officer Standards & Training (POST) as a firearms Instructor. Rifle Instructor, Shotgun Instructor, Terrorism Liaison Officer, Field Training Officer and Field Training Officer Coordinator. He is certified by the Bureau of Security and investigative Services (BSIS) as a Firearms Instructor and California Department of Justice as a DOJ Instructor, which allows him to train security guards and CCW holders for a local firearms training company.

He has been a Law Enforcement Instructor, teaching at the Kern High School District's Regional Occupational Center, since 2022. He currently is a volunteer member of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue, Bakersfield Swift-Water team. Assisting the team with water rescues and recoveries and locating lost people, primarily in the Bakersfield area.