INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Officer J. Matt Rowland
FWPD Air Support Unit
Officer J. “Matt” Rowland is an 19-year veteran of the Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) located in Fort Wayne, IN. He was a founding member of the FWPD Air Support Unit (ASU) in 2017. He spent 15 years in the Operations division and served 6 years during that time as a hostage negotiator. Matt has been involved with the FWPD rolling out its Drone First Responder (DFR) since 2021. graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice . Officer Rowland is currently assigned as one of two full time sUAS pilots on the Fort Wayne Police department Air Support Unit.
JONATHAN BEAL
Sgt. Gresham Police Department
UAS Supervisor/ President at Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA)
Jon Beal is a Sergeant with the Gresham (Oregon) Police Department and the supervisor of their UAS Team. He started his career as a police officer in 2008 with the Los Angeles Police Department. In 2013, he moved his family to the Portland Metro area and joined the Gresham PD. He spent his time as patrol officer, Field Training Officer, then Narcotics Detective, where he discovered a passion for drones. He worked diligently to start a UAS program at GPD since 2017, writing policies, procedures, attending trainings and writing training curriculum. Since his promotion to Sergeant in 2018, Jon continued his work on the program getting FAA waivers and approvals from GPD's command staff and finally created GPD's first UAS team, comprised of 10 pilots and six aircrafts. He continues to develop new methods of training and technology to support the team and its function as well as spending time helping other agencies get their programs up and running. He spends his free time with his family and flying drones in the private sector as a contract pilot.
BRANDON KARR
Internationally recognized SME for Public Safety sUAS operations
Chair for the Gulf Coast Public Safety Unmanned Response Team (PSURT)
Co-Founder Unmanned Tactical Group
%20copy.jpg)
Brandon Karr is from Pearland, Texas. Brandon started his interest in aviation in 2006 where he earned his Commercial and Certified Flight Instructor licenses for manned fixed wing single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. Brandon worked to integrate drones into the Pearland Police Department's patrol, K9, SWAT, crash reconstruction, and crime scene functions. Through his experience has developed several courses involving utilizing UAS in public safety including Part 107 Ground School, Basic to Advanced Flight Scenarios, Night Operations, Crime and Crash Scene Mapping, and Legal Concerns for UAS. Brandon is also a board member for multiple public safety drone organizations and working groups.
Brandon is an internationally recognized subject matter expert for starting and developing the Pearland Police Department drone team and is one of the nation's leaders in DFR and BVLOS operations. Brandon has also been a guest speaker for multiple conferences to include Interpol Drone Expert Summit, International Emergency Drone Organization Conference, Law Enforcement Drone Association Conference, AUVSI Exponential, and Commercial UAV Expo.
SCOTT MLAKAR
Asst. Chief (Ret.) Willoughby Fire Department
Lake County Unmanned Aerial System Team Coordinator/Chief Pilot
Co-Founder Unmanned Tactical Group
Scott Mlakar is an Assistant Chief (Ret) with the Willoughby (OH) Fire Department where he has served for 37 years. He is a paramedic, hazmat specialist, technical rescue coordinator, fire investigator, FAA Remote Pilot. He serves on the Fire Chief's Special Operations Committee in Lake County. He developed and is the Chief in charge of the Lake County Public Safety Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) team, composed of Firefighters and Police officers. It provides UAS support to all of Lake County's emergency services, special teams and government agencies. He has presented at various National UAS conferences including Interdrone, Commercial UAV Expo Americas, and the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) on Public Safety UAS Programs.  He has published articles for Fire Engineering magazine on Public Safety UAS. He serves as lead Instructor at Tri-C Community College as part of their Public Safety Drone program, and as an Instructor for Flymotion Unmanned Systems training public safety professionals all across the country.
DOUG SEIRUP
Deputy Sheriff at Benton County Sheriff's Office
Public Affairs Liaison at Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA)
Doug Seirup is a Deputy with the Benton County (Oregon) Sheriff's Office and oversees the law enforcement division's UAS Team. He started his law enforcement career in 2008 in the state of Utah, before moving to Corvallis, Oregon, and joining the BCSO in 2015. Doug is a Field Training Deputy, EVOC instructor, and a member of the Major Crash Team. With a passion for technology and finding ways to incorporate it into law enforcement, Doug helped start the UAS program in Benton County in early 2019. With seven aircraft and three part 107 certified operators, Doug has helped the Benton County Sheriff's Office implement their UAS program into many facets of law enforcement work, including crash and crime scene reconstruction/mapping, assisting patrol with crimes in progress, and providing overwatch aerial support for SWAT missions.
KATIE (GAUSMANN) THIELMEYER
Firefighter/Paramedic
Risk Reduction Officer/UAS Program Manager
Katie Thielmeyer is a firefighter/paramedic and FAA Part 107-certified remote pilot who assists public safety agencies implement best-of-class drone programs based on ASTM and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) flight standards. She is regarded as a subject matter expert in the use of sUAS for mission-critical public safety applications.
Ms. Thielmeyer serves as the Risk Reduction Officer with the Woodlawn (Ohio) Fire Department, where she oversees the Risk Reduction Division, delivering an array of essential services including fire & EMS response, community outreach, and fire prevention programs. In 2018, Thielmeyer created the Emergency Services Special Operations (ESSO) sector within the Risk Reduction Division to implement a public safety unmanned aviation program focused on sUAS response. That team, in collaboration with other fire and law agencies, now provides mutual assistance for regional deployments in the Cincinnati area and beyond.
Katie also serves as a project manager and principal investigator with DRONERESPONDERS, the world’s fastest-growing non-profit program supporting the use of sUAS by public safety agencies and emergency services around the globe. In this capacity, Ms. Thielmeyer oversees DRONERSPONDERS’ partnership with NIST, as well as other specialized initiatives.
CLAY REGAN
Patrol Division Commander for Midlothian Texas Police Dept.
founding member of the North Texas Public Safety Unmanned Response Team (NTX PSURT)
Commander Clay Regan is currently a Patrol Division Commander for the Midlothian Texas Police Department. He was hired as a Patrol Sergeant in March of 2018 after serving 28 years with the Bedford Texas Police Department.
During his time in Bedford, Clay held such positions as Patrol Officer, 5th/7th Grade DARE Instructor; Field Training Officer; Gang Unit Investigator; Field Training Coordinator, SWAT Team Member, Patrol Supervisor, Department Instructor, K9 Decoy, and Detective. He proposed and developed several of the department’s first programs, such as the Designated Marksman Program, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Program, Honor Guard Program, and Critical Incident Stress Program and Policy. Hs is a founding member of the North Texas Public Safety Unmanned Response Team (NTX PSURT), and has numerous UAS responses under his belt, including a deployment to south east Texas in support of the Hurricane Harvey Response. He ended his career in Bedford developing the department’s first Tactical Intelligence Program.
Since his arrival with the Midlothian Police Department, he has developed the UAS Program and authored the cities first Certificate of Waiver and Authorization (COA), allowing for UAS flights by the Police and Fire Departments.
Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt.) Clay Regan retired from the US Air Force in December 2020 after serving 26+ years as on active duty, and as a reservist. While on active duty, he was an Explosive Detector Dog Handler, Military Working Dog Section Trainer, and worked extensively with the US State Department and US Secrete Service. Clay has several deployments under his belt, including 19 months in response to 911, and a deployment to Kandahar Afghanistan. He retired as the Security Forces Manager/Senior Enlisted Member, of a large Security Forces (Police) Unit in Florida.
Clay is a 1984 graduate of Midlothian High School. He is also a graduate of several civilian Law Enforcement Leadership Courses and US Military Command Schools. He holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia College and a Masters’ Degree in Critical Incident Management/Emergency Management from St. Leo University in Florida.