Review Boards

On July 31, 2008, Congress passed Public Law 110-298, which established the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 ("Act"). Under the Act, two separate categories of this award were created: the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery and the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery. For each category, a separate Board was established to review nominations, make recommendations for recipients to the Attorney General, and address other responsibilities required under the Act.

Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board

The Federal Board shall be composed of seven members appointed as follows:

1. One member jointly appointed by the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate
2. One member jointly appointed by the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives
3. One member from the Department of Justice appointed by the Attorney General
4. Two members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
5. Two members of the Fraternal Order of Police

Federal Board members:

The State and Local Board shall be composed of nine members appointed as follows:

1. One member jointly appointed by the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate.
2. One member jointly appointed by the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives.
3. One member from the Department of Justice appointed by the Attorney General.
4. Two members of the Fraternal Order of Police.
5. One member of the National Association of Police Organizations.
6. One member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
7. One member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
8. One member of the National Sheriffs' Association.

State and Local Board members:

Federal Review Board Profiles:

Michael C. Stenger
Michael C. Stenger was sworn in on April 16, 2018, as the 41st United States Senate Sergeant at Arms.

As chief law enforcement and executive officer of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms (SAA) enforces rules of the Senate; provides a range of technical and administrative services to Senators in their Washington, D.C., and state offices; and maintains security in the Capitol and Senate office buildings. The SAA organization is comprised of more than 800 personnel.

Michael C. Stenger served as the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms from January 2015. Mr. Stenger began working for the Senate Sergeant at Arms in 2011, serving as Assistant Sergeant at Arms for the Office of Protective Services and Continuity until his appointment as Deputy Sergeant at Arms in May 2014.

As Assistant Sergeant at Arms, Mr. Stenger was charged with overseeing security and continuity of operations policies and programs, and providing strategic and analytical assistance. Mr. Stenger was a 35-year veteran of the United States Secret Service (USSS), appointed in 2008 as Assistant Director for the USSS Office of Government and Public Affairs, where he administered USSS liaison activities with the United States Congress, Department of Homeland Security, other federal agencies, and members of the media and general public.

During his career with the USSS, he served in Newark, New York City, and Washington, D.C., in protective, investigative, and staff assignments. Mr. Stenger served as the senior official overseeing the agency’s investigations as Assistant Director for the Office of Investigations. In this capacity, he developed and implemented investigative policies for cyber- and fraud-related crimes. He also served as Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Research, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Deputy Assistant Director of the Office of Investigations, and Special Agent in Charge of the Financial Crimes Division.

Mr. Stenger was selected in 2004 as a Presidential Meritorious Rank Award recipient. He has also received the Vice President’s Award for Excellence in Financial Crimes Management and the Department of the Treasury Secretary’s Annual Award for Outstanding Performance in the Area of Financial Crimes.

Mr. Stenger received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and attained the rank of Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Andrew Maybo
Mr. Maybo has over 22 years of government experience and is currently a K9 officer with the U.S. Capitol Police. Along with his active and decorated career in law enforcement, he is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and is currently the Immediate Past President of Washington, DC Lodge #1, which serves over 12,000 members in the Washington, DC law enforcement community.

Mr. Maybo is currently the chair of the DC FOP Disaster Aid Response Team, where he assists in coordinating Disaster Aid to states hit by natural disasters. He also served as the chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police National Memorial Committee for the National Peace Officer’s Memorial Service for over 10 years.

Mr. Maybo received his B.A. from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been on the board for the Congressional Badge of Bravery since it first started.

Mark Heinbach
Mark Heinbach is a Special Agent with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General for Investigations (HUD-OIG) and has held this same position since 1991. He has worked in three different offices in the United States including Los Angeles, CA, Boston, MA, and over 20 years in Greensboro, NC. He is a cum laude graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and Union County College in New Jersey.

Activities/Awards: National Officer and National award recipient of Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA); Board member of Congressional Badge of Bravery; member of International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI); HUD-OIG white collar crimes instructor; Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) National and Regional award; New England Narcotic Enforcement Officer's Memorial Regional award. Also, he is a National Firearms, Control Tactics and Tactical instructor.

Paul Abbate
Deputy Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Director Christopher Wray named Paul M. Abbate as the next Associate Deputy Director of the FBI in February 2018. In this position, Abbate is responsible for the management of all FBI personnel, budget, administration, and infrastructure.

Mr. Abbate began his FBI career as a special agent in March 1996, and was assigned to the New York City office where he worked in the criminal division and served as a member of the SWAT team. In 2004, Abbate joined the Counterterrorism Division as a supervisory special agent overseeing FBI operations in Iraq. Since then, Abbate has led the counterterrorism program in various positions at headquarters and has served in leadership roles in the Los Angeles and Newark Division Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Abbate has also directed FBI operations overseas while deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 2012, Abbate was appointed special agent in charge of counterterrorism at the Washington Field Office and in 2013, special agent in charge of the Detroit Division. In September 2015, Abbate was appointed assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office. In December 2016, Abbate was appointed executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. In this capacity, Abbate oversaw all FBI criminal and cyber investigations worldwide, international operations, critical incident response, and victim assistance.

Nathan Catura
Agent, Inspector General's Office, Social Security Administration

Mr. Catura has been active member of FLEOA for 25 years. He was appointed to FLEOA's Executive Board in 2005 as the Director of Administration and, in 2006, became the acting Vice President of Operations. In the 2008, Mr. Catura was elected as the Executive Vice President for a three-year term. He was re-elected in 2011 and served a four-year term. In October 2015, Mr. Catura was elected FLEOA'S National President and served a term of four years.

In addition to serving as FLEOA's National President, Mr. Catura also serves as an executive board member of the FLEOA Foundation and the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Advisory Board. Mr. Catura also served as a Charter Member and Director for the Spirit of Blue.

In June 2019, Mr. Catura retired as a special agent with the United States government having served for over 29 years. During his distinguished career, Mr. Catura has received several meritorious awards for investigative excellence. Mr. Catura also served as an Adjunct Instructor for the Inspector General Academy in Glynco, GA. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire.

Charles Dunne
Charles currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Security Fire & Life Safety at the National September 11^th Memorial & Museum in New York City. Prior to this, Charles was appointed by President Barak Obama to serve as the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of New York in 2010 and held that position until 2017. Prior to that, Charles served in the New York City Police Department from 1990-2010 and he retired as an Inspector.

Charlie earned a BA from Fairfield University, a MA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a JD from St. John's University School of Law and he attended the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California.

He is admitted to practice law in New York State.

Val Demings
U.S. Congresswoman, Florida 10th Congressional District

State and Local Review Board Profiles:

Dave Hiller
Past National VP, Fraternal Order of Police

Patrick Yoes
National President, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
Patrick Yoes has dedicated his life to the service of others. He has been an active member in the Fraternal Order of Police for over 35 years. Over his career Patrick has served on commissions and charitable and community service boards. He is a strong law enforcement advocate. He has held leadership positions on his local, state and national Fraternal Order of Police boards.

Patrick's unwavering path of service includes a commitment to education—his own as well as others. With degrees in Criminal Justice and Organizational Leadership, and a graduate of the FBI National Academy, his passion is empowering others with the tools to succeed.

An active law enforcement officer, Patrick is employed by the St. Charles Sheriff's Office, the sole law enforcement agency for St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, a suburb 18 miles west of New Orleans, LA. Patrick has oversight of the department's Special Services Division responsible for a number of community outreach programs. He also serves as the agency's Public Information Officer. During his career with the agency, Patrick has worked as a patrol deputy, patrol sergeant, school resource officer, and detective in the criminal investigation division, becoming commander of the Special Services Division.

Since joining the St. Charles (LA) local lodge #15 in 1984, he has held nearly every elected position, including eight terms as Lodge President. Patrick is also active on the state level, having served on the Louisiana State Lodge Executive Board for more than 22 years, ten as President. He is presently serving as Immediate Past President.

In 2000, Patrick was recognized as the National Fraternal Order of Police Jack Dudek Member of the Year in recognition of his service and dedication to his community, his department, and the FOP on the local, state and national levels.

In 2003, Patrick was elected National Sergeant-at-Arms; Patrick was then elected National Secretary in 2004. He passionately served as your National Secretary for 14 years prior to being elected President at the 64th Biennial Conference in 2019.

As President, it is Patrick's mission to lead the Order in these changing times and finding solutions to the real issues facing our profession and our members.

Regina Lombardo
Acting Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Ms. Lombardo is ATF's first female Acting Director. Previously, she served as the Acting Deputy Director, with Head of Agency responsibilities. Ms. Lombardo's duties included day-to-day operations for the entirety of ATF, which is charged with enforcing laws and regulations related to firearms, explosives, arson, and alcohol and tobacco trafficking.

A member of the Senior Executive Service and an experienced law enforcement professional, Ms. Lombardo began her law enforcement career in 1992, as a special agent in the ATF Miami Field Division. Rising through the ranks at ATF, she served in many management positions including Assistant Director of the Office of Human Resources and Professional Development; Deputy Assistant Director of Field Operations’ Central Region; Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa Field Division: Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division; Chief, ATF's Leadership Institute; Group Supervisor for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force in Miami, Florida; and as Assistant ATF Country Attaché in Toronto, Canada.

Ms. Lombardo holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida and is a member of several organizations which include: Women in Federal Law Enforcement, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, the Florida Sheriffs Association, the International Associations of Chiefs of Police, and Major City Chiefs.

Deputy Chief Melron Kelly
Deputy Chief Melron Kelly has devoted his life to public service. The interest to serve others started when he was just 13-years-old; a young boy in the 90s who signed up for the Columbia Police Department's (CPD) Explorer Program. Kelly always wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement. It was an aspiration that didn’t focus on being a hero or shining in the spotlight. Instead, Kelly sought to help others avoid living in fear while reminding them that there would always be someone to call – a police officer.

Kelly currently oversees the Operations, Administrative and Special Services Bureaus, which encompasses the Patrol/Regional Divisions and Criminal Investigations. Chief Kelly also oversees the Public Information/Media Relations Department at CPD.

Deputy Chief Kelly is a 19-year veteran of the CPD. After graduation from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, his first assignment in CPD serving as the Residential Officer in the Waverly Street KOBAN. This familiarity and commitment to serving the community through law enforcement has allowed leadership positions in the Narcotics Division as an Investigator before being promoted to Sergeant; a Lieutenant overseeing the Gang/Narcotics Unit; and as a Captain in the North Region, and a Major in the Operations Bureau of the CPD.

Deputy Chief Kelly received a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from South Carolina State University and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree from the University of Louisville majoring in Justice Administration. Kelly also attended the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville - 124th Session - Executive Police Leadership Program in 2010, 62nd Session of the DEA Drug Commanders Academy And the 270th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 2017 .

A member of various community and social organizations to include NOBLE, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Serve and Connect board member, and Sowing Seeds Inc. among other affiliations.

William J. "Bill" Johnson
William "Bill" Johnson serves as Executive Director of the National Association of Police Organizations, Inc. ("NAPO") in Alexandria, Virginia.

Johnson has served as NAPO’s Executive Director since January 2002. He also serves as legal counsel to the Association. As NAPO’s Executive Director, Johnson is responsible for the day to day operations of the largest trade association in the United States representing active duty law enforcement officers. He also presents written and oral testimony before Congress, and frequently meets with Members of Congress as well as cabinet-level appointees in the presidential administration. Johnson is also responsible for the writing and filing of amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court and various appellate courts around the country. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at law enforcement and legal education seminars. Johnson holds the Certified Association Executive or "CAE" credential, awarded by the American Society of Association Executives.

Johnson is a former law enforcement officer and prosecutor, having served with a small police department in Maine, and, after attending law school, the Miami, Florida State Attorney's Office. Johnson was responsible for prosecuting a wide range of felony cases and also served as the designated prosecutor for cases involving mentally ill defendants, where competency and/or sanity claims were at issue. He has also served as a law clerk to an Article I federal judge; a basic civil law teacher for inmates nearing release at a men’s correctional institution; and an instructor for Miami-area police academies and for new prosecutors at the State Attorney's Office.

A native of Chicago, Johnson received his undergraduate degree in organizational behavior and management from Brown University, and his law degree from Georgetown University. He holds a postgraduate certificate in nonprofit leadership and management from Michigan State University. Johnson is also a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He is admitted to the Virginia, Florida, Maine, District of Columbia, and United States Supreme Court bars. He and his wife, Katherine, are the parents of four adult children.

The National Association of Police Organizations represents some 1,000 professional police associations and units and 241,000 sworn officers throughout the United States. NAPO serves its members through the advancement of federal legislation and policy, legal advocacy, and education.

David Moore
Chief, Janesville Police Department (WI)
David Moore currently serves a Police Chief for Janesville Wisconsin. Janesville has a population of 65,000 and is located in South Central Wisconsin. The Janesville Police Department has 105 sworn officers and civilian staff of 17.

Chief Moore began his career with the Janesville Police Department in 1977. He was promoted through the ranks and after a national search, was appointed chief in 2009. As chief, he has guided the department to be a community oriented and problem solving organization. Officers work proactively to reduce gang and drug violence through strict enforcement and offers of assistance to young gang members. The department has developed positive strong relations with local neighborhoods and businesses including liaison committees with Latino and African American citizens. The department sees itself as an important element of economic development believing that if we keep the community safe, businesses and citizens will move to Janesville. In 2011, the department received state-wide recognition for an innovative approach to domestic violence investigations. Recent initiatives include building relationships with citizens that suffer from mental illness to avoid use of force incidents.

Chief Moore holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice administration and a Master of Science degree in corporate / public communication. He is a graduate of the 186th FBI National Academy and of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. In 2019, Chief Moore received the UAW Local 95 Civil Rights Award and the YWCA Racial Justice Award. Chief Moore holds a private pilot certificate and completes many cross-country flights.

Chief Moore is a life-long Janesville resident and serves on many local committees and boards. He is a Rotarian, served as president of Janesville Morning Rotary Club and was named a Paul Harris Fellow.

Vernon Stanforth
Sheriff, Fayette County Sheriff's Office (OH)