Mr. Phelan holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Columbia College and a Master of Arts degree in Crisis and Trauma Counseling from Liberty University. He is the Director of the National De-escalation Training Center (NDTC) Hostage Negotiation Division and an NDTC Senior De-escalation Trainer. He has been in law enforcement since 2002 and has experience in law enforcement and corrections in the State of Florida as well as North Carolina. Paul has written the department policy on Hostage Negotiations for two law enforcement agencies. He has also been the hostage negotiations team coordinator for the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and is an FBI trained negotiator. He has experience as a patrol officer, FTO, honor guard member, SWAT operator, detective, and crisis negotiator. Paul was an Adjunct Instructor at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office/FSCJ Academy from 2007-2013 and is currently an instructor/developer for the North Carolina Justice Academy for hostage/crisis negotiations, Solo Active Shooter Response, and Rapid Deployment. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor for the Bachelor of Applied Science in Public safety degree program for Florida State College. Paul is a former member of the Florida Association of Hostage Negotiators, and a current board member for the Central North Carolina Negotiators Network. Paul is also a board member for the North Carolina Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Board. He is a qualified professional counselor embedded for the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, where he is also actively a crisis negotiator. He is also a member of the Western Carolina Peer Support Network. Paul is a sworn deputy sheriff with the Haywood County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office.